Encouragement For Those in the Ministry
by Marjorie Castleberry

We hopefully always sow bountifully and rely on God to bring the increase. Think of it this way, why would the Lord have said "sow bountifully"? Remember the parable of the seeds? Some fall on rocks and never sprout (the hardened of heart who have turned down so many invitations they have no open crack in their hard hearts left). Some fall on hard ground (those who are convinced enough to listen to what you have to say, go to church - maybe even become a member, but because of worldly enticements or events and because the Word has not taken root in their hearts, they fall away or grow among weeds that choke them). Then there are those that fall on fertile ground. (Maybe you did not even know it, but someone else had been tilling there, sifting out big clods and making "rows" in the lives to catch the seed. Then you come along and have all these seeds that you just cast bountifully and maybe someone else comes along to "water" those seeds, maybe another casts some fertilizer and prays for "Holy Rain" and then keep tilling out the weeds that want to sprout up to choke that young life.) You might even be long gone when the sprouting and increase begins. That one might be half way across the country and in another fellowship and you might not ever see the increase. However, God assures us by telling us to just sow bountifully and He will take care of he increase.

How many times have we heard someone in their testimony tell of their days in Sunday School and seeing pictures of Jesus and hearing all the wonderful stories from the Holy Bible and how it all came back to them at the time of their salvation - even people who have come to the Lord in their later years often speak of being carried to church or about vacation Bible schools and such. With TV, mass communications of all kinds and better education, among the beautiful Holy things of the Lord, has sprung up many counterfeits. Many have come to think that if there is not a lot of outward show when someone finds the Lord that nothing has happened. Remember the SEED! Think about how it lies there waiting for the rain, the fertilizers and the tilling. When it gets a little moisture and a little tilling to get roots away from it that would sap up all that comes through the earth (our earthen vessel) to reach it, then it yawns like a little babe, stretches and out pops a root, then it feels the warmth of the sun (our Jesus Son) and pushes toward that warmth. Suddenly after several days it sees the light. The sunshine gives it nourishment and the gardener keeps tending it (making disciples and meeting people where they are in their journeys and walking with them till they are grown up in the Lord, hunger and thirst for themselves and follow HIM.). It takes time. What would happen if we had a bag of beans to sow and sowed one and did not sow another till we could see some sprouting from that one we had just sowed? Well, we would waste the whole growing season just counting beans and the crop would be minute, when we could have been sowing hundreds and sometimes thousands of beans to bring a harvest that is astounding. Where would we think the "fields white unto harvest" come from, if not from the tilling, sowing, planting, fertilizing and tending that others have been doing - sometimes for years. Think how many never saw Moses come into his great position of power and lead all of Israel, but he was "tended" from the time he was born by his mother and by all those who found him in the basket in the water.

AGAIN, I REPEAT, WE DO THE SOWING AND GOD BRINGS THE INCREASE. So, sow, sow, sow... And, tell Satan he can just lump it, for he was defeated at Calvary. He can never have any of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ. All he can do is pester us, try to distract us and get us to use our time fretting over things over which we have no control. He wants us to spend our time with trivia and details, so the really big and important things like sowing, reaping and worshiping God in Spirit and Truth will not happen. That is all the control Satan has and he will be out to gain that control at every turn until we give him the boot and defy him. Do that at the doorway to your heart that is your mind and thoughts. Boot him out and watch him flee before you the moment you discover that he is trying to interfere in your missions and your service.

In the precious Name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, Marjorie Castleberry copyright July 16, 2009

Footnote: Calm, Rainbow, Peace Not only let the dear Lord Jesus Be your calm before the storms, Your rainbow after the storms, But also your peace during the storms.
© Marjorie 1980