Observing the Sower

Matthew 13:3, “And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;”

As the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, I believe that God has called me to be a sower, and also to get the members of my church to be sowers. I am unashamed that I heavily emphasize the subject of spreading the Gospel in my preaching. Plenty of other pastors focus on “hobby horses” that may or may not be central in God’s Word, but I believe it is important to keep the Great Commission as our top priority. This upcoming year, 2016, is going to be a great year for Calvary Baptist Church. We are stepping out in faith and are planning an unprecedented year of outreach with Love Works Month, Friend Day, door knocking goals, Thursday and Saturday visitation, as well as several other events and programs. The members of Calvary Baptist Church will know (if they do not already) that we are meant to be a lighthouse for the lost, sowing the seed of the Gospel wherever we are able to. With that vision in mind, I was reading the parable of the sower and I made a few observations about this character that will help us in our service for the Lord:

1. The Sower Sowed the Seed

This may sound like an incredibly obvious point, but sadly it is overlooked. The seed, in this passage, is the Word of God. It is the job of the sower to sow the Word of God. Notice, the seed was the only thing that the sower sowed, nothing else. We live in a world that is becoming increasingly socially conscious, which is not bad thing. I fear though that in this consciousness, we (as the church) have lost track of being spiritually conscious. Let me give an example: A few weeks ago I received a pamphlet in the mail at church. It was about churches giving special love offerings to these agencies in order to help people in 3rd world countries get livestock, such as cows, water buffalo, chickens, etc. I believe that it is a good thing to give livestock to third world countries, but I believe that giving the Gospel is better. If I am going to give time, energy, and resources to something, it ought to be to the spreading of the Gospel. Why? Because a cow or a chicken is not going to save a soul from Hell, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will. In this Christmas season, there will be a lot of causes vying for your attention and your donations, all of which are noble and good, but do not get sidetracked and forget that the Gospel is the most important. Giving to the missions program at your church, give of your time to go door knocking and telling people about Jesus. If you are a sower, you must sow the seed. A sower that does not sow the seed is a worthless sower.

2. The Sower Didn’t Focus on the Ground

My wife and I have tried gardening for two years now, one year was a great success whereas this last year was an utter failure. I am not good at making straight lines, but my wife assured me that it was important to plant the seed in straight lines. Not only that, but it was important that the ground be tilled so that it was nice and loamy enough for a plant to grow. I am by no means an expert in gardening, and it confuses me when gardening experts talk about “PH balance” and “full sun”. We are meticulous about how seed gets planted these days. In the story of the sower though, we do not see that. In fact, by the way the story looks, it would seem as if the sower is just tossing the seed wherever with little to no regard as to where the seed landed. And that is the whole point. The sower did not inspect the ground and say, “Well, this ground is good, but this ground is thorny” instead he threw the seed wherever he could. As sowers for Christ, we cannot be picky and choosy over who we spread the Gospel to. When my dad was a young pastor, he was standing outside the door of his church with a member. A young couple pulled up in their car, they were visitors, and they began to walk into the church. My dad and the member greeted them and they went inside. The member looked at my dad and said, “They look like our kind of people!” Dad asked him, “What do you mean?” and the member said, “They are breathing!” The truth is, if they are breathing it is our job to reach them with the Gospel. Too often churches get focused on reaching a certain type of person, maybe someone of your own race or economic status or age; maybe someone who looks like a “church person” instead of just a random person from off the street. That is not how it should be. Often times I am guilty of this and the Holy Spirit has pricked my heart. I will tell myself, “That person doesn’t want to hear what I have to say!” And the Holy Spirit will say to me, “Tough! Tell them anyway! They need to hear the Good News!” Some churches will focus on getting the rich people to church at the expense of the poor, but the true sower does not care whether a person is rich or poor. The master told the servant (in another parable) to go to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Where was the servant supposed to go? EVERYWHERE! Jesus told his disciples to go to Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. Where did Jesus tell them to go? EVERYWHERE! Who did he tell them to witness to? EVERYONE! Stop focusing on the ground and focus on the seed and getting it out to as many people as you possibly can.

3. The Sower has No Name

I understand that one of the hallmarks of Jesus’ parables is that none of the characters ever have a name (the rich man and Lazarus is not a parable). But I feel it is especially significant in this story. We call this parable “The Parable of the Sower”, but interestingly enough, the sower only appears in one verse, and all that it says about him is that he went forth to sow. Really, I believe that it would be more accurate to call this parable “The Parable of the Seed and Ground” because the sower plays a minor role, at best, in this story. What is the point? The sower got no attention, he just did what he needed to do. Too many Christians seek the praise of men instead of seeking the glory of God. They want their name in the bulletin or they want the pastor to mention them from the pulpit for a job well done or maybe even they want a thank you. But this sower was not thanked for his work, he was not named, he did not receive any attention at all, he simply did what he was supposed to do. I have found that Christians who constantly seek attention for their service are miserable people, reason being is that they lost their focus. The happiest people on earth are the Christians who learned that this life is not about them, but it is about giving glory to God and spreading the Good News of the Gospel. When a Christian loses focus of the importance of the Gospel he becomes caustic, bitter, and more prone to get his feelings hurt. That can be combatted with focusing on what God wants us to focus on: The salvation of the lost. My challenge to you: Put your nose to the grind and get to work for Jesus. Do not care about attention or praise, do not make sure people see what you are doing. God sees, and He is the only one who matters! Focus on spreading the seed.

I hope you are doing your part in spreading the Gospel. As we enter into a new year, make it a point to commit to God to be a better soul winner in the year 2016. Be a sower.

Christian Rules For Facebook

I created my Facebook account a little later than most people do. My wife and I created a shared account just a few weeks before we got married. Facebook has been a blessing in my life: I am able to see how my friends are doing, I get to watch as my ministry friends serve the Lord, I get to know how I can specifically pray for people. Facebook has also been a curse as well: It is difficult to watch the carnality that a lot Christians exhibit on their Facebook pages. Now, we all have read the stories about people spouting off their ignorance on Facebook and then losing friendships over it, or losing their jobs, or getting into legal trouble. We often shake our heads in disbelief at just how foolish people can be on Facebook. Let me propose, though, that on a spiritual level, many Christians are doing the same exact thing. Almost as if when they log onto their Facebook accounts they decide to throw their walk with God out the window. Here are a few rules that Christians should practice as they do their “Facebooking”.

1. Never Talk Badly of Anyone- Many act like just because they have a screen in front of them, they can say whatever they want. A good rule to live by is, “If I wouldn’t say it to their face, I shouldn’t say it at all.” Another good rule to live by is, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” The truth is, Christians ought not to be in the business of tearing people down, God has not called us to do that, instead he has called us to lift people up; Galatians 6:1,2, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” It doesn't matter how someone has hurt you, done you wrong, or simply annoys you; the wise thing to do is to hold your tongue.
2. Never Lift Yourself Up- Just as much as we enjoy tearing people down, we also enjoy lifting ourselves up. If you ever decide that you want to make someone look good on Facebook, make sure it is at least one of two people: Jesus or other people. Never talk about your accomplishments, or your intellect, or your success. A good verse for that is Proverbs 27:2, “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. Remember, if you lift yourself up in pride, you will be abased (Matthew 23:12)
3. Never Exalt Sin- I could tell you many stories about Christian friends of mine who exalt sin on Facebook, I will not because it is unfair to single people out. A wise question to ask yourself is this, “Would Jesus be involved in this activity that I’m about to post a picture of?” Unfortunately, a lot of pictures I see of things that some of my Christian brothers and sisters are doing, I know (based on Scripture) that Jesus does not want to be a party to those activities. Remember what 1st Thessalonians 3:7 says, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
4. Never Argue- Do you know how much good arguing does? None! When we argue with people all it does is leaves both parties upset with each other, no one has changed their mind, and both people become even more entrenched in their beliefs, right or wrong. Arguing is unproductive. I remember in college how excited some college guys would get when they would run across some Jehovah’s Witness’s while out soul winning. They came back grinning from ear to ear saying, “Yeah, we met some Jehovah’s Witness’s today and we won the argument! We sure stumped them!” Unfortunately though, in that time when they could have been productive for the Lord and actually trying to win souls for Jesus, they instead engaged in senseless debate. Arguing is foolish, do not do it. Do not be the person that is constantly trying to pick a fight. Jesus commands us to be gracious people, read Matthew 18:23-35, sense God has been gracious to us, we should do the same for others.

Do you notice something about these rules? They do not just apply to Facebook but to real life. Do you know why? Facebook is a part of real life! Sometimes we get on Facebook, or any kind of social media for that matter, and see a screen, and then tell ourselves that what we post have no real consequences, there are no spiritual implications, or no one will get hurt. But we couldn’t be more wrong! Facebook is just as real of interaction as face to face interaction, but we often treat with much less sobriety than we should. We often pray that everything we say and do will be to the glory of God, the same must be true with your Facebook account. I doubt the fervency of a Christian who is able to live for Jesus at church, but lives for himself on Facebook. A sincere, genuine Christian will allow Christ to shine in his life no matter what avenue. Let’s determine that as we build our internet presence, it will all point to our great Saviour!

My Three Favorite Verses On Eternal Security

There is a false teaching that is spreading all over Christian churches today that has created great destruction in people’s walk with God, and that is the false teaching that one can lost their salvation. Preachers all across America are telling their churches that if you sin after you get saved then you have to confess in order to continue to be saved. This belief yields itself to a lack of certainty in the Christian life. As I read my Bible, I see that God wants me to have certainty in my beliefs and in my future. 1st John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” That passage tells me that God wants me to be certain about my eternity. In this post, I would like to highlight three different passages in the Bible that show me that I am eternal secure in my salvation

Ephesians 4:30, “…sealed unto the day of redemption.”

This may be my favorite Bible verse on the matter of eternal security. This passage tells us that we are sealed unto the day of redemption. The “day of redemption” being referred to in this verse is the day that the transaction of our salvation is completed, and that is the day we arrive in Heaven to be with the Lord. So we are sealed until the day we are in Heaven with Jesus. But what does “sealed” mean. This is where the truth gets amazing! To be sealed means to be marked for ownership or to be held securely. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you put yourself under the ownership of God, and the fact that we are sealed means that nothing will change that until the day of our redemption. There was a practical illustration of this in Bible days, that Paul may have been alluding to: When lumber was being sent from one place to another the person who owned the wood to sell would put his mark (or seal) on it, this mark would indicate that it was his. The only time the seal could be taken off of the shipment of wood would be when it arrived to the person to whom it was being sold to. Do you see the simple truth here? When I got saved, I was sealed. That seal can only come off once I reach Heaven, because that is my final destination. You would get upset if you had a loved one who tried to mail a package to you but instead of it getting to you, instead it went to the mean neighbor across the street. The same is true here, you have a specific destination that God had you starting toward once you got saved. It can’t be Hell, it certainly is Heaven. Do not forget that you are sealed.

John 10:29, “…no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

We often use this group of verses as proof of the deity of Christ, and of course, this is a go-to passage for that. It is spelled out plain and simple. But this is also a passage about eternal security. First, let’s identify the “them” in this passage. Several verses previous to this, Jesus is referring to his “sheep”, when he says, “My sheep hear my voice…” The “them” in this verse is the sheep. Who are the sheep? Those that believe on Jesus, in other words, those that are saved. That makes me a sheep! Pretty cool. This also makes sense because of what we saw from Ephesians 4:30, we belong to God once we are saved. All of that being said, this verse tells me that since I am saved, I have been placed in the hand of God and no man is able to pluck me out of the Father’s hand. There is not a single person in this world that can make you “unsaved”. Let me ask you something: Are you a person? I’m sure the answer is “yes”. If you are a person, than you are a part of this “no man” category that this verse refers to. You cannot do anything to be taken out of the hand of God once you are saved.

I like to explain it this way. What if I were to go out today and commit a heinous crime, let’s say that I killed someone (remember, this is just an illustration, I have never actually killed anyone). After I commit the crime I call my dad and tell him what I did. Now, would my dad be happy with me? No way! He would be incredibly disappointed in me. But would I still be his son? Of course I would. Ultimately, nothing could change the fact that I am my father’s son. I have his DNA inside of me, his blood runs through my veins. It doesn’t matter what happens in life, I will forever be the son of my father. When you got saved, you became a child of God, Jesus’ blood covers you and accounts for you. You are securely held in the Father’s hand, and no one, not even you, can change that. You cannot be plucked.

1st John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This truth is very simple. When you got saved, you were cleansed from all unrighteousness. Does the verse say, “All past unrighteousnesses”? No! It says “all”. I once heard a preachers say, “all means all and that is all that all means”! Very true statement. When I asked Jesus to save me, he cleansed me from all unrighteousness past, present, and future. After all, future unrighteousnesses are a part of “all”, aren’t they? You may ask, “How can that be?” But let me rebuttal with a question of my own, “How can it not be?” How long ago did Jesus die on that old rugged cross? It almost 2000 years ago. I do not know a single person on this planet who has lived for 2000 years, that means this, every sin that you ever committed was committed in the future for Jesus. Your past sins were committed in the cross’s future. Remember, God transcends both time and space, therefore, he is able to cleanse us of our sins, even before they are committed. When I came to Jesus and confessed my sin to Him and believed that he would save me from them, not only did he save me from my past, but also from my future. The Bible calls those of us that are saved “justified”. Justified means to be “declared righteous”. When I got saved, I was declared righteous before God, that is what makes it possible for me to go to Heaven. But how can I be declared righteous? It isn’t because of anything I did, it is because Jesus cleansed me from my unrighteousnesses. I can only be righteous by not being unrighteous, and that is what Jesus did for me when he saved me, took away my unrighteousnesses.

Ultimately, you need to understand the essence of salvation. Salvation has nothing to do with you but it has everything to do with Jesus. Salvation is not dependent on your goodness or the thing that you do, it is dependent on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. If I can be saved by the grace of God, but then lose my salvation because of bad works, then ultimately Jesus’ death was in vain (Galatians 2:21). You are not saved by grace and then kept by works, that doesn’t make any sense (Romans 3:28, Galatians 3:1-5) Salvation is either all about Jesus and his saving grace or it isn’t really salvation at all. And that is enough for me to believe that what God promises he will do, that he will do. The Gospel is simple, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”, let’s not add man’s doctrine because we think God’s plan is to simple. I am saved by grace, through faith, and not by works. In just the same way, I am kept saved, I am eternally secure because of the grace of God.

If you have any topics for me to write about in "My Three Favorite" series, let me know in the comments!

Curtis King is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Hartwell, GA

3 Major Problems With Modern, American Christians

I am so thankful that God had me to be born in the United States of America. I will not say that the USA is not without its flaws, because there are many, but I can still say that, for the most part, the USA is a good nation. I have life, liberty, and I can pursue happiness in a way that is not common in many other places in the world. I am also thankful to be a Christian. I praise the Lord every day that he, in mercy and grace, came down to this world to die on a cross in order to save a wretched sinner like me.  Being an American and being a Christian are two of the most important aspects of my life, but unfortunately, when blended together, it produces something that I am not proud of: being a modern, American Christian.

It doesn’t take a incredibly insightful person to see that an overwhelming majority of Christians in the United States are heading the wrong way. And as I look over the spiritual landscape of the churches and Christians in our country I see three major problems:

A Lack of Biblical Understanding

I have found that there is a severe lack of Biblical understanding in the churches across our nation. People do not know their Bibles. Unfortunately, we do our best to teach our children to memorize Bible verses and learn Biblical principles at a very young age through programs such as Awana, Masters Club, Kings Kids, etc. But we neglect to learn more about the Bible as adults. It is unfortunate that I can ask the average person who has been saved for 30 years or more to show me from the Bible proof of the deity of Christ, and most will not be able to show me, they wouldn’t really know where to start. A lack of Biblical understanding produces weak Christians. And it is because of weak Christians that false doctrines such as Calvinism, the Prosperity Gospel, relativism, and liberal textual criticism have found a foothold. It is very easy to swallow false doctrine when you don’t know true Biblical doctrine. I believe that there are two main reasons why there is a lack of Biblical understanding in our modern, American churches. First, there is a lack of personal Bible reading. Bible reading may be one of the most neglected parts of the Christian life. Many do not read their Bible regularly and those that do read it regularly often read very little. Let me ask you: how are you supposed to understand the Bible if you never read it? The second reason, there is a lack of solid Biblical preaching. Understand today, I am not saying that every pastor is guilty of this. I know many pastors who are very thorough in their preaching of the Bible and do their best to feed their flocks. But I have seen, time and time again, preachers who are more concerned with being sensational than being doctrinal, or producing emotion instead of producing conviction, or tickling ears instead of breaking hearts. Too many preachers fear to get in their pulpits and preach “Thus saith the Lord” because it may mean ruffling a few feathers. If you are in a church like that, you need to leave at once and never look back. Find a solid, Bible preaching church. There is a lack of Biblical understanding among modern, American Christians because of a lack of personal Bible reading and a lack of Bible preaching.

2nd Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

A Lack of Godly Service

When I was a child, there was a lady in our church who sang this one song once every year or so. The title of the song was, “My House is Full, But My Field is Empty”. That song has stuck with me all throughout my childhood and into my adult life. It is a shame that the message of this song is very true. I firmly believe that God has given each Christian the capacity to serve Him in some way. It doesn’t matter how old, young, rich or poor, God has called us to serve. When I used to teach children’s church I would tell the kids that they cannot be too young to be a soul winner. I brought my first soul to Christ when I was just 7 years old. I wasn’t a theological scholar, I wasn’t a “super Christian”, I was just a little boy who loved Jesus and wanted to see my classmate go to Heaven. If 7 year old Curtis King can do it, then you can do it. It is a shame though, that across America on Sunday morning there are a lot of full churches, but then on Monday through Saturday there are no Christians to be seen! No one is being a witness for Christ, no one wants to pick up people and drive them to church, no one wants to go the extra mile and actually DO something for Jesus. Yes, the house is full on Sunday but the field is very, very empty the rest of the week. I think what may be the problem is how Christians perceive the Christian life. I know, I have seen with my own eyes, Christians who treat going to church on Sunday morning as if it is their duty as a Christian. They treat Sunday as if it is their “Christian day” but then every other day of the week is a “normal person day”. Let me tell you something, Jesus does not want you to just be a Christian at church on Sunday. Jesus wants you to be a Christian all the time, no matter the day, time, or situation.

I fear that most Christians do not see the need to serve the Lord. I heard a statement once that says that 10 percent of the people in a church end up doing 90 percent of the work. I cannot disagree with that statement. Too many Christians come up with some sort of excuse to not serve, “I am to busy,”, “I don’t know how,” or, “We pay the preacher to do that.” None of those excuses will have any weight on judgement day.

John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

A Lack of Powerful Prayer

Christians in America are not getting their prayers answered. Do you know why? Most Christians in America are not praying. I tire of hearing Christians pray these vague, nonspecific prayers such as, “Bless so-and-so,” or “Be with so-and-so”! Do you know what those prayers mean? Absolutely nothing. They can mean just about whatever you want them to mean but at the same time mean nothing. Many Christians have convinced themselves that God doesn’t really answer prayer, therefore they pray these vague, general prayers, just to stay safe. I tire of hearing Christians give the terribly unBiblical excuse that God always answers, but sometimes he says yes, sometimes he says no, and sometimes he says to wait. I’m sorry, but my Bible tells me that if I ask ANYTHING of the Father in the name of Christ (or within the will of Christ) he WILL give it to me.Yes, that requires that I be filled with the Spirit, which in turn will mean that I will pray for what the Spirit would have me to pray for, but God says that He will honor that prayer. Why then do we settle to not pray?

God convicted me about this last year. I spent so much time worrying about the needs in our church until one day I was convicted to start praying about them. I wrote a list of the needs that our church had. It is a very specific list. Would you believe after several months of praying for very specific needs for our church, God miraculously provided answers to two of them! I prayed that God would give us a van to pick up people for church and he gave us one. I prayed for funds to fix a major flooding problem that the church basement has and God provided. God still answers specific, Spirit-filled prayers. Unfortunately, most Christians are content with praying vague, empty prayers. Ultimately, those vague, empty prayers are simply the fruit of a lack of faith in an all-powerful God.

John 14:13, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

These three major problems all lie under one major problem in modern Christian America, and that is a lack of commitment to the cause of Christ. Christ does not want me to be a Sunday Christian, he wants me to be an everyday Christian. If I am to be a disciple of Christ every day, it means that I am going to read my Bible and learn it, it means that I am going to serve the Lord, and it means that I am going to be a person with enough faith to pray and expect and answer. We do not live in a time that allows for uncommitted Christians. Allow me to ask you this question as I close this post: Is your all on the altar? Today, you must determine to give the Lord every single aspect of your life. Let’s break the destructive trend that has been set over the past few decades and commit ourselves to Christ.

Pastor King is the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Hartwell, GA