Don't Underestimate the Power of the Seeds You Sow by Lee Grady
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&view=post&articleid=Dont-Underestimate-the-Power-of-the-Seeds-You-Sow-by-Lee-Grady&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Lee%20Grady&fldTopic=0
By Lee Grady
When I was seven years old, my father took me to a Billy Graham crusade held in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl, the site of the prestigious Blue-Gray football classic. It was 1965. I don't remember much of what Billy Graham said. What I remember vividly is that my grandfather, who was visiting us at the time, got up and went to the stage when Graham invited people to make a decision to follow Jesus. My grandfather died two years later.
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When I was seven years old, my father took me to a Billy Graham crusade held in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl, the site of the prestigious Blue-Gray football classic. It was 1965. I don’t remember much of what Billy Graham said. What I remember vividly is that my grandfather, who was visiting us at the time, got up and went to the stage when Graham invited people to make a decision to follow Jesus.
My grandfather died two years later. But the decision he made in that stadium changed his eternal destiny—all because Billy Graham came to Alabama and planted a powerful seed.
Graham died in 2018, but it is estimated that he preached to 215 million people in live events. At least 2.2 million made decisions to follow Christ as a result of Graham’s meetings. It is fascinating to look at history and discover how this powerful evangelist made his own decision to follow Jesus. The short synopsis of the story goes like this:
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In 1858, a humble Sunday school teacher in Boston named Edward Kimball shared the gospel with a young shoe store clerk. That young man’s name was Dwight L. Moody, and he became one of the greatest evangelists of all time.
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Chapman then mentored a young man named Billy Sunday, who became one of the most prominent evangelists of the 1920s after a successful baseball career. Some people in Charlotte, North Carolina, were so inspired by Billy Sunday’s evangelistic meetings that they organized a campaign in their city and invited a Kentucky-born revivalist named Mordecai Ham to preach.
The chain reaction from Edward Kimball to Dwight L. Moody to F.B. Meyer to J. Wilbur Chapman to Billy Sunday to Mordecai Ham to Billy Graham is just one example of the way the message of salvation spreads. I hope you understand that you are a part of this story. Who sowed the seed in your heart? And more importantly, who is being affected now by the seeds you sow?
You are Full of Seeds
Jesus constantly talked about seeds. He compared preaching the gospel to seed-sowing, and He warned us that the precious seed must be planted in “good soil” (Mark 4:20). He also said the kingdom of God “is like a man who casts seed upon the soil” (4:26), and He compared the gospel to a mustard seed because it seems insignificant at first but “grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants” (4:32).
We often think of evangelism when we think of sowing seed, but everything we do for the Lord is sowing. Whether I teach a class, preach a sermon, witness to an unbeliever, mentor a disciple, minister to kids, write a book, compose a song, or send an encouraging text to someone who is sad, I’m sowing a seed. When we do this through the power of the Holy Spirit, that seed has power.
You are full of seeds! And God designed you to not only sow those seeds and water them, but to bear much fruit. Whether you just started planting seeds in others, or you have been sowing for years, God’s promise stands: “…in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).
Many Christians today are weary of sowing. They look at negative trends in our culture, or at the disappointments of their own lives, and they throw up their hands. Even a large number of pastors and ministry leaders are giving up because of financial, cultural and spiritual pressures. And the devil rejoices when he convinces Christians to stop sowing the eternal seed.
Please keep investing. Never quit sowing. Your feeble efforts today may produce a Dwight L. Moody, a Billy Sunday or a Billy Graham in years to come.
Harvests don’t appear overnight. Farmers must patiently endure the rigor of plowing; they experience painful setbacks and dry seasons. We sow in tears, but joyful shouts come when we reap! Don’t be discouraged by the barren fields. In due time you will be amazed by the size of the fruit that comes from the seeds you sowed.
Lee Grady
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=Before-You-Ask-God-for-a-Word-Be-Willing-to-Say-Yes-by-Lee-Grady-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Lee%20Grady&fldTopic=0
God loves to speak to us. Psalm 85:8 (NASB) says: "I will hear what God the Lord will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones." At the right time, the Lord offers a fresh word for us that can bring strength, guidance, confirmation, or correction. There have been countless times when I was famished for a word from God, and when He spoke it came like a drink of cold water in the desert.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=8-Signs-of-a-Legalistic-Spirit-by-Lee-Grady-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Lee%20Grady&fldTopic=0
Do you truly enjoy the grace of God? Many Christians know the Bible, attend church, and even do ministry work while they struggle to understand the core of the gospel. They can quote Scriptures about what Christ did for them, but they still feel they must work to earn His love—and often they end up feeling unworthy and separated from God. Even though Jesus died on the cross so we wouldn't have to be judged according to the law, many Christians are still living in the Old Testament. They have never embraced the reality of New Testament faith. They are slaves to performance-based religion.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=How-to-Encourage-a-Move-of-the-Holy-Spirit-in-a-Dry-Church-by-Lee-Grady-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=Lee%20Grady&fldTopic=0
This past weekend I spoke at a men's conference in Rwentobo, Uganda. Most of the men were Anglicans, including an archbishop from Rwanda and a bishop from Kenya. But these were not your grandmother's Anglicans. These men danced in the aisles, shouted their praises, and spoke in tongues. Even the bishops with clerical collars talked about healing the sick and casting out demons. In Africa, Christians aren't embarrassed to talk about the Holy Spirit. If your church allows this kind of freedom, you are blessed—because many American pastors today are afraid to allow the Spirit to move. We've put Him in a box.