As always, the Lord has a word for us in due season.  Today, we will call that word, “The Seed Planted”.  We can look at this from more than one angle.  First I’d like to go to Genesis 15, where the Lord spoke with Abram; Gen 15:1-6,  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

    Notice that one promise, “So shall thy seed be”.  Abram heard the promise, but could he see the results of it?  In the spirit, yes.  In the physical realm, no, not yet.  We also notice God was referring to “Seed”, not “Seeds”.  Of course we know by the scriptures, that God the Father was looking way ahead in time to tell Abram that the Lord Jesus was the Seed, and through Him would all the promises be made manifest unto every believer.  Paul summed it up like this in Galatians 3:13-18;  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

     I don’t know about you, but to me, 430 years is a long time to wait for the harvest of a seed.  Though it looked like the promise wasn’t coming true, it was just biding it’s time in the ground, growing, so to speak.  Fast forward now to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.  Jesus had told His disciples that He would be killed, and on the third day rise again.  Now the day is here, and He is offered up on the cross for our sins, just like it had been prophesied.  Thousands of years had passed since the purpose of God had gone forth, as mentioned in Revelation 13:8; And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

    Now, wherefore I spoke of the seed remaining “dormant” 430 years, now, we’re going back all the way to the foundation of the world, before there was ever a man, before there was ever sin in the world, yet God made provision, and planted the seed for our redemption, even then.  God is most patient for the harvest.  And we are in need of patience, too.  Remember, God is looking at an eternal picture, and our lives on this earth represent a very short sliver of time, like the flashing of a flashbulb when you take that picture.

     Sometimes we think it’s like “Jack and the beanstalk” with God, that is, we plant the seed today and jump back, lest the plant sprouting up knock us over.  But God and His Word isn’t a fairy tale, and it says there is seed, time, and harvest.  We are sometimes erroneously taught “seedtime and harvest”.  But just as any farmer knows, you don’t just plant your seed this morning, and gather your harvest before breakfast.

    Consider with me the “time” factor.  A farmer cannot expect a harvest where no seed has been sown.  But if the farmer knows the seed is in the ground, then he knows that in due time it will be the harvest, unless outside circumstances destroy it beforetime.  The seed has been sown and covered up in the ground.  To the untrained eye, the very day after planting, you can drive by the field and it looks like it’s just a field of dirt and nothing more.  But the farmer knows the seed is planted.  You can drive by a week later, and it still doesn’t look like anything’s happening, but …….the farmer knows, the seed is planted.  Maybe more time will go by with no action taking place in view, but….the farmer knows, the seed is planted.  He’s not worried.  Why not?  Well, because the seed knows what to do when it’s planted, and the ground knows how to make the seed sprout.  They work together to bring forth a harvest.  Mark 4:26-29 tells us; And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

    Your job is not to know how it all works, but just to know and trust that it does.  I’d like to say that every prayer I’ve prayed has brought forth an answer immediately, but it hasn’t.  And everything that the Lord prophesied by the prophets has not come to fruit YET…but it’s coming!

    Going back again now to the crucifixion.  Jesus has died and he was put in the tomb before sunset.  The “SEED” has now officially been “planted”.  Day one goes by. Day two goes by, still nothing, and the disciples are now getting discouraged, for all their hopes had been upon Jesus, for they had hoped He would restore the kingdom of Israel to glory.  But now he’s dead, just like any other man, and their hopes are dashed.  But yet…the seed is planted….. Early on the morning of the third day, Mary goes to the tomb and finds it not only open, but empty!  The Seed is gone, where have they taken Him?

Now get this!  Luke 24:1-2 says, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher.”

Mary and the others were not there to meet a risen Savior, but rather, their unbelief had them coming to anoint a dead body that they expected to stay dead!  Do you see that?  There was not a speck of faith that Jesus would rise again.  She had not a clue yet He had risen, just like He said.  Then Jesus revealed Himself to her, and said, “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended unto My Father…”Then it’s written in Mark 16:13-18;  And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.  And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.  After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.  Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.  

    Isn’t that a lot like us?  If we don’t see the immediate results, we tend to lose faith in the promise.  Don’t you know, that if the devil can get you to doubt the integrity of God’s word, even once, he can then move on to every arena of your life one by one and totally destroy you?  Let me tell you, God knows what you’re going through right now.  But will He upbraid YOU for unbelief and hardness of heart like He did them?

    You see, the Seed had been planted, and like Jesus said in Mark 4:28, ” For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”  Now it was no longer “seed” or “time”, but “HARVEST”!    All those thousands of years the heavenly Father had waited for this moment, when His precious Son would spring forth as the risen Savior and set the stage for the harvest of all harvests.

    And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.

    Yes, I know this sounds like a Resurrection Day sermon, but it’s not.  It’s a “Seed, time, and harvest” sermon.  And it’s to fortify your faith, to jack you up and encourage you that even if you’ve “planted the seed” and you still haven’t seen the harvest yet, don’t give up!

    Listen, earlier I said the farmer would expect a harvest unless outside circumstances destroy the crop beforetime.  The farmer can only do so much.  He can plow, remove the rocks from the field, fertilize, plant good seed, and wait.  But he can’t force the harvest, even by one day.  And if it floods, or there’s a drought, or hail or tornado, the crop will be destroyed.  So his hope has to be in the harvest. 

    Suppose he says, “Well, I did my part and prepared the field and planted good seed, but you know, I never get a harvest, because it always dies on the vine, or the bugs get it, or there’s a drought. Happens every time.  And this year doesn’t look any better. I’ll surely go broke if I don’t get another job.”  Do you think the Lord of the harvest can give him a harvest with that kind of stuff coming out of his mouth?  Not likely. Like it says in Mark 11:23, he’s only getting what he says with his mouth and believes in his heart and doubts not.  

    Abram had faith for the long haul, that God was well able to perform that which He had promised.  Jesus had faith for the long haul that His Father would raise Him from the dead.  He was the SEED, and He knew what to do, but He still had to trust His Father when everything looked hopeless.  Even as He was saying, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?, He still knew in His heart that if He, the SEED, was not to rot in the ground, He would have to trust the integrity of His Father to bring Him forth out of the tomb.  And He did come forth, didn’t He?

    So…..you and I haven’t hung on the cross, bearing the sins of the world, so we have no clue to the enormous pressure Jesus faced.  Yet, in spite of all that, God was still good for His word.  He was good for it then, and He’s good for it now.  Remember the seed planted….it’s seed, time, and HARVEST!  Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 

    When I see the phrase “well doing”, sometimes I think of digging a hole for a well.  So many of us keep digging the hole deeper and deeper, saying, “Oh Lord, how deep is the hole.  I just don’t see how I’ll ever get out of it.”  Well, quit being like that.  See yourself out.  Speak yourself out.  Stand on the Word which cannot be moved.

     Jesus didn’t faint, and don’t you faint, either.  The seed is planted.  Let it do it’s job.