Pastor Tom Johnson, Feb 16, 2014
I was probably three
years old. I saw a small package of seeds in the garage. I took the package
outside, tore it open, and threw the seeds all over the black soil in the front
yard right next to our tall, blue spruce. That was it. Deed done. I walked away
and I went about my other business. For all my mom knew
she had just cleared a section of grass next to that same blue spruce. She
filled it with high quality black soil. She planted all sorts of flowers. It
was her flower garden. My mom watered her
flower garden when it was dry. She pulled weeds. She waited patiently for the
flowers to sprout, grow, and bloom. And they did. She had her flower garden.
She was able to relax and watch the flowers beautifully bloom. But then like an
herbal ambush, little plants started shooting up all at once—all over her
flower garden. When she started pulling these weeds, she noticed beautiful, red
turnips were attached. That night we ate
salad with turnips. My mom shared with us what a surprise it was to find
turnips in her flower garden. Suddenly, I remembered what I had done weeks
earlier. And I remember having a new fondness for turnips that day.
I planted. Mom watered. The turnips grew. I planted unaware of the consequences. My mom watered in ignorance of what her youngest child had done. I planted. Mom watered. The turnips grew. That’s what happens to seeds. They are programmed and equipped little packages of life. Under the right conditions, they will sprout roots, seedlings, and grow into a plant much larger than the little seed. Seeds grow into plants. They are meant to grow. They are designed to grow. Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a seed. And so does Paul in our Epistle reading. He says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Apparently, some liked Paul because he planted. They shared his passion for evangelism, baptizing new believers, and introducing people to the Christian faith. Others liked Apollos because he watered. They loved his zeal for teaching, Bible knowledge, and helping Christians become mature disciples of Christ. Some supported outreach. They wanted to see their numbers grow. They wanted to seek the lost. Others supported inreach. They wanted to see their depth grow. They wanted to strengthen those who have already been found. Paul’s response to this dilemma is not self-serving or self-glorifying. He does not see it as a dilemma at all. He calls himself and Apollos—two gifted but different people—“servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned each.” “I planted. Apollos watered.” Paul plays down himself and Apollos. They are serving the Sower and his seed. They are serving God—the Lord of the Harvest. They are not the source but the instruments,the vehicles, the conduits, and the means. “I planted,” Paul says, “Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
God gives the growth. The Kingdom of God is not about staying the same. It is not about being content with the way things are. The Kingdom of God is not self-satisfaction and complacency. The Kingdom of God is not about tradition and survival. The Kingdom is about growth. And God gives that growth. I don’t believe that Paul was ever satisfied with the number of people who were baptized. So he planted. And he planted again. He always wanted more. He reflected his Savior, Jesus who said he came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus lay His life down and rise again from the dead to break the power of sin, the devil, and even death itself—so that all the world would know that, in him, their sins are forgiven and they have the promise of eternal life. He came to plant seeds.On Pentecost, the Scriptures record 3,000 people being baptized in one day. And Luke is very careful how he phrases it: “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). God gives the growth. The Kingdom is about growth. I believe we should all be praying and laboring to add people to our number. The Lord is able. He gives the growth. And so Paul planted.
Apollos watered. I don’t believe that Apollos was ever satisfied with the number of people who had limited Bible knowledge or a shallow prayer life. So Apollos watered. And he watered again. He always wanted more. Jesus commanded us to “Make disciples of all the nations baptizing…and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). The Scriptures teach, correct, exhort, and train us in righteousness. The Kingdom is about growth. I believe we should all be praying and laboring that we would, in Paul’s words in Ephesians “comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:18-19). The Lord is able. He gives the growth.
We need people like Paul. None of us should be satisfied with a church that is not growing number. But we also need people like Apollos. None of us should be satisfied with a lack of spiritual growth in our personal lives. And it’s not that Paul, Apollos, or any of us are ultimately responsible. God gives the growth. “He wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Years ago, I planted seeds in ignorance. My mom watered them unaware of what she was doing. The seed grew into turnips. That’s what plants are preprogrammed to do. The dig their roots deep into the soil and shoot their vegetation wide. All plants are all reproductive. And so it is with the Kingdom of God. We are preprogrammed to grow. We are called to participate. God gives the growth—it is about God’s transforming power. God gives the growth deep and wide—deep into our hearts and wide into all the world.
I planted. Mom watered. The turnips grew. I planted unaware of the consequences. My mom watered in ignorance of what her youngest child had done. I planted. Mom watered. The turnips grew. That’s what happens to seeds. They are programmed and equipped little packages of life. Under the right conditions, they will sprout roots, seedlings, and grow into a plant much larger than the little seed. Seeds grow into plants. They are meant to grow. They are designed to grow. Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a seed. And so does Paul in our Epistle reading. He says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Apparently, some liked Paul because he planted. They shared his passion for evangelism, baptizing new believers, and introducing people to the Christian faith. Others liked Apollos because he watered. They loved his zeal for teaching, Bible knowledge, and helping Christians become mature disciples of Christ. Some supported outreach. They wanted to see their numbers grow. They wanted to seek the lost. Others supported inreach. They wanted to see their depth grow. They wanted to strengthen those who have already been found. Paul’s response to this dilemma is not self-serving or self-glorifying. He does not see it as a dilemma at all. He calls himself and Apollos—two gifted but different people—“servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned each.” “I planted. Apollos watered.” Paul plays down himself and Apollos. They are serving the Sower and his seed. They are serving God—the Lord of the Harvest. They are not the source but the instruments,the vehicles, the conduits, and the means. “I planted,” Paul says, “Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
God gives the growth. The Kingdom of God is not about staying the same. It is not about being content with the way things are. The Kingdom of God is not self-satisfaction and complacency. The Kingdom of God is not about tradition and survival. The Kingdom is about growth. And God gives that growth. I don’t believe that Paul was ever satisfied with the number of people who were baptized. So he planted. And he planted again. He always wanted more. He reflected his Savior, Jesus who said he came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus lay His life down and rise again from the dead to break the power of sin, the devil, and even death itself—so that all the world would know that, in him, their sins are forgiven and they have the promise of eternal life. He came to plant seeds.On Pentecost, the Scriptures record 3,000 people being baptized in one day. And Luke is very careful how he phrases it: “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). God gives the growth. The Kingdom is about growth. I believe we should all be praying and laboring to add people to our number. The Lord is able. He gives the growth. And so Paul planted.
Apollos watered. I don’t believe that Apollos was ever satisfied with the number of people who had limited Bible knowledge or a shallow prayer life. So Apollos watered. And he watered again. He always wanted more. Jesus commanded us to “Make disciples of all the nations baptizing…and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). The Scriptures teach, correct, exhort, and train us in righteousness. The Kingdom is about growth. I believe we should all be praying and laboring that we would, in Paul’s words in Ephesians “comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:18-19). The Lord is able. He gives the growth.
We need people like Paul. None of us should be satisfied with a church that is not growing number. But we also need people like Apollos. None of us should be satisfied with a lack of spiritual growth in our personal lives. And it’s not that Paul, Apollos, or any of us are ultimately responsible. God gives the growth. “He wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Years ago, I planted seeds in ignorance. My mom watered them unaware of what she was doing. The seed grew into turnips. That’s what plants are preprogrammed to do. The dig their roots deep into the soil and shoot their vegetation wide. All plants are all reproductive. And so it is with the Kingdom of God. We are preprogrammed to grow. We are called to participate. God gives the growth—it is about God’s transforming power. God gives the growth deep and wide—deep into our hearts and wide into all the world.
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