Kingdom Farming
Words of Faith 11-15-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 4
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. [2] He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: [3] "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. [4] As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. [5] Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. [6] But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. [7] Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. [8] Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
[9] Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

What kind of a farmer sows perfectly good seed in such an indiscriminate way? Throwing seed hither and yon? Some on a path with hungry birds nearby? Other seeds in rocks without much soil? Some seed where there was no place for roots? What a waste! But that is apparently the way our Lord sows.
We see this a lot, actually. Jesus preached to masses of people who eventually deserted Him. He "wasted" healings on some who would never even say "Thank you." He poured out the purest of God's Word to religious bigots who would never open their hearts to the Kingdom. We are tempted to ask, why bother?
We might respond that "God bothers" because it is always God's nature to "bother." Remember when God came to warn Cain that his anger was getting out of hand and sin was crouching at the door. Remember when God gave the Law twice to the Israelites despite their disobedience. And the times God relentlessly guided and cared for His people throughout history despite their foolishness. That is just the nature of God.
By any worldly standard or earthly perspective, God is a stupid farmer. But that is the worldly and earthly perspective. In Isaiah 55:8-9, God declares, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
The sooner we get that verse, the sooner we will begin understanding the reality of things.
So God keeps throwing seeds at rocky places. He continues to scatter the Word in plain sight of enemy birds. Why? Perhaps it is because it is not in the nature of God to give up on anyone. It is not like God to ever stop hoping. It is not like God to ever stop loving and longing for the healing of His creatures. Yes. By worldly standards, that is stupid farming.
Or perhaps it is just Kingdom farming.
We might also need to pause and admit that our earthly perspective is limited. Perhaps we don't see all of what the seed accomplishes. In Isaiah 55:11, God declares, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
We may not see the purpose. We may not understand it. We may ask, why does God keep scattering the seed this way? But certainly, He sees that which we do not see. Certainly, He sees the good soil in which the seed will fall. We never know exactly where the good soil will be but He does. And sometimes good soil shows up in the strangest places.
How do we sow the Word of God? Indiscriminately. Prodigiously. Foolishly. Generously. Trusting that God will do exactly what He intends with the Word that is sent forth. Never write off any pathway.

Lord God, my thoughts are not Your thoughts, neither are Your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways and Your thoughts than my thoughts. Thank You for what appears to be wasteful scattering of the seed of Your Gospel. Thank You for guiding the seed of Your gospel into the soil of my life. Thank You for Your patience and Your grace. Show me how to scatter the seed of Your Word far and wide. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.