Notes of Faith May 9, 2025
The Results Are God’s
I [Paul] planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:6
The late William R. Bright, cofounder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru), offered a biblical definition of witnessing: Witnessing is sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. Many Christians worry about being rejected when they share God’s Word. But when we leave the results to God, it takes the focus off of our performance and results.
The apostle Paul shared this perspective when he wrote to the Corinthian church. He said that he planted the seed of the Gospel, Apollos nurtured the seed, but it was God who brought forth the fruit of salvation. When Jesus told His parable of the sower, seed, and soils, He illustrated how seeds do not always fall on fertile ground. Likewise, when we share the seed of God’s truth, we are not responsible for the condition of the heart in those who hear the Word. In Jesus’s parable, only one in four soils was prepared to receive the Word and bring forth fruit (Matthew 13:3-23).
Don’t let fear of rejection keep you from sharing God’s truth with others, whether it’s the Gospel of salvation or just a word of encouragement, today. Leave the results to God.
Faithful witness is truth telling, not head counting.
Don Posterski
Matt 13:18-33
18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Tares among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 29 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
The Mustard Seed
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."
33 He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."
As a pastor, I have always worried about those in the congregation believing that they are responsible for getting people saved, and if it appears that their sharing of the gospel is not effective, that they are not bearing fruit. They forget that there is great fruit bearing in their own life, that God is working through His Spirit, transforming their heart and mind, to be able to share the gospel with power. That is our call to evangelism, to share truth, and let God bring to Himself those He has chosen from before the foundation of the world. We are to be faithful witnesses of Christ, for Christ and His glory. We do not earn some fruitful reward for how many people come to faith…since that is God’s responsibility. Just step out and share Jesus, who He is, that He died and rose from the grave, that we might have forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him. That is our responsibility. Go! Be the church!
Pastor Dale