God sows sons

I must have read it before, but I was taken aback when I heard Julian Adams preach from Matthew 13: 36-38. The good seed is the sons of the kingdom. We don't just speak seed in the form of the gospel, but we are God's planting. 

The prophet Isaiah saw the same thing, Isaiah 61:3, those that mourn in Zion were to be given a beautiful headdress, the oil of gladness, a garment of praise, the result being that they would be called ... the planting of the Lord. 

The Apostle Paul understood that bringing the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God was intended to provoke the Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah, to jealousy; Romans 11:11.

There is to be something about us that flows out of being the beloved Sons and Daughters of God that will speak to people. 

There is a wonderful picture of how being a beloved child changes things in the clip below.

Questions it may be helpful to ask in community groups.



Many Christians find it hard to believe that God delights in them, why do you think this is?

In the Message version, Matthew 3:16-17 is translated like this: The moment Jesus cam out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit - it liked like a dove - descending on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice:"This is my son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life." Can we say this is how God feels like this about us?
It might be worth looking at Romans 8:29, 1 Corinthians 15:49, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10.
The Mirror translation translates Romans 8:21 like this: All creation knows that the glorious liberty of the sons of God sets the stage for their own release from decay.
How is God going to use you where you live and work? This would be a good thing to pray about.

The ideas in these blog were worked out in a little more detail in a sermon I preached at Bexleyheath Community Church on 13th January 2013, it can be downloaded here