As believers in Christ, we are called to share our faith with others. We are called to witness, to sow the seeds and to spread the good news. Today’s Sermon, “Sleeper Seeds” was preached by Ps Jon Brand on 20th February 2023.
Sermon Transcript
Well this morning I’m going to start off talking about a guy by the name of Professor William Beale. We should have a photo of Professor Beale on the screen right now. William Bill was a professor of Botany at the Michigan State University USA between 1871 and 1910.
He’s famous for developing a couple of things. He helped develop a good yielding corn variety for farmers in the U.S. He’s also famous for setting up a long-term seed germination trial from seed stored in bottles in 1879. The professor filled 20 glass bottles with a mixture of sand and seeds. Each bottle contained 50 seeds from each of 21 different plant species which were all different types of weeds. There was a total of 1050 seeds in each bottle. Bill then buried the 20 bottles in the grounds at Michigan State University USA. He didn’t put Lids on the bottles and he buried the bottles upside down but at a slight angle to avoid water collecting in them.
He also mapped the location of each buried bottle so that people could find the bottles in the future. The aim of the trial was to determine how long the seeds could stay viable in the soil and still able to germinate. Bill wanted to help farmers know how long- how many years different weed species would keep coming up in their fields after the ground had been cultivated. To carry out this long-term trial the original plan was to dig up one bottle every five years and then plant all the seeds and then see how many germinated.
Can we please show the next photo? In this photo is Marjorie Weber who is an assistant professor in plant biology holding up one of the original bottles that was planted in 1871. They dug it up in 2021 – 142 years later and that that bottle there that was just filled with sand and seeds. Seeds placed in the bottles were very small tiny and they’re just common weed species including black mustard and clover. You know many trials have been done to check seed viability over time but it’s normally done from seeds stored in the laboratory in a sterile environment. But this trial is a bit different because it’s checking how long seeds can stay viable in the soil close to natural conditions. Initially a bottle was dug up every five years and then it changed every 10 years, and then it got extended to every 20 years.
Each time they dug up a bottle the seeds were taken out placed on a fresh moist moist soil and given warmth and light to help them germinate. Since the trial began in 1971 the different weed species have gradually stopped germinating over the years, over the decades except one one species. In 2021 after laying dormant in the soil for 142 years the scientists were still able to germinate 20 seeds from a weed species called the Bascom blateria or commonly called moth Mulan a yellow flowered herb.
Can you show the next slide thanks. Those seedlings, they still they look quite fresh don’t they? They’re and you just you’ve got to put it into perspective- they’ve come from 142 year old seeds and a germinator but they just they look like young babies don’t they you know? And the seeds were so tiny the seeds um those seedlings came from they’re only one millimeter in length it’s amazing how long seeds can stay dormant in the soil. Even tiny seeds and then germinate when the conditions are right. You could call those dormant seeds “sleeper seeds” which are just biding their time. Just lying dormant in the ground for a season, a few years or much much longer until they get the right conditions. The right cues to germinate.
As Believers in Christ we are called to share our faith with others. We are called to witness. To sow the seeds, to sow the seeds to spread the good news as God works through us. And as we share our faith with others we never know if the word we share will germinate in someone’s heart or when it will happen. I just want to encourage you this morning to spread the good news. To sow the seeds because even though those seeds may lay dormant in someone’s heart for a long time, one day those seeds might just germinate in someone’s heart. They might just go on to produce a good crop amen amen?
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father you are good. You are so good you are awesome. You are an awesome God and we give you all the praise and the glory. Your name is above all names. Lord I pray that we are active. I pray that we are active in spreading the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. I pray that we are active in sowing your word and Lord I just pray that you speak through me this morning to deliver your message. In Jesus mighty name we pray amen.
Okay I’m going to start by reading from Matthew chapter 13, verse 3 when Jesus taught about the parable of the sower and the seed. In Matthew Chapter 13 Verse 3, the word says; then Jesus told them many things in parables saying a farmer went out to sow his seed as he was scattering the seed some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on Rocky places where it did not have much soil it sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came out the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root. Another seed fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still other other seed fell on good soil where It produced a crop a hundred 60 or 30 times what was sown.
Jesus often spoke in parables. Parables are short stories about everyday life but they’re designed to communicate a spiritual truth or a moral lesson. With regards to the soil and the seed, the soil represents God or those who preach God’s message. The seed represents the word of God. The soil represents the people who hear the message. The four different soil types Jesus describes are four different ways people can receive the word of God in their lives.
The first example when the seed falls on the path represents people who refuse to receive the message. When they hear the gospel they do not understand it not because they can’t understand it, but because they choose not to after rejecting the word. The birds represent Satan taking the word away. You could say the Pharisees or the religious leaders in Israel a couple of thousand years ago were often hard path hearers. They understood what Jesus was talking about but they chose not to believe in him.
The second example when seed falls on Stony or shallow grounds represents someone initially receives the gospel. They might even receive it with joy but they don’t develop a good root system. It’s like a plant growing on shallow soil over rock which results in the plant having shallow roots or no roots at all. As soon as the scorching Sun comes out or trials and tribulations come along they wither and give up because their faith is shallow.
The third example when the seed falls in thorn infested ground and represents someone initially receives the word and starts to take root in their life. Over time the distractions of the world like money and worries start to dominate their life which chokes out their faith and they give up.
In the last example when seed falls on good soil, good soil represents someone who receives the word and understands it. Through obeying what they hear they have a soft teachable heart. They receive God’s Gift of Salvation and then allow the word of God to take root in their lives. They place their confidence in God. The confidence in God continues for both the good and the bad times. Their confidence is strong and shakeable because no matter what is happening in the world they know that God is good he’s the same yesterday today and forever. He’s always been good and he always will be good.
Good soil is soft and allows the roots God’s word to grow deep into it and on the good soil Jesus said that a crop would be produced a hundred times sixty times or 30 times what was sown amen? And spreading the good news or sowing the seeds people can react in different ways like described in the sower and the seed.
We don’t have control over how people react when we spread the gospel. When we tell them the good news. Choosing to follow God is a personal decision. We cannot make someone become a Believer and follower of God, however we are called to let people know the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. We are called to sow the seeds to all people which represents scattering seeds on a range of soil types.
I used to be very resistant to God you know? I was a big skeptic, this is going back 20 plus years ago and I thought people who believed and followed God were pretty gullible. In terms of soil types you could have called me a bit hard, a bit barren, pretty dry sort of soil top. But people can change. soil conditions can change. Soil types can change.
Now I’ve given my testimony before but but I’ll give you a bit of a brief summary. As a kid I went to church but I didn’t really see its relevance in my life so I stopped going to church in my early teens. Over the years on occasions different people talked to me about God but I used to think that they were a bit loopy and I wasn’t interested. It wasn’t until I was about 34.
It’s about 20 years ago that I went back to church. I only agreed to go back to church because Vicki and I were looking to enroll our son James into a Christian School. The main reason Vicki and I went to church was because we wanted to make a good impression. We wanted to keep our son James at school but as I said at the time I was a big skeptic of churches. Especially Pentecostal churches. So before we went I told Vicki to be careful because they were going to try and brainwash us to make us join them.
I thought I knew a fair bit about it. I said to Vicki, these churches put on a big performance. I said they put on a big production. I said be careful because they use tricks, they use tricks like special lighting, emotive music, trained speakers to affect your senses so they can get into your brain. Now I thought I knew all about it, so I said don’t don’t get taken in by these tactics. But when we went to church of course Vicki got moved by the experience. Straight away and she gave her life to God. That very day! God bless bless you Vicki.
But when she did I couldn’t believe it. I could not believe it after everything that I’d said. You know I was actually pretty upset disappointed, and I said to Vicki we’re not going back again. That’s it we’re not going back to church again. So we did- we stopped going to church.
About six months later while I was working in the field; I work in forestry so I was working in the field, or out in the bush. In my mind I just kept hearing “Jon you’ve got to go to church”, “John you’ve got to go to church” and I thought no I don’t. I thought I was going crazy – starting to go soft in the head. I’m starting to lose it I kept saying to myself. No I don’t need to go to church but this went on.
After a few days I suddenly had a revelation that God was speaking to me. To my amazement I suddenly realized that God was calling me to go to church. I remember stopping in my tracks and looking up and saying yes. Yes God I will go to church. When I did that I felt a huge weight come off my shoulders suddenly. I felt free probably for the first time in my whole life.
When we responded to God’s calling for me to go back to church and follow him I felt so much relief. I felt like I had a plan or really God had a plan for me. That Sunday we went back to church and gave our lives to God, or Vicki for the second time. Becoming a Christian has changed my life completely. Through God I have hope, a sense of purpose and direction through God’s word- the Bible of answers to the origin and meaning of life. I have answers to why we are here you know I used to be a big skeptic of God and the church now I’m a big believer in God, a big follower of God and the church praise God
About 20 years ago when I was in the process of receiving God into my life it was interesting how different things people had said to me over the years sprang to mind. I remember in the 1980s up in Geraldton a guy saying to me, Jon do you know where you’re heading? have you made a decision for God? At the time I can honestly say I thought he was a bit of a fruit loop. I thought he was crazy but interestingly those words that guy said to me in the 1980s suddenly spraying to mine when I was making a decision for God. Jon do you know where you’re heading? John have you made a decision for God? I thought he’s right he is absolutely right.
I also remember thinking about a minister in Geraldton. He was very devout and passionate about God. It just oozed oozed out of him. His strong belief in what he said about God also sprang to mind. I also thought about our experience going back to church and seeing Vicki getting saved also sprang to mind.
20 years ago when I was in the process of making a decision for God it was interesting how a number of different things people had said to me over the years sprang to mind. I believe that what they’d said to me all those years ago helped me to accept God in my life. Those experiences, those things people had said to me over the years were like sleeper seeds just waiting, just biding their time for the right conditions.
Salvation is only possible through Jesus Christ. There is no other way, but as believers we can sow seeds of faith into people’s lives to help lead them to God. Sometimes those seeds can lay down for a long time like sleeper seeds, but given the right conditions they can spring to mind and can help people to receive God in their life.
Going back to Professor Bill’s long-term seed germination trial, he knew that when he set that trial up 140 years ago he wasn’t going to see the final results. But he set up that trial to help farmers know how long seeds can stay dormant in the soil. He set up that trial to provide information for future Generations. It’s the same for us when you sow seeds. When you witness, when you tell people about Jesus Christ people may receive the message straight away which is wonderful. Or the seeds may stay dormant in the soil for a long long time.
The seeds of Faith you sow may stay dormant for years, decades just waiting for the right conditions to germinate in someone’s heart. When you witness you might not see those seeds germinate in your lifetime but don’t let that stop you from planting seeds. When you witness people might also think you’re a bit crazy like I did. But don’t let that stop you from planting seeds because it makes a difference. It made a difference in my life.
There’s power in the Word of God. We are called to witness in Isaiah 43 verse 10. The word says, “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior
In in 1 Peter 2:9 the word says: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
in the book of Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Witnessing through our words and actions is an important part of our calling. I encourage you to witness to your family, friends and work colleagues. One of the ways we support spreading the gospel both here in Australia and around the world is through missions. When we talk to our missionaries they often talk about scattering seeds. They spread the gospel in some pretty challenging areas. it’s a pretty tough.
One of the groups we support are the Geberts: Pastor Eugene and Fiona and the kids Jessica and Alyssa. We should have a photo, it’s up on the screen. They’ve got some exciting news too. They’ve just adopted a young four-year-old girl into their family- praise God so their family’s bigger. Lord we just pray blessings over the Geberts and I thank you for what they’re doing in Japan. Scattering seeds and and helping people, and now pray blessing over their whole family their larger family and that their new daughter fits in beautifully and they’re just all in unity and in love Jesus name amen.
Anyway the Geberts do some great work in Japan including running a church, providing English Outreach programs, providing food for the homeless, connecting with the community and sponsoring a local footy team. In Japan spreading the gospel is very challenging due to cultural and historical reasons but the Geberts often say that they are so blessed. They’ll say we are so blessed to be able to scatter seeds in Japan.
It’s a blessing. it’s a blessing congregation, people watching online to scatter seeds for God and this morning I encourage you to sow seeds. To witness for God. You know when it comes to witnessing we all do it in different ways. Some people are a bit more forward than others, some people witness through their actions. But either way it’s important to witness. The Bible clearly calls us to witness. Let people know about God. Tell people how good it is, how blessed you are. Tell people about your salvation testimony or your healing testimony.
There is power in telling people about the gospel. When you share the gospel with someone else, you don’t have control over the results but you don’t need to worry about the results. Your duty is to sow the seeds. The results are not in your hands. The results depend on whether someone accepts the seeds. Whether they accept God into their life.
It’s a personal decision. Never think for a minute that your witnessing to people is in vain. God values your witnessing. You know you might not always see the outward signs but behind the scenes God speaks to people. He brings them to himself out of you. Beneath the soil God speaks to people’s hearts to bring them to a place of conviction. Through confessing your sins, believing in Jesus, accepting Jesus into your life an amazing thing happens. Jesus germinates new life in your heart. Only Jesus can germinate the seed no one else. Only Jesus can bring new life, restoration, salvation.
Never give up telling people about the good news. No matter how long it takes. No matter what people think of you. Never give up sowing seeds, you never know those seeds that you’ve sown into someone’s life many many years ago may just spring to life one day.
Like Professor Bills seed germination trial which showed that sleeper seeds can stay viable in the soil for a long long time. Seeds can stay dormant just waiting for the right conditions to germinate. It’s an absolute privilege, it’s an absolute privilege and a blessing to be able to scatter seeds for Jesus and I encourage you to spread the good news. Sow the seeds for Jesus amen?
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father we give you all the praise and glory Lord you are so good Lord. We just thank you for this time this morning we praise your name. We praise you for your goodness and your greatness we thank you for your grace and mercy. We thank you for the gift of salvation which is only possible through you Lord. I pray that we don’t take that gift lightly but instead acknowledge you Lord for what you have done for us.
Also pray that we spread the good news of salvation to other people. I pray that we scatter seeds and let people know the hope the hope we have through Jesus Christ. I pray that we scatter seeds in all places on all soil, no matter how long it takes and also no matter what people think of us.
If you’re here today and you want to make a commitment to witness more for God I just encourage you to put your hand up and I’ll pray for you here right now. If you want to make a commitment to witness more I encourage you to put your hand up and I will pray for you. People at home also watching online please I encourage you also to put your hand up if you want to witness more for God. If you want to be more effective for God I’ve got my hand up as well.
Lord I just thank you thank you for the people with their hands up here today both in church and watching online. Lord I pray that you fill them anew. Fill them Anew with your Holy Spirit. Give them power to help them spread the good news of Salvation. I pray for confidence and boldness to speak the good news to a wide range of people. I pray that they’re led by your calling to situations where they can speak into people’s lives. I pray for success and favor in reaching people and they get to see many people saved. Also pray for determination. Determination to keep sowing seeds even when we don’t see results. I pray that we focus on you Lord. I pray that we focus on you and do what you’ve you’ve called us to do because although we might not always see the results of our witnessing we know that behind the scenes you speak to people’s hearts. You bring them to yourself. Salvation is only possible through you Lord.
It’s an absolute privilege and a blessing to be witness for you and Lord. I pray your power, your strength, your love and wisdom over everyone here today. Lord I pray you help us to spread your good news to as many people as we can for as long as we can. Lord we give you all the glory. We give you all the honor in Jesus mighty name we pray amen amen.