fbpx

Ever Faithful: The Farmer Pt. 4

The Farmer Part 4

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Harvesting

After Ploughing the soil of the world, planting seeds of faith, watering with the source of Christ, we have the final product: A harvest of faithful souls! The quintessential virtues throughout this process are faith, patience, and consistent work. The Farmer has seen every step and having faithfully executed each step, he will assuredly receive a result. The fruit we share in is the righteousness of Christ.
 
The “First pick of the Crop” is the fruit of faith in Christ manifested in justification, sanctification, and ultimately the unseen glorification of God’s people. The brilliant thing about being Farmers for Christ is that we glory in Christ’s harvest. Every step comes to the climax of reproducing God’s original work through obedience and conformity to Him.

Reflection

  • How does your life reflect the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer? Is there one area you are weaker in then the others? Which is it and why?
  • What change can you make today to assist you with marching in step, running with endurance, and sowing with patience?
Written by: Bill Crawford
September 2020
 
<–Previous                                                                                                                                                                                         


Ever Faithful: The Farmer Pt. 3

The Farmer Part 3

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Watering the Seed: Digging Ditches

The Farmer has a responsibility to feed and water the seeds planted. It should be our joy when we see a new faith take root to endeavor to grow our new brothers faith in Christ. Watering is a tricky thing, as it usually requires a source greater than man can carry or provide. Ancient cultures would usually have two options: Rain form above, or a river from below. To properly water a field large ditches would need to be built. These ditches brought water to the fields so the seeds could drink and receive this necessary component for growth.


Ever Faithful: The Farmer Pt. 2

The Farmer Part 2

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Planting the Seed

Once a man has had the soil of his heart tilled by the revelation of God’s truth, he  ready for the seed of faith to be planted. Seeding (or Sowing) is a matter of having the courage to sow in the first place. Many Christians are content in their lives, and uncomfortable with the task of sowing. They may find a freshly ploughed field ready, for the introduction of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, yet they will not reach into their bag of seed to plant.
 
I have found those who have an aversion to planting in others usually lack seed themselves! Christ called us to preach and make disciples. It was his final commandment! Yet when faced with this, many are content to shrug their shoulders and carry on. They are content with their mustard seed, why share? Read more…


Ever Faithful: The Athlete Pt 2

The Athlete Part 2

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Open Competition

The church is a church of athletes, we are continually running our race, boxing with the flesh and competing with ourselves for the prize of hearing God say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:23).” But we do not compete by ourselves, we have other more nefarious enemies to contend with. They too serve a master and his name is Satan. They claim to serve themselves or perhaps no one, but we the Christian know that while some may claim that there are no “sides” and no “Teams” we truly know there is. You are either a slave to the world, to the flesh to death or a slave to Christ and there is no in-between (Rom. 6:15-23). We compete in this day and age not against governments or policies, not against taxes and legislation, we compete against teams of a different nature altogether (Eph. 6:10-20).
 
What are the other teams? It would take me more than a lifetime to go through all of them but some of the major contenders of this day are Pantheism, Secularism, and Relativism. Pantheism is to make the world God, Secularism is to make science God, and Relativism makes self God. All of these things are our competitors and yet they follow only one rule that of Idolatry. The Christian must be well drilled to deal with these cheaters but here we must make an important choice: Will you follow the rules or will you try and subvert them? Read more…


Ever Faithful: The Athlete Pt 1

The Athlete Part 1

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Based on the Paul’s writings, he was a great lover of sports, or at the least, his audience was. He uses analogies of the athlete often throughout his letters. This is almost certainly due to the universal popularity of the Olympic games in the Greek/Gentile world. Athletes were rigorously trained and the ancient Greeks were proud of athleticism. They admired strength and talent, but all of these things were mute if the competitor refused to follow the rules.  Here in 2 Timothy chapter two, Paul focuses this trait: Obedience to the Rules.

Subverting the Rules

There was no prize in winning the bout through unfair means because it undermines the purpose of competition. If all athletes abided by the same rules, their talents would shine and the prize would be won according to their ability in the activity, not the subversion of it. Read more…