Cultivating the Seed in Ourselves

Cultivating the Seed in Ourselves
By Bob Mumford www.lifechangers.org

And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much.

Mark understood the principle of Kingdom fruitfulness. Cultivating the Seed of Agape in ourselves involves three measurable steps:

First, we discover the internal desire to do others good. We were created for good works. Our activities and responses, however, are not human “works” but a fulfillment of that which was spoken of our Lord Jesus Christ:

…God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.

When we recognize and respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings to do good, however elementary and immature, we are on our way to bringing forth the fruit of the Kingdom. Our good works are not the result of our own human effort but the co-operation and expression of the Eternal Seed of the Kingdom. When we respond to the Eternal Seed, our human spirit comes alive and we become one with the giving, resurrected Christ who dwells within us.

Then we recognize that this desire does not originate within ourselves but is the result of the insemination of Agape as the Eternal Seed received at our new birth. When we soak ourselves in the water of God’s Word, we nourish and strengthen our ability to see, hear, respond, and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s admonition was that those who are led of the Spirit are God’s maturing children “bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God.” As we respond to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we cultivate the Eternal Seed and as it grows, it crowds out every other seed that is not Agape.

Finally, we seek opportunities or occasions to do others good. This is not religious effort but an expression of the new life within us. Doing others good involves spontaneity and risk and the results are pure joy. Following Jesus involves seeking occasions and opportunities to give expression to others of that great and unlimited love that has entered our own life by means of the new birth.
It is important to grasp that we are now becoming who we already are: sons and daughters of the living God. This is living in the prophetic perfect.

THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS
• In what ways can you see the three measurable steps in your own life?
• How can we know we are maturing and producing fruit?
• What is one of the ways we cultivate or nourish the Eternal Seed in ourselves?