Casting Seed
By Pastor Jim May
Some time ago I walking in one of the parks around town and I saw an old man sitting on a bench feeding the pigeons. It seemed that the more seed he cast out, the more pigeons would appear. There were only a few to begin with but it wasn’t long until the sky will filled with birds coming to get their share of the seeds. As long as there was a seed upon the ground the pigeons would stay, but soon the seed ran out so most of them left.
This morning, as I began to ask the Lord what message He would have for the church, I was reminded of that scene in the park when I read a passage of scripture found in the book of Ecclesiastes. The Book of Ecclesiastes is also called the book of “the Teacher” or “the Preacher”. It’s not hard to find messages all through the book because everything that you read can be easily related to where we live right now even though it was written several thousands of years ago. And why shouldn’t it relate to us? The whole of the Word of God relates to us, right where we are, because it is a “Living Word”, and not just ink on paper. Every Word of God is alive with the Spirit and Power of God to change us if we will only hear what He has to say to us with the “ears of the Spirit”.
Now I’m not necessarily going to talk about pigeons this morning, but I do want to talk to you a little while about “casting your seed”. You see, if we don’t cast our seed, give into the lives of others, and plant seeds of service into the lives of other people, then we will never receive a harvest.
If you are into agriculture you will know that we are in the time of the Harvest Moon right now. Some of you may have noticed how big the moon is and how bright it is. I awoke this morning about 4:30 and thought that I had overslept because the room was so bright. The harvest moon is called that because it gives out a brighter light than usual at this time of year and that helps northern farmers to hasten the harvesting of their crops before the harsh winter sets in. It also signals the beginning of the Fall Season of the year.
I believe that not only are we facing the time of the harvest in the fields of agriculture, but we are also getting ready for the greatest harvest of souls before the coming of the Lord.
But we will only see a harvest if we have planted the seed. That’s really what this message is all about – Planting seed and gathering the harvest.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."
Sometimes the harvest for our work just doesn’t seem like it will come at all and we wonder what happened?
Robert Moffat was a Scottish missionary to South Africa. After many months of hard work among the African tribes he came home to recruit others to join him on the mission field. When he arrived in Scotland, from the sweltering heat of the jungle, he was greeted by the fury of the cold British winter. When he arrived at the church where he was to speak, he noted that only a small group had braved the elements to hear his appeal. What disturbed him even more was that there were only ladies in attendance that night, and he wondered whether he had really heard from the Lord because he had chosen to preach from Proverbs 8:4 that says, "Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man."
When he gave his final appeal that night, nobody answered the call and came forward to volunteer for missionary service and Moffat wondered if his message had been given in vain. But what Moffat didn’t see was there was a small boy in the loft of the church who had come to work the bellows of the church organ. The message had really stirred the heart of this boy.
After hearing the message of Moffat that young boy decided that he would follow in the footsteps of the pioneer missionary. He went on to school, obtained a degree in medicine, and then spent the rest of his life ministering to the tribes of Africa. His name was David Livingstone!
Some of you have served the Lord for many years now and perhaps you have begun to wonder if you will ever see a real harvest for all the seed that you have planted.
Maybe you have taught Sunday School, or kept the nursery, worked in Children’s Church, led in the worship, played music on the worship team, worked with the youth, or done any number of “jobs” around the church. Let me tell you that if you’re thinking of it as a job, then you have the wrong idea. There is nothing that you do around the church that is a “job”. It’s all a part ministry to the Lord and to your fellowman, no matter what you do.
I’ve heard through the grapevine that there are some who have become discouraged in the work that God has set before you. It’s only natural for that to happen from time to time. None of us will be “up” all the time.
But I have a message for all of us this morning, and that message is simply this, “Keep on sowing your seed, keep on doing what you are doing, the harvest is coming in due time.”
In Matthew 9:38 and in Luke 10:2, Jesus is referred to as the “Lord of the Harvest”. What we must remember is that it is Jesus who brings for the harvest. We are only called to plant and work with the seed – to plant it, to dig around it, to water it, and to fertilize it so that it can grow. The power to make that seed actually grow and produce belongs to God, not to us. It seems that we get this all mixed up sometimes and wonder why we don’t see the results that we would like to see.
I believe that we should be result oriented, and that if something isn’t working, then maybe its time to back up and punt – to try something different. But at the same time, let us not think that we can force the seed to produce fruit. That’s God’s business.
I think that the real problem lies in the fact that we just stop casting out the “bread” to the “pigeons”. Now please don’t think that I’m belittling those who we are trying to reach with the Bread of Life by comparing them to pigeons. It’s only an analogy.
But just like feeding pigeons in the park, if we will learn to cast more bread, casting ministry into the lives of more people, then we will see more people come. The more ministry we can cast, the more Bread that we can give, the more people will begin to respond.
It may seem like nothing is happening in your work for the Lord right now, but the seed is growing, it germinating, and it will bring forth fruit in due season. The Bible declares in Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Now feeding pigeons isn’t always fun and exciting. How many of you know that if you get enough pigeons flying around you better have an umbrella. Some of those pigeons get just a little too excited about the seed and try to make room for it in advance of eating it.
Perhaps that’s what some of you have experienced in your work for the Lord already. Maybe some of those who you have tried to give the Bread of Life to have just dropped it right back on you in an unpleasant manner.
I can remember the times as a Youth Pastor when I would be doing my best to work with the youth and I would have a lot more trouble with their parents than with the kids. The parents would get in your face quick if they thought you weren’t doing what they thought you should with their “little Johnny or Suzie”. And there have been times when the kids would dump on you too. If they couldn’t have their way, or if they didn’t like the way you handled things, they would be quick to tell you. But all of that comes with the territory and it all helps you to grow and learn so you can plant better seed the next time.
I could also tell you of a number of times since becoming a pastor when I didn’t do things to please everybody. Some folks you can’t seem to please no matter what you do, but I’m sure that there are people here even now who would like for me to do things differently. Most of the time though, people won’t say anything. They will just brood about it until finally, one day, it comes to a point where they will just dump on you and fly away. They would rather dump and fly than stand and work it out.
That’s all a part of ministry as well. We don’t like those parts but they happen nonetheless.
But none of those things are excuses for not doing the work that God has called us to do. The Teacher tells us in Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth."
What are the waters? It’s not talking about throwing everything into the river, the lake or the ocean. It’s talking about casting your work, your energy, your ministry, and planting your life into the lives of other people. All through the Bible, water is used as an analogy of a multitude of people, or all of mankind. I could give examples but look them up for yourself when you have time.
Along with the command to cast your bread into the lives of other people, there is a promise from the Word of God. That promise says, “thou shalt find it after many days”.
You won’t often see immediate results from the work you do for the Lord today, except in a few instances. You can have the immediate results of knowing that you are being faithful, and there may be a few people who will respond immediately, but most of the time, there is a lot of ministry that is put forth before any tangible results can be seen.
This month, I think, will mark our 7th year as a church. Seven years ago, 26 people got together and formed a new church called Victory Temple. In the past seven years there has been a lot of ministry to go forth from this church. Seven years of teaching children, working in the nursery and standing behind this pulpit several times a week, bringing forth a message from God’s Word.
During that 7-year period, nearly all of those original 26 people have flown away to other places. A few have stayed faithful and God has brought others to take the place of those who left. Now we have more than 26 people. No, we haven’t seen the harvest that we hoped for. We haven’t seen the harvest we trusted God for. We haven’t seen the vast increase in numbers attending the church that we dreamed of and had visions of, but it’s not over yet! The harvest is still coming – in God’s time!
But let’s look around and see what God has done. He has been faithful to us and kept our church alive and strong against every wind of adversity. He has increased the vision so that we are still casting bread upon the waters. We have seen people come into this church, get saved, and then go out to other places to work for the Lord. That’s still a part of our harvest. There are churches all around that are being blessed this morning because we planted the seed that brought forth a part of their harvest as well.
Our youth ministries has had it’s up’s and down’s, but today our youth ministries is still going strong and God has brought a new crop of youth for us to teach and give to them the Bread of Life. The same has happened in all areas of the church. God is bringing forth a harvest for us and I’m expecting bigger and better harvests as time goes on.
When will the harvest come? How long will we have to work before we see the results that we dream of? I can only say that when the time is right, it will be there. Until then our job is to keep casting the bread. Keeping giving out portions to those who God puts under your care. Keep sowing seed into their lives. In due time, the harvest will come.
Ecclesiastes 11:3-4, "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap."
You may feel like you have been filled with wonderful ideas and with anointed ministry, and you have poured out all that you have into the lives of people, but not seen any results. You have watched, as your words seemed to fall upon deaf ears and just lie there dormant as though they had no life in them at all. You may have seen all of your hard work just “go south” and nothing seems to come of it. In fact, you begin to wonder if you might have missed God in all of it. Maybe I didn’t do it right, or say it right, or maybe the idea was right but the timing was wrong.
Let me tell you that none of those things are to blame. The fact is that you, nor I, will ever be perfect. Circumstances won’t ever be right. The “ducks”, nor the “pigeons” will never line up in a row. If you are waiting for the perfect message, at the perfect time, and for the perfect people to be there to hear, with a perfect response, then you will never have a harvest. You must go on casting the bread anyway and trust in God for the harvest.
Ecclesiastes 11:5, "As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all."
How can we know what God is doing in the heart of those we minister to? How can I know what you are getting out of this message right now? The bottom line is that I don’t know and may never know. But I do know that God will use His Word to touch the hearts of those who will hear and that my job is simply to cast the bread and let Him do the rest.
Ecclesiastes 11:6, "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."
Just like a farmer who cannot cease from his labor if he wants to have a good harvest, you and I cannot stop casting bread upon the waters.
That bread not only represents the Bread of Life, but it also represents every part of your life. Your time, your money, your abilities, your talents, your possessions, everything about you is a part of that bread.
I’ve heard it taught in the world of business that, “You will be paid in proportion to the service that you give. The more valuable you are to other people, the more they will be willing to reward you for your service.” Of course that may not always hold true in the world of business because economics pays such a vast role in the realm of rewards, but I can tell you that it does hold true in serving the Lord. You will be rewarded in direct proportion to how much you are involved in ministry.
The more you work for God, the better your life will be, and the more you will be rewarded in Heaven for your faithfulness, and God’s economy is strong enough to give the greatest rewards that you could ever hope for.
I believe that God is getting ready to bring forth the harvest right now. The seeds have been planted, the bread is constantly being cast upon the waters, and now the harvest is ripe. I’m looking for great things ahead. I’m looking for the church to prosper and grow. I’m looking for more youth, more little kids, more people to come, not because of me, but because the seed is coming up and ready for harvest.
Perhaps there may even be someone here right now who will be a part of that harvest. Perhaps there is someone here right now who has come, searching for something better, searching for a real touch from the Lord, desiring to be truly used of God. Maybe you have been discouraged because the seed seems to have died that you planted. Maybe you are wondering if you are even in God’s will anymore. Maybe you’re hoping to be used by God in some special way. If that’s you this morning, then come and join us in the work.
God’s bringing forth a harvest and I want to be a part of it. I want to be out there casting bread upon the waters and feeding “pigeons” in the park, to see just how many people God will bring in and what ministry He will allow us do accomplish.
