Finish the task

Finish the task

1.     As we do our part God is bound by His word to do His part.

1.     As we plant seeds we better prepare for a harvest.

1.     The Bible says that He formed man out of the dust of the ground. 

2.     And when it came to woman, Eve, He made her out of one of Adam’s ribs.

3.     God took personal artistic care in the creation of mankind.  

Psalm 8:5 NLT "[5] Yet you made them only a little lower than angels and crowned them with glory and honor."

2.     In other words, each of us is a masterpiece. 

3.     Each of us a seed, each of us valuable to God.

Genesis 3:14-19 NLT [14] Then the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. [15] And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." [16] Then he said to the woman, "I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you." [17] And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. [18] It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. [19] By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."

4.     Work is a curse and it's one of the only things that workaholics or work addicts never get help for.

1.     They will lose their friendships, lose their marriages, lose their children, lose their grandchildren all because they "have to work."

2.     Making work their God, their idol, their everything.

5.     We have a task given to mankind from God besides work and it's so much more beneficial, so much more enjoyable, so much more pleasurable than work.

2.     Finish the task, plant good seed.

Psalm 138:2 NLT "[2] I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name."

1.     For you God have made Your word greater than the whole of Your reputation.

2.     For you God have made Your word greater than all Your name.

1.     God gave His Son long before He was ever going to reap a harvest.

2.     A harvest of souls into the Kingdom.

3.     God gave Abraham the promise long before Abraham received it.

4.     God gave the Israelites the promised land long before they entered it.

1.     Your spiritual life moving forward or backing up?

2.     Are you advancing or digressing?

Matthew 11:12 NLT "[12] And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it."

3.     We shouldn’t be scared to sow into the lives of others.

4.     Well, I’m not really that talented, we'll I'm not sure I have anything to impart, we'll I don't think God has called me to share His love, His word, His good news or His heaven with others.

5.     God doesn’t have a great purpose or agenda for my life.

Hebrews 9:27 NLT "[27] And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment."

6.     When each of us meet God face to face He is not going to look at you and me and say, "Hey, I wish you would have been more like this person or that."

1.     He is going to say, "Why did you not become the very best you I created you to be?"

1.     I want to have an affect on people. I want to have an impact on their life, their family, their children, their future, and most importantly their eternity.

2.     I can never accomplish that if I don't plant some good seed in their, life.

3.     Don't just plant haphazardly but plant with purpose, plant with an agenda, plant with their eternity in mind then you will always plant with sincerity.

4.     If you plant with their eternity in mind you will always plant with love, with patience and especially with grace.

1.     God’s grace is always sufficient to forgive.

2.     God's grace is always sufficient to sow.

Matthew 12:33 NLT [33] "A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad."

3.     You can't give what you don't have.

1.     We'll I told them about Jesus once.

2.     No you told them about judgment once.

1.     Did you share His love?

2.     Did you share His giving values?

3.     Did you share the good news that Jesus paid for the sin of all mankind?

4.     That He came to rescue the world and restore our broken relationship back to God?

5.     That it was because of God's great love for mankind that His Son Jesus came?

6.     Then the Holy Spirit came to give us power, give us strength, give us purpose to share God's love, God's service to mankind, God's passion for all people?

7.     Did you share with them Christ's compassion or the laws condemnation?

4.     What seeds are you planting?

Illustrate here: a container full of seed to throw out showing God's overwhelming love, overwhelming compassion, His overwhelming kindness, overwhelming service to all.

1.     Kill em' with kindness!

1.     What kind of fruit are you producing?

2.     People know you by the fruit seen on your tree. 

1.     Study by The Barna Research Group was done to find out time given in service to others:

1.     Who serves more;Christians or Non-Christians?

1.     29% of Christians give their time to nonprofit causes per month.

2.     27% of non Christians give their time to nonprofit causes per month.

2.     Charitable Contributions

1.     47% of Christians gave finances to non charitable causes or churches

2.     48% of non Christians gave finances to non charitable

1.     Over ½ of Christians did not give to Missions, their church or to the poor. 52%!

3.     Read Horoscopes to search for Purpose in Life

1.     36 % of non Christians read their monthly horoscope

2.     36% of Christians

4.     Divorce Rate

1.     35% of Christians have experienced divorce

2.     35% of Non Christians

3.     So when God called us to be different, what did He mean????

1.     Look at your life it will determine the difference.

1.     Observers

1.     Happy to give nothing in time, service or contributions, but just come to watch the show each week.

2.     Consumers

1.     Gave, and did nothing but are always wanting more, making demands for more goods and services of the local church.

3.     Participants

1.     Handful of tithing believers who believe in the vision of the church, sending our missionaries into their own world and city. They come to church to find a place to serve and use their talents for God while serving the mission of the church.

2.     Our Fruit is those we lead to Christ. 

1.     Not CWC lead to Christ.

2.     Not Pastoral staff lead to Christ.

3.     You personally living the Christ life before them that they see Christ in you.

4.     Good seed in you.

5.     Good seed pouring out of you.

1.     Plant seed, produce a harvest!

John 15:16-17 NLT "[16] You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. [17] This is my command: Love each other."

5.     Go produce fruit that will remain.

1.     When we truly love each other the scripture teaches the world will recognize it, be inspired by, and even be changed by it.

1.     Unattended garden says I don't care.

2.     Unattended garden says I don't have time.

3.     You have time to do what you really want to do.

1.     It's someone else's job or responsibility.

2.     Many people live their lives making the assumption that someone else will be there, someone else will get to it, or surely someone will go in my place.

2.     We have to take a proactive stance in our Christ life.

1.     No one is going to get it all done by covering you.

2.     If we all do our part, God is bound by His own Word to do His.

1.     Plant seeds prepare for a harvest.

1.     Finish the task.

3.     If we sow seed we will reap a harvest.

1.     If I sow seed I will reap a harvest.

2.     There are essentially two harvests happening simultaneously.

1.     People matter to God they ought to matter to us.

1.     Plant, sow, water, feed, sunshine, growth!

2.     Sow life reap life, sow hope reap hope, sow unity reap unity.

3.     Sow to missions souls will be saved.

1.     Plant, plant, never stop planting.

6.     The enemy snuck in and planted weeds...

Matthew 13:25 NLT "[25] But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away."

1.     I've already made my mind up I'm gonna plant more seeds than he plants weeds.

1.     I'm not just here to curse the darkness I'm here to turn on the light.

2.     The light of Jesus Christ shines and the darkness can never extinguish it.

2.     We're going to plant seeds of encouragement, hope, discipleship, worship, love, peace, we're going to sow life, sow His Spirit, His blessing, sow His great might, plant an encounter of His Spirit.

1.     The enemy, after sowing his "weeds," "went his way" his dark work soon done, but taking time to develop its true character.

1.     He only planted seeds.....for many of us that's all it takes for the Devil to destroy us, destroy our family, destroying our dreams, destroying our future and the future of those around us.

2.     Just planting the seeds and we are overtaken by the sin that will soon develop.

2.     Listen, we live in this world but the scripture says we are not of this world.

1.     We are not labeled by this culture, we are not slaves to this earthly way, we are surrendered to His.

Matthew 13:36-43 NLT "[36] Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, "Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field." [37] Jesus replied, "The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. [38] The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. [39] The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. [40] "Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from His Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. [42] And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!"

3.     I refuse to allow the enemy to destroy my good works for the kingdom, I will not let him destroy my service to God, my example to my children, my passion for my wife and family, my passion for the global church and my love for all people.

4.     I will fight him tooth and nail, I will set my face against him in an eternal stare down, I will battle against him until eternity and it will be my privilege, my pleasure, my life's mission to plant seed and produce a harvest.

1.     The scripture says Jesus will be removing the Devil's kingdom, everything that causes sin, and all who do evil.

7.     These seeds represent the lost.

1.     The lost represents those without Jesus Christ as their Savior.

2.     The lost in our home, the lost in our families, the lost in our jobs, the lost we pass driving down the highway, the lost souls wandering this earth in desperation of a Rescuer.

3.     We all have seeds that directly affect us, and we all have seeds that indirectly affect us nonetheless every seed is important because every seed represents every person.

Illustrate here: I want for you to take a handful of seeds to pray over then plant. Representing your investment into their eternity.

1.     God's harvest (judgement) of all people is coming soon, we are to make ourselves ready by making sure that our faith is sincere, and make others ready by encouraging their eternal trust in Jesus Christ.

1.     I will go, I will pray, I will give, I will plant seeds and I will reap a harvest.

1.     Let's go, let's finish the task!

Join us next month at CWC for a series entitled Heart for the house: