This morning, we continue our message series entitled, “Plant” where we are challenging ourselves to be more intentional about the Biblical life principle that we reap what we sow; we harvest what we plant. 

We want to plant the things of God both into our lives and into those around us.  We want to allow Him to develop and grow good roots within us which produce good fruits.

Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived:

God cannot be mocked.

A man reaps what he sows.

Here is quite possibly the most challenging part about planting…

For me to reap and harvest anything from this seed, I first have to let go of it and bury it.  I have to do what seems illogical and unreasonable.  I need to shove it down in the dirt and walk away from it.

Essentially, I need to trust God with it by letting it completely go out of my hands and out of my control.

That’ll preach, right???

Paul explained this spiritual and life reality drawn from this reality found in nature here.  The spiritual often mirrors the physical and vice-versa.  After all, whether a plant seed, our natural lives, or our spiritual lives, God is the Creator of them all!

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field

God is the only one who can make things grow. 

However, for Him to grow this seed, I have to place it completely and totally in His hands.  If I go back day after day digging it back up to see God is doing anything, it will not grow.  I need to bury it and then patiently trust that God will make it grow and to reach its full potential.

Growth requires faith and trust and patience and sacrifice.

It is a process and often an uncomfortable one.

If I hold onto this seed and safely store it away, it will never become anything more.  It will never, ever reach its full potential. 

I can hope and dream and pray and declare and proclaim and prophesy and do anything else that I can think of over this seed.  However, it will always remain only a seed until I let go of it and bury it.

We must let go of it and trust it into God’s hands.

We may be able to justify holding onto it and even label it as good stewardship.  However, God did not entrust us with this seed just to end up at the end of our life with the same seed in hand. 

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the talents and how it ends for the person who simply returns what was entrusted to them instead of growing and multiplying it.  Jesus said:

Matthew 25:26-30

26 … ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

God entrusted us with this seed so that we might cooperate with Him to break it free from its shell and to grow it and mature it so that it becomes fruitful and multiplies into many, many more seeds all able to do the same.

For this to happen with this seed, I have to let go of it and bury it.

Now to clarify, the wicked and lazy servant was the one who did this with their bag of gold.  They dug a hole and buried it. 

For tho