Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / PAMOJA PODCAST/THEOLOGY OF SEEDS/CONVERSATION III/ THE SEEDS YOU ENTERTAIN
Transcript
- 0:00No one fears a seed. It is too small, too ordinary,
- 0:04too insignificant. It doesn't look dangerous.
- 0:07It doesn't look destructive. It simply rests
- 0:10there, quietly, waiting. But every forest was
- 0:14once a seed. Every garden was once a seed. Every
- 0:18harvest was once a seed. And every tragedy was
- 0:21once one too. Because the greatest dangers in
- 0:24life rarely begin with catastrophe. They begin
- 0:28small enough. To ignore. That is how weeds grow.
- 0:32That is how kingdoms grow. That is how faith
- 0:35grows. And that is how sin grows. No one suddenly
- 0:39abandons God. No one suddenly destroys a family.
- 0:43No one suddenly loses their integrity. Long before
- 0:46the visible collapse, there was an invisible
- 0:48planting. A lie believed. An offense embraced.
- 0:52A fear entertained. A desire nourished. A question
- 0:56left unanswered. A seed. Because sin is rarely
- 1:00born in the moment it grows where a seed has
- 1:03been welcomed today I want to invite you into
- 1:07a conversation a conversation I've been reflecting
- 1:10on for some time a conversation. I believe every
- 1:13believer needs to have I Have chosen to call
- 1:16it the seeds you entertain welcome to promote
- 1:19your podcast a ministry of life of Christ International
- 1:23Ministries where we build stronger lives deeper
- 1:26faith and Christ centered homes one story, one
- 1:30message, and one revelation at a time. I'm Barry
- 1:33Mwamba. Thank you for joining me today. Let's
- 1:36talk. Have you ever noticed something fascinating
- 1:40about God? Almost everything He created begins
- 1:43the same way, with a seed. Before there was a
- 1:46forest, there was a seed. Before there was a
- 1:49vineyard, there was a seed. Before there was
- 1:51fruit, there was a seed. Even Jesus described
- 1:54the kingdom of God this way. He compared it to
- 1:56seeds scattered into the ground, a mustard seed
- 1:59that became a tree, a sower who scattered seed
- 2:02into different kinds of soil. Why? Because a
- 2:05seed is one of God's greatest principles. Everything
- 2:07begins small, hidden, almost invisible. Then
- 2:11it grows, quietly, patiently, until one day,
- 2:14everyone sees what was growing all along. A harvest
- 2:17never surprises the farmer. He already knows
- 2:20what he planted. And I believe Satan understands
- 2:22this principle better than many believers do.
- 2:24He knows He doesn't always have to destroy you
- 2:27today. He simply has to plant something today
- 2:29that will destroy you tomorrow. That is why scripture
- 2:32repeatedly warns us to guard our hearts. Because
- 2:35our hearts are not merely the place where emotions
- 2:37live. They are gardens. Gardens where something
- 2:40is always growing. The question is never whether
- 2:42something is growing. The question is, what is
- 2:45growing? Every day, someone is planting. God
- 2:48plants truth. His Word plants faith. The Holy
- 2:51Spirit plants conviction. But the enemy also
- 2:54plants. He plants lies. He plants offense. He
- 2:57plants bitterness. He plants pride. He plants
- 3:00comparison. He plants lust. He plants fear. He
- 3:04plants discouragement. He plants unbelief. Anything
- 3:07that can eventually produce a harvest that pulls
- 3:09us away from the purpose of God. And here is
- 3:12what makes seeds so deceptive. They don't ask
- 3:14for permission to grow. They only ask for permission
- 3:17to remain. Once a seed finds good soil, it simply
- 3:20does what it was created to do. Grow. Which means
- 3:23the greatest spiritual battles are rarely fought
- 3:25at the moment of harvest. They are fought at
- 3:28the moment of planting. Because every temptation
- 3:30begins as permission given to a seed. Have you
- 3:35ever noticed something strange? Sometimes the
- 3:37opportunity to sin doesn't feel shocking. It
- 3:40feels familiar, almost natural, almost comfortable.
- 3:44And the reason is simple. The seed was planted.
- 3:46long before the temptation arrived. That is one
- 3:49of the enemy's greatest strategies. He understands
- 3:52that if he can make sin feel familiar, he won't
- 3:54have to make it look attractive, because familiarity
- 3:57lowers our defenses. What once disturbed us eventually
- 4:01stops bothering us. What once shocked us slowly
- 4:04becomes normal. And what becomes normal eventually
- 4:07becomes acceptable. That is why the enemy rarely
- 4:10begins with an invitation to rebel. He begins
- 4:12with exposure, little by little, day after day.
- 4:15One seed at a time. Sometimes without our knowledge.
- 4:19Sometimes with our permission. There are seeds
- 4:21planted in our lives without us even realizing
- 4:23it. Through the conversations we entertain. Through
- 4:26the voices we keep listening to. Through the
- 4:28stories we consume. Through the music that shapes
- 4:30our emotions. Through the images that remain
- 4:33in our imagination. Through the books we read.
- 4:36Through the jokes we laugh at. Through the bitterness
- 4:38we replay in our minds. Through the fear we continually
- 4:41feed. Through the comparison that steals our
- 4:44contentment. And yes, through social media. Not
- 4:46because social media is evil in itself. Like
- 4:49every tool, it can be used for good or for evil.
- 4:52Today, the gospel reaches millions through a
- 4:55single video. Lives are encouraged. Families
- 4:57are restored. People encounter Christ through
- 4:59platforms that did not exist a generation ago.
- 5:02But the same technology that can carry truth
- 5:04can also carry deception. The same screen that
- 5:07can strengthen your faith can quietly weaken
- 5:09your convictions. Never before in human history
- 5:12have we allowed so many strangers to speak into
- 5:15our minds every single day. People we have never
- 5:18met shaping our opinions, shaping our values,
- 5:21shaping our emotions, shaping our desires. One
- 5:24short video, another short video, one post, another
- 5:27post, one image, another image, one opinion.
- 5:31another opinion, until we no longer realize that
- 5:34something inside us has begun to change. The
- 5:37enemy understands something frightening. He doesn't
- 5:39have to convince you all at once. He only needs
- 5:42repeated exposure. Because repeated exposure
- 5:44creates familiarity. Familiarity creates comfort.
- 5:48Comfort weakens conviction. And weakened conviction
- 5:51opens the door to compromise. That is why Paul
- 5:53writes in Romans 12, Do not be conformed to this
- 5:56world, but be transformed by the renewing of
- 5:59your mind. Notice where the battle begins. Not
- 6:01in the hands. Not in the feet. Not even in the
- 6:04mouth. In the mind. Because transformation begins
- 6:07there. And so does conformity. The battlefield
- 6:10has always been the mind. Long before there is
- 6:13an outward action, there is an inward agreement.
- 6:15Long before there is a visible failure, there
- 6:18is an invisible acceptance. This is why scripture
- 6:20tells us in Proverbs, Above all else, guard your
- 6:23heart, for everything you do flows from it. Everything.
- 6:27your words, your decisions, your relationships,
- 6:30your character, your future. Everything flows
- 6:33from what has been allowed to take root within,
- 6:35which leads me to something that completely changed
- 6:37the way I understand temptation. The enemy doesn't
- 6:40begin by asking you to commit a great sin. He
- 6:43begins by asking you to tolerate a small seed,
- 6:46because every temptation begins as permission
- 6:49given to a seed. And if that is true, then temptation
- 6:53doesn't begin with behavior. It begins with desire.
- 6:56Interestingly, That is exactly what James tells
- 6:58us. He doesn't describe sin as an event. He describes
- 7:02it as a birth. Let's look at that together. There
- 7:06is something remarkable about the way James describes
- 7:08temptation. He doesn't begin with sin. He begins
- 7:11with desire. Listen carefully to what he writes.
- 7:26gives birth to death. James 1, 14 to 15. Do you
- 7:30see the progression? Desire. Conceives. Conception.
- 7:35Gives birth. Birth. Produces growth. Growth.
- 7:39Eventually produces death. James is not describing
- 7:41a single bad decision. He is describing a process.
- 7:45Almost like a farmer describing a harvest. Nothing
- 7:48happens overnight. Everything grows. Slowly.
- 7:52Silently. Patiently. That is why sin rarely surprises
- 7:55God. It only surprises us, because we usually
- 7:58notice the fruit. God has been watching the seed.
- 8:01The world sees the scandal. Heaven saw the planting.
- 8:05The world sees the collapse. Heaven saw the compromise
- 8:08that was never confronted. The world sees the
- 8:10affair. Heaven remembers the first thought that
- 8:13was welcomed. The world sees the addiction. Heaven
- 8:16remembers the first moment someone decided, just
- 8:19this once. This is why we must be careful not
- 8:21to judge only what is visible. Because visible
- 8:24failures often have invisible histories. Every
- 8:27harvest has a season. Every tree has roots. Every
- 8:31consequence has a beginning. And every sin has
- 8:35a story. That story almost always begins with
- 8:38something that appeared harmless. A thought.
- 8:41A wound that was never healed. An offense that
- 8:43was never released. A lie that was never challenged.
- 8:47A fear that was never surrendered. A desire that
- 8:50was never brought before God. a seed. This is
- 8:53why I believe one of the greatest mistakes Christians
- 8:55make is waiting until sin becomes visible before
- 8:58dealing with it. By then, the roots have already
- 9:01gone deep. Have you ever tried to pull a weed
- 9:03out of the ground? When it first appears, it
- 9:06comes out easily. But leave it there long enough,
- 9:09and suddenly its roots spread beneath the surface.
- 9:12What was once easy to remove now requires great
- 9:15effort. Sin works the same way. The longer it
- 9:18remains, the deeper it grows. The deeper it grows,
- 9:21the harder it becomes to uproot. That is why
- 9:24the Holy Spirit convicts us early, not to condemn
- 9:27us, but to protect us. His conviction is God's
- 9:30mercy. He speaks while the seed is still small,
- 9:33while repentance is still easy, while the heart
- 9:36is still tender. Because our Father would rather
- 9:38remove a seed than later have to cut down a tree.
- 9:41The enemy has the opposite strategy. He whispers,
- 9:45it's only a thought, it's only a conversation,
- 9:48it's only curiosity, it's only entertainment.
- 9:51It's only one time. It's only one compromise.
- 9:54But he never tells you that every tree begins
- 9:57exactly that way, small enough to ignore. And
- 10:01that is why I believe one of the greatest spiritual
- 10:03disciplines is not simply asking, is this a sin?
- 10:07But asking something much deeper. What is this
- 10:09planting in me? Because not everything that plants
- 10:12a seed produces the fruit you want to harvest.
- 10:15Some seeds grow into peace. Others grow into
- 10:18anxiety. Some grow into faith. Others grow into
- 10:21unbelief. Some grow into purity. Others grow
- 10:24into bondage. The question is never whether the
- 10:27seed will grow. The question is, what kind of
- 10:30harvest will it produce? And if James has taught
- 10:32us anything, it is this. Sin does not suddenly
- 10:36appear. It develops. It matures. It grows. Just
- 10:40like every other seed. Which brings us to the
- 10:42very first place where we see this strategy unfold.
- 10:45Not in the life of David. Not in the life of
- 10:48Samson. Not even in the life of Judas, but in
- 10:51a garden, the Garden of Eden. Because before
- 10:54there was ever a forbidden fruit, there was a
- 10:57question. And that question was the first seed.
- 11:01The first temptation recorded in the Bible did
- 11:04not begin with fruit. It began with a conversation.
- 11:09Think about that for a moment. Satan never walked
- 11:12into the Garden of Eden demanding rebellion.
- 11:15He never said, Eve, disobey God. No, he was far
- 11:20more subtle than that. He planted a question.
- 11:24Did God really say, not rebellion, just a question?
- 11:30Because the enemy understands something profound.
- 11:33If he can make you question God's truth, he won't
- 11:35have to force you to reject it. Everything that
- 11:38followed in Eden began with that single seed.
- 11:41A question became curiosity. Curiosity became
- 11:45imagination. Imagination became desire. Desire
- 11:49became justification. Justification became action.
- 11:53Action became death. That is exactly how James
- 11:56describes temptation. Long before Eve reached
- 11:59for the fruit, she had already entertained the
- 12:02conversation. She remained where she should have
- 12:04walked away. She continued listening when she
- 12:07should have trusted what God had already spoken.
- 12:10She gave attention to a voice that God had never
- 12:13authorized. And isn't that still the strategy
- 12:15today? The enemy rarely begins by attacking your
- 12:18behavior. He attacks your confidence in God's
- 12:21word. Did God really say marriage should be honored?
- 12:25Did God really say forgiveness is necessary?
- 12:28Did God really say purity still matters? Did
- 12:31God really say you should love your enemies?
- 12:34Did God really say you can trust Him? Notice,
- 12:38He always begins by questioning what God has
- 12:40already settled. Because if God's voice becomes
- 12:43uncertain, every other voice becomes louder.
- 12:46That is why guarding your mind is not enough.
- 12:49You must also guard, whose voice you allow to
- 12:52shape your thinking. Every voice is planting
- 12:54something. Some voices plant faith. Others plant
- 12:58fear. Some plant hope. Others plant hopelessness.
- 13:03Some plant humility. Others plant pride. Some
- 13:06draw you closer to Christ. Others slowly normalize
- 13:10distance from him. Not all seeds look dangerous.
- 13:13Some arrive disguised as entertainment. Some
- 13:16arrive disguised as wisdom. Some arrive disguised
- 13:19as harmless curiosity. Some arrive disguised
- 13:22as personal freedom. That is why spiritual maturity
- 13:26is not merely knowing the difference between
- 13:28right and wrong. It is learning to recognize
- 13:31what is trying to plant itself within you because
- 13:34every voice carries a seed and every seed is
- 13:38trying to create a harvest. I often wonder what
- 13:41would have happened if Eve had ended the conversation
- 13:44with one sentence. God has already spoken. No
- 13:47debate, no negotiation, no second opinion, just
- 13:52complete confidence in what God had already said.
- 13:55Sometimes, the greatest act of faith is refusing
- 13:59to continue a conversation that God has already
- 14:01finished. That is exactly what Jesus did in the
- 14:04wilderness. Every temptation began with words.
- 14:08If you are the Son of God, again, a question,
- 14:12again, an attempt to create doubt. But unlike
- 14:16Adam and Eve, Jesus never entertained the seed.
- 14:19He answered every temptation the same way. It
- 14:22is written. He never argued. He never negotiated.
- 14:27He never explored the possibility. He simply
- 14:29stood on what his father had already spoken.
- 14:32What a lesson for us. Victory doesn't always
- 14:35come because temptation disappears. Sometimes
- 14:38victory comes because we refuse to let another
- 14:41voice become greater than God's. And perhaps
- 14:44that is the question every one of us must answer
- 14:46today. Whose voice has been shaping the garden
- 14:49of your heart? Because the voice you trust will
- 14:52determine the harvest you produce. If Eve teaches
- 14:56us how a seed is planted, David teaches us what
- 15:00happens when that seed is entertained. Because
- 15:03no one falls in a single moment. Even David,
- 15:06a man after God's own heart, had a season when
- 15:10one look became a lifetime of consequences. If
- 15:13Eve teaches us how a seed is planted, David teaches
- 15:16us what happens when we entertain it. David was
- 15:21not an ordinary man. He was a shepherd, a warrior,
- 15:24a king. More importantly, God himself described
- 15:28David as a man after his own heart. If anyone
- 15:31should have been protected from falling, it was
- 15:33David. Yet even David was not stronger than an
- 15:37entertained seed. The Bible tells us that one
- 15:39evening, David walked onto the roof of his palace.
- 15:43From there, he saw a woman bathing. At that moment,
- 15:47David had a choice. He could have looked away.
- 15:50He could have gone back inside. He could have
- 15:52guarded his heart. Instead, he stayed. And sometimes,
- 15:57that is where the battle is lost. Not because
- 15:59we looked, but because we kept looking. The first
- 16:03look may not always be a choice. Life places
- 16:06many things before our eyes, but the second look
- 16:09usually is. David looked. Then he kept looking.
- 16:13Then he asked who she was. Then he sent for information.
- 16:17Then he sent for her. Then he slept with her.
- 16:19Then she became pregnant. Then he tried to hide
- 16:22it. When hiding failed, he lied. When lying failed,
- 16:26he arranged for Uriah to be placed on the front
- 16:28lines of battle. One decision led to another.
- 16:32One compromise produced another. One entertained
- 16:35seed grew into an entire forest of consequences.
- 16:39Adultery, deception. Manipulation, murder, a
- 16:44broken family, a wounded nation. Notice something
- 16:47remarkable. David did not wake up planning to
- 16:50commit adultery. He did not wake up planning
- 16:52to arrange the death of one of his most loyal
- 16:54soldiers. He simply entertained what should have
- 16:57been rejected and the seed kept growing. That
- 17:01is the deception of sin. It never shows you the
- 17:04harvest. It only shows you the seed. It never
- 17:06tells you where the path ends. It only invites
- 17:10you. to take one more step, one more conversation,
- 17:14one more click, one more message, one more secret,
- 17:17one more compromise. The enemy never advertises
- 17:20the destination. He only makes the first step
- 17:23seem harmless. That is why we must stop asking,
- 17:26how far can I go before it becomes sin? That
- 17:29is the wrong question. The better question is,
- 17:32what is this planting inside me? Because what
- 17:35you repeatedly entertain, you eventually become
- 17:37comfortable with. and what becomes comfortable
- 17:40eventually becomes a part of you. This is true
- 17:43not only of lust, it is true of bitterness. You
- 17:46replay an offense again and again and again until
- 17:51bitterness takes root. It is true of fear. You
- 17:54rehearse the worst possible outcome day after
- 17:57day until fear begins making your decisions.
- 18:00It is true of pride. You continually feed your
- 18:03ego until humility disappears. It is true of
- 18:06comparison. You spend your life measuring yourself
- 18:09against everyone else, until gratitude slowly
- 18:11dies. Every seed, whether planted by the flesh,
- 18:15the world, or the enemy, is asking the same question.
- 18:19May I stay? And every time we refuse to confront
- 18:22it, we silently answer, yes. That is why Proverbs
- 18:26says, above all else, guard your heart, for everything
- 18:30you do flows from it. Not some things, everything.
- 18:34Your words, your choices. your relationships,
- 18:38your ministry, your marriage, your future. Everything
- 18:41flows from the condition of your heart. David
- 18:44eventually repented. God forgave him. His fellowship
- 18:48with God was restored. But forgiveness did not
- 18:51erase every earthly consequence of the harvest
- 18:53that had already grown. There is hope after failure.
- 18:57There is grace after repentance. But how much
- 18:59better to uproot the seed before it becomes a
- 19:02tree? Let's talk about Joseph. After everything
- 19:29we've seen, One question remains. How do we stop
- 19:32the seed before it becomes a harvest? I believe
- 19:35the answer begins with one man, Joseph. Joseph
- 19:38understood something many of us forget. Not every
- 19:41battle is meant to be fought by standing still.
- 19:44Some battles are won by running. When Potiphar's
- 19:47wife tried to seduce him, Joseph didn't stay
- 19:50to prove how spiritual he was. He didn't stay
- 19:52to test his self -control. He didn't stay to
- 19:55see how close he could get without falling. He
- 19:58ran. He left his garment behind. but he protected
- 20:01something far more valuable, his heart, his integrity,
- 20:05his relationship with God. Sometimes we think
- 20:08courage means standing our ground, but sometimes
- 20:10courage means knowing when to leave, leaving
- 20:13a conversation, leaving an environment, leaving
- 20:16a relationship, leaving a habit, leaving anything
- 20:19that continues to feed the wrong seed. Joseph
- 20:22understood that temptation is strongest when
- 20:25we remain where we were never meant to stay.
- 20:27The seed cannot grow. if it never finds good
- 20:30soil. Now compare Joseph to Samson. Samson was
- 20:34also called by God. He was empowered by the Spirit.
- 20:37He carried extraordinary strength. Yet the strongest
- 20:39man in Israel could not overcome the seed he
- 20:43refused to uproot. Read Samson's story carefully.
- 20:59I can handle this." Little by little, the line
- 21:02became easier to cross. Until one day, he woke
- 21:05up thinking he was still as strong as before.
- 21:07The Bible says something heartbreaking. He did
- 21:10not know that the Lord had left him. Think about
- 21:12those words. He didn't know. Strength had become
- 21:15weakness without him realizing it. That is what
- 21:18entertained seeds do. They don't announce when
- 21:20they have taken root. They quietly change us
- 21:23until what once convicted us no longer bothers
- 21:26us. Joseph fled. Samson stayed. Joseph lost his
- 21:30coat, but kept his calling. Samson kept the relationship,
- 21:33but lost his strength. One protected the garden.
- 21:37The other entertained the seed. The difference
- 21:39was not God's love. God loved them both. The
- 21:42difference was not God's calling. Both were chosen.
- 21:45The difference was what each man chose to cultivate.
- 21:47There is a lesson here that I never want to forget.
- 21:50We often pray, Lord, deliver me from temptation.
- 21:53But sometimes God answers, I already showed you
- 21:56the exit. Sometimes the miracle isn't supernatural
- 21:58deliverance. Sometimes the miracle is the wisdom
- 22:01to walk away before the seed takes root. Because
- 22:04every environment is growing something. Every
- 22:07relationship is growing something. Every conversation
- 22:09is growing something. Every habit is growing
- 22:12something. Every voice is growing something.
- 22:14The question is no longer, can I handle this?
- 22:17The question becomes, what is this producing
- 22:19in me? If it is producing greater faith, stay.
- 22:23If it is producing greater holiness, stay. If
- 22:26it is producing greater love for Christ, stay.
- 22:29But if it is feeding bitterness, leave. If it
- 22:32is feeding lust, leave. If it is feeding pride,
- 22:36leave. If it is feeding unbelief, leave. If it
- 22:39is feeding compromise, leave. Protect the garden
- 22:42God has entrusted to you, because not every door
- 22:45God opens is meant for you to remain in forever.
- 22:48And not every door you can walk through was opened
- 22:50by God. Discernment is not merely recognizing
- 22:53good and evil. Discernment is recognizing what
- 22:56is feeding your spirit and what is feeding your
- 22:59flesh. Because what you continually feed will
- 23:02eventually become the strongest voice within
- 23:04you. But even after we remove ourselves from
- 23:06the wrong environment, the battle is not over.
- 23:09Because the greatest battlefield isn't around
- 23:12us. It's within us. The flesh still has desires.
- 23:15The spirit calls us higher. And that is why victory
- 23:18is not found merely in willpower. It is found
- 23:20in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's talk about
- 23:23that. By now, you may be asking yourself, if
- 23:27the battle is this deep, how can anyone truly
- 23:30overcome? That is an honest question. Because
- 23:32if all we have is our own determination, our
- 23:35own discipline, our own willpower, then eventually
- 23:38we will reach our limit. The truth is, the flesh
- 23:41cannot defeat the flesh. You cannot overcome
- 23:43sinful desires simply by wanting to overcome
- 23:46them. If that were enough, none of us would struggle.
- 23:49The apostle Paul understood this better than
- 23:51anyone. Listen to his honesty. For I do not do
- 23:54the good I want to do, but the evil I do not
- 23:56want to do. This I keep on doing." Can you hear
- 23:59his frustration? Paul wasn't describing an unbeliever.
- 24:02He was describing the conflict every sincere
- 24:05believer eventually experiences. The desire to
- 24:07honor God and the pull of the flesh. Two realities
- 24:11fighting within the same person. Have you ever
- 24:13promised yourself, I'll never do that again,
- 24:16only to find yourself fighting the same battle?
- 24:18Have you ever walked away from a temptation?
- 24:20only to discover it waiting for you again another
- 24:23day. That struggle doesn't mean you don't love
- 24:25God. It means there is a war taking place within
- 24:28you. The flesh is pulling one way. The spirit
- 24:31is leading another. That is why Paul tells us
- 24:33in Galatians, Walk by the spirit, and you will
- 24:36not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the
- 24:39flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit,
- 24:41and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
- 24:43Notice something important. Paul does not say,
- 24:46focus on defeating the flesh. He says, walk by
- 24:49the Spirit. Because victory in the Christian
- 24:51life is not merely about resisting the wrong
- 24:54desire. It is about cultivating a greater one.
- 24:57The Holy Spirit doesn't simply tell us, don't.
- 24:59He creates within us a deeper love for what is
- 25:02right. He changes what we hunger for. He changes
- 25:05what satisfies us. He changes what we pursue.
- 25:08He plants new seeds, seeds of love, joy, peace,
- 25:12patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
- 25:16self -control. Notice that Paul calls these the
- 25:19fruit of the Spirit. Fruit, not instant results.
- 25:22Fruit, which means even spiritual maturity, grows.
- 25:25Just as sin grows when we feed the flesh, holiness
- 25:28grows when we feed the Spirit. Every time you
- 25:30open God's word, you are planting. Every time
- 25:33you pray, you are planting. Every time you worship,
- 25:36you are planting. Every act of obedience plants
- 25:39another seed. Every time you forgive, another
- 25:41seed is planted. Every time you choose humility
- 25:44over pride, another seed is planted. Every time
- 25:47you trust God instead of fear, another seed is
- 25:49planted. Never underestimate those moments, because
- 25:52heaven doesn't measure faithfulness the way the
- 25:54world measures success. The world celebrates
- 25:57the harvest. God delights in the planting. There
- 26:00will be days when you don't feel yourself growing,
- 26:03days when prayer feels ordinary, days when reading
- 26:05scripture feels quiet, days when obedience seems
- 26:08unnoticed. Keep planting, because seeds don't
- 26:11stop growing simply because you cannot see them.
- 26:13One day, the peace you've been praying for will
- 26:16become part of who you are. The patience you've
- 26:18been asking God to give you will become visible.
- 26:21The self -control you've struggled to develop
- 26:23will begin to bear fruit, not because you became
- 26:25stronger than temptation, but because the Spirit
- 26:28became stronger. within you. That is the hope
- 26:31of the Gospel. God never asks us to fight this
- 26:33battle alone. He gives us His presence, His power,
- 26:36His Spirit. And wherever the Spirit is continually
- 26:39planting, the flesh slowly loses its ground,
- 26:42because darkness cannot remain where light is
- 26:45continually welcomed. So now, we've come full
- 26:47circle. We've talked about the seeds the enemy
- 26:50plants, the seeds we choose to entertain, and
- 26:52the seeds the Holy Spirit longs to cultivate.
- 26:55The question is no longer whether seeds are being
- 26:57planted. They are. The only question that remains
- 27:00is this. What kind of harvest are you preparing
- 27:02for tomorrow? Let's close it out. As we come
- 27:06to the end of our conversation, I don't want
- 27:09you to leave thinking about David or Eve or Samson
- 27:13or Joseph. I want you to think about you. Because
- 27:18the purpose of God's Word is never simply to
- 27:21inform us, it is to transform us. Perhaps today,
- 27:26God is not pointing at your actions. Perhaps
- 27:29he is pointing at your garden. Because long before
- 27:33the world sees the harvest, God sees the seed.
- 27:37He sees every thought, every desire, every fear,
- 27:42every offense, every compromise, every act of
- 27:45obedience, every quiet decision that no one else
- 27:49knows about. Nothing escapes his eyes, and that
- 27:52should not frighten us. It should encourage us.
- 27:55Because our father never waits for the harvest
- 27:58before he comes looking for us. He meets us while
- 28:02the seed is still in the ground. He convicts
- 28:05us before the roots grow deep. He calls us back
- 28:09before the tree becomes difficult to remove.
- 28:13That is not condemnation. That is grace. Grace
- 28:17does not merely forgive the harvest. Grace warns
- 28:20us while there is still time to deal with the
- 28:22seed. So today, What seed have you allowed to
- 28:26remain? Is it fear, bitterness, pride, lust,
- 28:32unforgiveness, comparison, discouragement, a
- 28:36secret compromise? Or perhaps it is a lie about
- 28:40yourself that you have believed for years. Maybe
- 28:43you've convinced yourself that you'll never change,
- 28:46that you'll always struggle, that you'll never
- 28:48be free. But let me remind you of something.
- 28:52The same God who created a garden also knows
- 28:55how to restore one. He is able to uproot what
- 28:58the enemy planted. He is able to heal what bitterness
- 29:02poisoned. He is able to restore what sin damaged.
- 29:06He is able to make life grow where everything
- 29:09seemed dead. That is the beauty of the gospel.
- 29:13Jesus didn't simply come to forgive sinful actions.
- 29:16He came to transform sinful hearts. He came to
- 29:20give us a new nature, a new beginning, a new
- 29:23garden. Because where sin planted death, Christ
- 29:27plants life. Where the enemy plants lies, Christ
- 29:31plants truth. Where the enemy plants despair,
- 29:34Christ plants hope. Where the enemy plants condemnation,
- 29:39Christ plants grace. Where the enemy plants death,
- 29:42Christ plants eternal life. So guard your heart.
- 29:46Protect your mind. Stay close to God's word.
- 29:50Walk daily with the Holy Spirit. Surround yourself
- 29:53with people who strengthen your faith, and never
- 29:56underestimate the power of small decisions. Because
- 30:00every prayer is a seed. Every act of obedience
- 30:04is a seed. Every time you choose forgiveness,
- 30:08it is a seed. Every time you worship instead
- 30:11of worry, it is a seed. Every time you trust
- 30:14God when circumstances tell you not to, it is
- 30:17a seed. Plant enough seeds of the Spirit, and
- 30:21one day, you'll stand in a harvest you once prayed
- 30:24for. Remember how we began. No one fears a seed,
- 30:29because it looks too small, too ordinary, too
- 30:32insignificant. But now you know better. Every
- 30:36giant oak was once a seed. Every thriving ministry
- 30:40was once a seed. Every Christ -centered marriage
- 30:44was once a seed. Every revival was once a seed.
- 30:49Every addiction was once a seed. Every affair
- 30:53was once a seed. Every betrayal was once a seed.
- 30:58Every divorce was once a seed. Every faithful
- 31:02servant who finished well protected the seeds.
- 31:05Every servant who drifted away ignored them.
- 31:08The difference was never the size of the harvest.
- 31:11The difference was the seed they chose to cultivate.
- 31:15So tonight, don't just examine your actions.
- 31:18Examine your garden. Ask yourself, what am I
- 31:22watering? Because whatever you continually water,
- 31:26you should expect to harvest. And whatever you
- 31:29starve will eventually die. Choose wisely what
- 31:33you allow to grow, because tomorrow's harvest
- 31:36is already hidden in today's seed. Thank you
- 31:40for spending this time with me. This has been
- 31:42Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life of Christ
- 31:45International Ministries, where we build stronger
- 31:48lives, deeper faith, and Christ -centered homes,
- 31:52one story, one message, and one revelation at
- 31:55a time. Until next time, may God help you recognize
- 31:59every seed that draws you closer to Him and give
- 32:02you the courage to uproot every seed that does
- 32:05not belong in the garden He has entrusted to
- 32:07your care. In Jesus' name, God bless you.