I love this time of the year. One of my favorite things to do with my dad, as a kid, was to take the tractor out into the field to remove the stones prior to planting. We did this to spare the planter and ensure that the seed would make it into the ground. As we did this we dreamed of a great harvest.
During my time at ARC, I tried my best to remove stones and plant seeds of faith in the heart of the youth that will produce a great harvest in years to come. Below are the top ten seeds I tried to plant. I pray they fall on good soil and produce much fruit.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8)
- GOD IS LOVE! GOD IS SPIRIT. WE MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.
- GOD DESIRES AN INTIMATE SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP, NOT RELIGION.
- RIGHT NOW I LIVE IN A FALLEN UNIVERSE THEREFORE I WILL FACE CHALLENGES IN THIS LIFE, BUT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WILL GUIDE ME THROUGH EACH CHALLENGE AND GIVE ME PEACE.
- THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST LIVES IN ME AND GUIDES ME BY MY CONSCIENCE AND SMALL, SUBTLE PROMPTINGS. I NEED TO LEARN THESE PROMPTINGS.
- GOD IS MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.
- NEW CREATION-ME!
- NEW HEAVEN
- NEW EARTH
- JESUS IS ASKING ME TO HELP HIM RENEW ALL THINGS.
- THE BIBLE IS A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD AND AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL ABOUT HOW ALL THINGS WILL BE RENEWED.
- THIS LIFE IS A 70-YEAR APPRENTICESHIP FOR MY ETERNAL LIFE IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH.
- JESUS PROMISED ME I WILL BE REWARDED IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH FOR ALL MY LABORS OF LOVE IN THIS LIFE.
- MY ETERNAL JOURNEY BEGINS TODAY. IF I FOLLOW JESUS IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT WHEN HE RETURNS. HE IS THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. LOVE NEVER FAILS!
Jesus, who is the promised Seed, tells us in John 15:5 that we must remain in him to bear much fruit and apart from him we can do nothing. The greatest stone in the Church today is ignorance of the Holy Spirit. We are able to honor Jesus well as he was visible in the past and somewhat tangible. However, the Spirit is ever present, invisible. God desires that we fully know and love him in the fullness of his Trinity.
As I sit here to write my final article to you, my beloved ARC brothers and sisters in Christ, it is raining. Praise God! Without rain nothing can grow. What a humbling fact. Ultimately any success in farming comes from above. It is by His grace that He brought the rain. I pray the Holy Spirit may continue to rain from the Heavens to make these seeds grow.
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Mat 13:8)
The humbling truth within the Parable of the Sower is that Jesus has done His work. He already poured out His grace and Spirit. He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The harvest is now dependent on our effort to remove any additional stones and weeds in our lives. Thus we can fully receive Him by faith. I pray that all of the spiritual farmers in the church will do everything in their power now to remove weeds and provide a soil that the Seed can grow well in. The most abundant weed is fear. Trusting the Holy Spirit is scary because he is invisible and we are not in control. This is what true faith is (Heb 11:1). We need to let go and let him take control.
I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for the time I had to serve you all at ARC. I am grateful for your love and partnership in the Gospel.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Co 13:14)
Andy Anderson