50 Days to More: Day Forty-Nine

50 Days to More

A Seven Week Campaign to Begin 2018

Week 7: Sowing Uncommon Seeds with Expectation

Day Forty-Nine (2/24/18): The Precious Seed
Recommended Reading: Genesis 22

In our reading today we are studying one of the most challenging instructions God ever gave Abraham. He asked him to sacrifice his one and only son! He was the child God promised him. Abraham and Sarah waited MANY years to see the birth of Isaac come to pass. He was the promised son of Israel; Abraham’s heir to all of God’s blessings! And now God has just asked him to sacrifice this boy on an altar before Him!

Words cannot describe the pain, the confusion, and the worry that must have come over Abraham. But by now in Abraham’s life, he had learned to never question God. He had a plan and a reason for asking him to sow such a great seed. Because Abraham obeyed God’s instructions, God blessed him greatly! He was then promised that not only would his descendants be numerous, but also that they would have victory over their enemies!

“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." Genesis 22:18 (ESV)

Although he was willing to sow a seed that was extremely precious to him, God gave him a harvest that the whole world would now benefit from! The heritage of Jesus, our Savior, is from the line of Abraham and Isaac, because he walked in obedience!

Sowing this precious seed is very difficult, because it is the seed that you would rather keep than sow. It means giving up something very valuable to you, something that’s priceless, as means of an extravagant gift and sacrifice to God.

It’s not just about the physical value of the seed, but it’s about what the seed represents. Yes, you can give an offering to God and it can be used for His glory, perhaps you give weekly or on a regular basis. But that seed may or may not have been precious to you. This seed that we are talking about here is special. It’s something that God will speak to you about specifically. When God asks you to give Him something precious, He’ll often ask you to give the thing that you desire least to give. But when you do, then He’ll really know your heart! After all, that’s truly what He’s after!

Just like Abraham was willing to do, God sowed his only Son as a precious seed. He knew the life and death of Jesus was the only seed capable of creating an uncommon harvest – the Family of God! The precious seed is the seed that has the greatest potential of an uncommon harvest. When you sow the seed that is precious to you in obedience to God, it is the only seed that God can use to create the incomparable harvest for your future!

The precious seed is not precious to God until it is precious to you. They who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy! Whenever and whatever we sow, God is faithful to schedule a harvest for us. Remember, He doesn’t just desire to get something from us but He’s trying to get something to us.

“And now, God, do it again — bring rains to our drought-stricken lives So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.” Psalm 126:4-6 (MSG)

Compiled by Christine Thompson & Meredith Hobbs
Taken from the Sermon Series “7 Steps to One Thousand Times More”
By Pastor Timothy Coats
Family First Church - Spring Hill, Florida