THIS IS MY FIELD!

Date: Jul 19, 2007 Previous | Next

THE SAGA OF “FARMER JESUS” #4

THIS IS MY FIELD!

A politician named Abraham Lincoln spent some hard years touring America, planting the seeds of a new idea: the abolition of slavery in a nation whose imperiled union needed protection. Imagine the effort, the drive, it took to persuade a reluctant country to join him.

Hello, everybody; I’m Connie Jeffery and we are really pleased to have each of you joining us for our Thursday time of Bible study here on the Voice of Prophecy. We’ve had a happy and hectic time manning the phones, with many of you calling already for a complimentary copy of Lonnie’s book, PARABLES FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM. However, we’re determined not to run out, so be sure to let us hear from you. Here’s our toll-free request line: 1-800-872-0055. That’s 1-800-872-0055. I’ll be sure to repeat that at the close, but first, here’s Lonnie with today's message: THIS IS MY FIELD!

You’ve probably never heard of Leonard Swett, but if America grudgingly admires political operatives like Karl Rove, James Carville, and Rahm Emanuel, this tireless campaign worker from 150 years ago took a back seat to no one. He and like-minded friends arrived at Chicago in May of 1860, determined to do one thing and one thing only: sow seeds of influence for their chosen presidential candidate: a relative unknown named Abraham Lincoln.

  The new Republican Party that year had four ambitious men driving toward the White House. The clear front runner was William H. Seward, with a resumé as long as the Mississippi River. But there was also Salmon Chase, who was supposed to have Ohio’s 46 votes in his pocket. And Edward Bates, who had helped to frame the historic Missouri Constitution. Frankly, the rail-splitter from Illinois was the least known of the four, and had a reputation as an uncouth jokester, a man with more stories and anecdotes than gravitas.

  But Lincoln had two advantages. First, he was Illinois’ favorite son, and the convention was in Chicago. Second, he had this amazing, tireless, indefatigable team of supporters who loved and promoted him.

     “‘No man ever worked as our boys did,’ [Leonard] Swett later claimed.‘I did not, the whole week I was there [at the convention], sleep two hours a night.’”

  That’s the quote as told in the epic story, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. And she describes how, in the years leading up to the crucial 1860 vote which took America into the Civil War, Abe Lincoln just spent months and years tirelessly working to achieve his goal. He wanted to lead America because he wanted to save her. He wanted to preserve the Union, and hopefully destroy the scourge of slavery.

  So while other candidates took six months off and toured Europe, or enjoyed vacations and “down time,” Lincoln visited state after state, making speeches, getting to know people, having his remarks spread like a slow wildfire via Pony Express from one territory to another. Even if he could not win over a Seward supporter, he made sure he was that delegate’s second choice. He made friends, not enemies. He planted seeds of good will, dialoguing with influential people, writing brilliant articles and letters-to-the-editor of major newspapers.

  His plan of being everyone’s “second choice” bore stunning and brilliant fruit when the first ballot had him trailing frontrunner Seward by just 71½ delegate votes; after a second ballot in which many defections from Bates and Chase fell to him as well, he was just three down. On the third and decisive ballot, the unknown lawyer from the Prairie State captured the prize and the nomination.

  Now, friend, how did we get from the shores of Galilee and the wheat fields of “Farmer Jesus” to a raucous convention hall in the Windy City? We’ve been studying in God’s Word together about a Farmer who diligently and tirelessly sows seeds in a field. He risks violence and opposition; sometimes it’s hot, other days rainy. He goes out to sow when He feels good and when He’s tired. He plants seed in good soil and sometimes spends agonizing days in soil that He already knows will never bring a harvest.

  I want for you to picture the intensity in the eyes of Jesus as He sows seeds. Try with me to understand His commitment to a harvest. Now, why? Why does this Sower work so hard?

  The answer is simple. Because this is HIS field! I like how the Clear Word, which is a very loose paraphrase of the Bible, puts this verse three: A farmer is sowing seed in HIS field.

  It’s a beautiful reality that this is Jesus’ lost world; He comes down here to sow and reap a harvest in the field that still belongs to Him. He wants to reap and also reclaim.

  A bit later in this same Matthew 13 collection of stories, Jesus has another one.

     “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in HIS field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the weeds sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.”

So Jesus takes it very personally when Lucifer and his fallen demons – and human collaborators – come and plant weeds in the field. Why? Because this field belongs to Jesus!

  Let’s notice in this wonderful story that as Jesus told such stories, some of His listeners had “pathway” hearts even right then. Believe me, the expression “been there, done that” was already an established cliché in Jerusalem. So what did Jesus do? He came at people from an unexpected angle; He told simple, charming, country stories about farmers and fishermen and naughty boys who ran away from home.

  Some people had stony hearts; well, Jesus taught them how to pray. He preached about the practical things they could do to recapture a simple faith in the Abba who loved them. Some of them had thorny hearts; their lives were a frantic round of trouble and taxes. They had Roman enemies and next-door enemies. They were too busy milking cows and pulling oxen out of ditches to think about a new spiritual kingdom. So what did Jesus do about thorns? He invited His friends to “come ye apart and rest awhile.” He fed them supper so they wouldn’t have to cook. He gave them the gift of a new kind of Sabbath, wonderfully liberated from senseless rules.

  And Jesus especially rejoiced to find “good soil” there in HIS field. Go back to Matthew eight and there’s a wonderful story where a Roman centurion came to Him and said, “Jesus, please. I have a servant who’s really sick; he’s paralyzed and suffering terribly.” “Oh, no,” Jesus said. “I’ll come and heal him.”

  But the centurion shook his head. “No need,” he said. “Jesus, I know all about Your power. I know You’re from God; I know You have authority over this disease. I don’t deserve to have the Son of God even come and stand under my roof. Listen, just say the word and I know Your power will make my servant well. You can set him free long-distance.”

  And you know, Jesus just marveled at that faith. Here was a Gentile who believed! Here was a man who understood the compassion of heaven, a man who was primed to embrace the Kingdom. Talk about good soil! And how it must have gladdened His heart to know that on this one day, at least, His long trip from heaven to earth to go out in the rain and snow and sleet to sow seeds of truth had just paid off.

  Now, friend, let’s get very practical for a moment right here. Jesus was the perfect Sower and He had the perfect seed. And this world was His field. But the fact is: Jesus is now gone. Jesus has come out of the tomb and returned to His Father in heaven. So who should be sowing now? I think you know the answer. That would be you and that would be me. We need to be a fertile garden for ourselves and for others, and then we need to be about our Father’s business, sowing the seeds of the Christian faith.

  Jesus was effective because He WAS the seed; the message was Himself. So you and I need to make the gospel us; we need to know grace, love it, live it, bubble over with it, proclaim it, share it. I mentioned yesterday a wonderful Christian book from the 19th century entitled Christ’s Object Lessons. And this is a powerful sound bite:

     “The teacher of sacred truth can impart only that which he himself knows by experience. ‘The sower sowed his seed.’ Christ taught the truth because He WAS the truth.”

How the world hungers today for Christians who will simply know Jesus as their Friend, and then share that friendship. Not try to take over the world; not try to commandeer the Supreme Court; not try to dominate the personal lives of their neighbors. But to simply go into the field which is Jesus’ field and plant seeds there.

Friend, I can tell you that this is why the Voice of Prophecy is here. Literally thousands of quiet, humble, faithful, not-famous Christians fund these fifteen-minute radio visits we enjoy here each Monday through Friday and weekends. Why do they do it? Why do we come before this microphone and invite you to explore with us? Because the worldwide field of radio “foot prints” is Jesus’ field. We’re not going to let Lucifer have it. And I get letters every single day of the week, 365 days a year, from the “good soil” that lies within the radio signal of this very station you’ve got on right now. Yes, there is some cement out there and some thorns. I’m not naive enough to think that we don’t ever have someone push the dial and let our gospel seeds get eaten up by the birds of apathy or materialism. But you’re here with us at this very moment. Listening, thinking, weighing. Who knows? You might be one of those miracle people who give Farmer Jesus a hundred-fold harvest.