Sowing Seeds
by Beverly Marshall-Goodell
Matthew 13:1-8
November 15, 2015
It is said of an English traveler that he so loved the wild flowers that grew at the sides of the
lanes and in the fields of England, that when he went abroad he would fill his pockets with the
seeds and scatter them broadcast. Almost every day we live there are opportunities for sowing
the seed of God in some heart; it may be some simple word, some kindly act. Just a line in a
letter we write, or a text we quote, and the seed is sown and some life is blessed.—A. Lindsey
Clegg, in Youth with a Capital Y.
Ragbrai-planing milkweed seeds
The story is told of two boys who were walking through a field and found some corn seeds
scattered across the ground. They each took one of the seeds home and planted it.
When the first boy didn't see a tiny sprout after the second day, he dug up the seed to see if it had
sprouted. Each day he dug up the seed and replanted it, but the corn would not grow. The seed
had germinated; yet the boy had not allowed it to maintain contact with the soil, take root, and
obtain nutrients. So, it died.
The second boy planted his seed and left it alone. He imagined a tall stalk of corn where he had
planted the seed. He waited patiently as rains came and sunshine bathed the ground with warmth.
In ten days, a small sprout had broken through the ground, its curled leaves reaching toward the
sky.
Achieving any desire, whether large or small, begins with a seed sown in the mind. That seed is
the vision of its fulfillment. It also requires the commitment to allow the vision to grow--the faith
in God to do His part through storm, rain, and sunshine.
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I invite you to hear these words from Matthew 13:1-8.
Scripture-Matthew 13:1-8
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered
around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he
told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no
root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell
on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Prayer
Message
A successful Christian business man was growing old and knew it was time to chose a successor
to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to
do something different.
He called all the young executives in his company together. "It is time for me to step down and
choose the next CEO," he said. "I have decided to choose one of you."
The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you
a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one
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Sowing Seeds
by Beverly Marshall-Goodell
Matthew 13:1-8
November 15, 2015
year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.
He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost
and he planted the seed.
Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of
the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about
their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone
else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues,
however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the
CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked
him to be honest about what happened.
Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he
knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of
plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his
empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back.
"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO.
"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the
financial director to bring him to the front.
Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the
story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the
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Sowing Seeds
by Beverly Marshall-Goodell
Matthew 13:1-8
November 15, 2015
young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is JIM!"
Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the
others said?
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take
the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they
were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. "When you found that the
seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one
with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who
will be the new Chief Executive!"
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant faith in Christ, you will reap a harvest.
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
Two thousand years ago Paul wrote to the church at Galatia the same story but with fewer words,
"What you sow, so shall you reap" (Gal. 6:7).
"We are grass that will wither and die but the incorruptible seed of God's Word will live forever
- sow it daily into the life of your family! (1 Peter 1: 23 - 25).
The most important seeds of success are desire, vision, knowledge, honesty, integrity,
confidence, resolve, focused action, and persistence. They must be nourished with faith each day.
The success we envision can seem far away. The preparations necessary may take time and
effort. There may be temptations to quit with the finish line years in the distance. Mentally zoom
in and look at your finish line! Experience it internally today.
Instead of trying to leap from the starting line to the finish line, we can begin by taking one small
step - doing what we are capable of doing - today. Robert Collier said, 'Success is the sum of
small efforts, repeated day in and day out.' Small efforts will eventually get us to the finish line.
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Sowing Seeds
by Beverly Marshall-Goodell
Matthew 13:1-8
November 15, 2015
Some skip planning and preparation, want the work done for them, and want the payoff; they
will not succeed. We need to take a stand for what we want, commit to it, and then start building
our own doors to knock on.
Success does not exist inside books. Yet books are valuable in that they catalyze the abilities
already inside us. Books wake us up and provide necessary inspiration and education. They
nourish and fire up our potential. Then it is up to us to put that knowledge into action and
develop discipline and skills. Good books work ... only if the reader works.
The Creator placed the seeds of success in the exact place they would be needed; they live inside
of us, waiting to germinate, grow, and blossom. By living with faith-filled principles, those seeds
will grow to bring rewarding accomplishments in the years to come.
We will reap only what we sow. Sow seeds of success within your mind and spirit today!
Prayer
Benediction
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