Mark 4:26, the parable of the growing seed, and it said: “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

You know, this parable, when I was reading it, it is so amazing because so many of us look back on our lives and say, “God, how is it possible that You have done such a work? How is it possible that I am such a different person? I can’t even understand Your power. How is it possible that I am at where I am today?” When people see you, they should look and say, “How is it possible that you are so different? How is that possible?”

You see, that is the power of God. That’s the power of God coming upon a man that is ready to receive Him. It is supernatural. It is awesome. Night and day, day and night, whether you're asleep or awake, God is doing something amazing and miraculous. That’s why He calls it harvest time. That’s why I look around the Church and get so excited. I see what God is doing. I can’t even explain it, but I say, “God, I don’t understand how it’s possible, but thank You, Lord, because You are amazing.”

So, today I really want to examine this verse and understand what it means. This verse explains what Christianity is supposed to be. Sometimes we have preconceived notions about what Christianity, what salvation, is supposed to look like, but this verse clearly lays it out for us. This verse represents the explosive power of salvation that takes place in the heart of a man.

"When the Word of God hits a heart that is ready to receive Him, there is an explosion of life."

When we’re looking at our lives and comparing them to this verse, the first question we have to ask ourselves is: Is the seed in the soil? Has the seed reached the soil? Has God’s Word reached your heart? The interesting thing about this verse is Mark is the only Gospel that records this parable. All the other Gospels, they do the one right before it, that is very popular, talking about the different seeds landing on types of soil. But Mark takes it a step further and he begins to speak about what happens when that seed of God hits the good soil. What happens when the Word of God goes out and hits a soil that is ready to receive Him? All of a sudden there is something miraculous that happens. All of a sudden there is something powerful happens. And Mark gets into it and he starts to describe- what does it look like? It’s explosive. It's powerful. It's amazing. When that Gospel, when that seed goes out and hits that heart, there is an explosion of life.

Why explosion? Because there is so much potential power held in that seed. For you guys that remember high school physics, you guys remember what potential power is? Potential power is all that energy stored, all that held inside of that one thing. If you think about a bow, you bend that bow back, and right when you release the string, there's all that potential power in the arrow, waiting to shoot it out. Or a wrecking ball, it swings like a pendulum, and goes up. When it reaches the precipice of its swing, it's up in the air, it's almost at a stand still in the air, and it's holding all of that power in it, waiting to come back down swinging and knock over a building in one swoop. You see, that's the type of power that is held in the seed of God. That’s what God’s Gospel holds. That’s what was accomplished on the Cross. Amen.

When it comes down and hits the heart of a man who has their arms open, and says, “God, here I am, I’m ready to receive You,” there is an explosion of life. All that potential power comes inside the soil and it explodes and resurrects a man back to life. A dead stick doesn’t produce. A dead stick—no fruit comes from a dead stick, so what good is a dead stick—until the power of God comes upon it? Until that explosion of life happens. Until that explosion happens so much that it resurrects that dead stick back to life and connects it to the vine—connects it to the Giver of all life. Then it can bear fruit. Then it can come forward. You see, that dead stick was brought back, was resurrected, and was connected to the Vine to receive life. That’s the power that's held in the Gospel. It resurrects us back to life. It brings that dead man, that dead soul, and when it hits there's an explosion and it brings us back to God. It reconnects us to the Vine. That's the potential energy that is held within that seed. It goes and it breaks every power of sin in your life so much so that when you walk around, the very power of God should be seeping from your body and bringing life wherever you go. Because that's what God did on the Cross.

So when we say, “Ya know, Kris, what's the seed?” The seed is the spoken Word of God. I say spoken, so we can really understand what spoken means today. You see some of the spoken words of God were, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And light came to be. When He said, “Let the Earth have form,” and Boom, the Earth had form. You see those are the spoken words of God. Nature, it moves. He molds nature and creation with His very spoken word. And that same spoken word that comes over your life and says, “This one is Mine.” And that seed comes down. And when a heart is open, when it says, “God, I don’t want to live this way anymore. God, I don’t want to do the same thing anymore. God, I’ve tried it my way. I've gone my own way. I’ve seen death. I've seen the desolation. God, there has to be something more.” And they come to the Cross, they lay themselves down, and say, “God here I am.” You see, when that Word comes down and hits a heart like that, God’s power is unbelievable.

God’s power is amazing. That’s why you can look at this verse and say, “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” That’s the power of God. There is a response to that power. You can look at someone and just know. There is no way you can look at someone who receives something like that and not see a change—not see a transformation—not see some kind of movement inside the heart. That they want to get to know God more. That they are seeking after more of His Word. That His presence becomes like water, that they have to have more and more, and they are seeking after that drink. You see, when that explosion of life happens, religion goes out the window. The way of going through the motions is scattered in the wind. All of a sudden a man's heart wants to know God—wants to come to His throne—wants to be in His presence—wants to open up and read His Word. Where there was once death, life is being cultivated. That life produces godliness inside of you every single day.

"...the power of God that was displayed on the Cross—that shook the very ground—is enough to transform you completely…"

The saddest thing is being in God’s House, being in the Giver of life, the Creator of all life, being inside of His House, yet having no life. To sit in a seat and yet not be connected. To read His Word but have nowhere for it to land. You see, that's a sad thing. There’s a lie that goes out today that says Jesus Christ wasn’t powerful enough to transform you, and transform you completely. But let me tell you today that the power of God that was displayed on the Cross—that shook the very ground—is enough to transform you completely and through today, is enough to transform your heart.

So much so that you should be looking back on your life saying “I don’t know how it's possible, I don't get it. I don't understand how God did what He did, but I am here today looking and saying ‘God, thank you. Thank you Lord for what You have done. Thank You for Your forgiving power. Thank You for Your redemptive act on the Cross. Thank You for what You've done in me.’” We have to look and say: Have we allowed that seed to take root in our lives? Have we churned the soil to say, “God, I am ready for what You want to give to me.” When I was reading this verse I got to thinking of Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes and he says, “Jesus, I know that You must be from God because no one could do these miracles unless they are from God. And Jesus kind of ignores what he said and begins to answer him on a question he didn't even ask. And He looks at him and says, “No one will see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Nicodemus with almost natural eyes, looking so much into the natural instead of the spiritual, looks at Him and says “Jesus, what are you saying? What are you even talking about? What does that mean? Am I going to go back into my mother’s womb and be born again? That doesn't make any sense.” Jesus responds and says, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with those born of the Spirit.”

See, we can’t look with natural eyes. The wind blows and we know it's there, maybe we feel it, but we can't see it, but we know that it's active and the same way with those born of the Spirit. We can't look at God with such natural eyes. To say, “God this is how I think I should be. This is how I think salvation is supposed to look like. This is how I think I'm supposed to do things.” No! Don't look at it with natural eyes. Look into things that you don't even believe are possible because through God, the impossible is possible. Through His work on the Cross, it can be done. Amen. You see, forgiveness, we can't see it, but we know that weight has been lifted off the soul. Being a new creation you can’t prove it, but you live it every single day. That the old man is dead-you can't explain it. But every day you walk, knowing that that old man is in the grave. God has done something new.

You see, God wants you born of a new seed today. To be born of something new—a new seed—not a natural seed. Not even a seed of your parents, but a spiritual seed. One that does something that you will never be able to understand or explain, but you will say, “God, thank You for that act of the Cross. I don’t understand how such a wretched man could be turned around, but Lord I thank You today that Your forgiveness was enough for me today.”

We just need to believe—we need to trust. We need radical belief. You see, radical belief is what He’s calling for. Belief causes you to move like Jesus did. Radical belief that says, “God I know what you did on the Cross. I know it is powerful enough to change me today.” Radical belief that will cause you to move and trust and move every single day, knowing you might fall, but moving in the trust of God. That was what He did on the Cross. That is what salvation is supposed to be. Anything else is just going through the motions. God is calling for more today.

He died on the Cross so that you would put your trust in Him. He went to the Cross and died that way His seed could come forward and find good soil to go into—that it would be resurrected and life would be resurrected, new life, life that can't even be explained but life that comes up and puts the old man in the grave and raises a spiritual man. He died so that you would lay down your life and pick up His. Amen.

So after we ask ourselves, “Is the seed in the soil?” Then we can say, “Alright, is the seed maturing?” Is the seed maturing? Let's look at verse 27 again, “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” You see, there has to be growth when the seed comes in. I look at these seeds, right? These seeds have been in this jar since we began the church— and I look at them and they are awesome. They remind me so much of God's goodness and what He has done in this place, but guess what? They're still seeds. God’s seed is so important to come into the heart and come into the soil, but if it remains a seed it’s not doing you any good, and it's not doing God any good. The seed is supposed to come forward. It's supposed to birth something new inside of you. It's supposed to grow. It's supposed to mature. It's supposed to sprout up and bring about new life. It has to break out of the ground.

If it stays underneath the soil forever, and stays a seed in the dark, it does nobody any good. But God wants to break out in a new way—to break out new life—break through that soil and bring about something new.

You know, I think about me. I'm the worst when it comes to gardening or growing anything. So I remember I was trying to grow some grass in my backyard. Not a big area of grass, like a little patch that was dead. So I went out, I got the soil ready, I did everything. I threw the seed down. And then I went out there and watered it every day. And what did I do? I didn't go out there just looking for more seed. I was out there looking for the sprouts to come out of the ground. I was out there every day, and it took a long time. But eventually some little sprouts came out of the ground and started to break through from the ground. And I was so excited. I went and got my cell phone. I took a picture of it. I sent it to Pastor Jerry. I said, “Look, you're not the only one that can grow stuff.”

"God has to break out something new inside of your life. "

God has planted something in so many of us. And it's awesome. And it's powerful. But the seed is not enough. The sprout has to come forward. God has to break out something new inside of your life. You think about that buried seed in the darkness, no light, held underneath the ground. It can't stay there forever. God wants to do something. He wants to break out in your life. That new life is evident for everyone to see, that they come and they look and they see the green and they see the life and they see the new sprouts coming up.

You see, when that happens, you can't act the same anymore. You can't speak the same anymore. You can't live the same anymore. You can't do church the same way you did before. There has to be something new that comes forward. Amen. That's the power of God.

I know we have a lot of gardeners in here that are really talented at it. I can barely keep my grass from turning brown during summer. But for a lot of you guys, you guys are awesome at gardening. You guys all know what it takes. You have to go out. You got to water it. You got to tend to it. You got to give it food. You got to, if you're trying to get tomatoes, you have to make sure you weed it. Are the insects eating it? Are the bugs eating it? Are the rabbits eating it? Are the raccoons eating it? Am I watering it too much? Am I not watering it enough? It's sunny out today—does it need more water? It takes so much work to get one tomato. At least for me, it does. I don't know about you guys.

But there's one thing that will always grow if you pay it no attention at all. You don't have to look at it. You don't have to tend to it. But it'll grow every time. What is that? Weeds, right? The weeds grow so easily. The tomatoes take so much work. You have to kill yourself to get one little tomato. But the weeds? No problem. They grow up every single time! You don't have to pay any attention to it.

And I thought about that, and I began thinking about our lives and how we've done church for so long. You see, the weeds—that sin, those things that come up and strangle the life out of us, the things that pop up, the old man, the old ways, the old things—they come up without any attention at all. You don't have to pay it any mind. You don't have to water it. You don't have to think about it. But don't worry—those things will grow. They will find, they will come up through the cracks and they will come up every single time.

But when it comes to the garden, when it comes to trying to get life and tomatoes, it takes so much work. You struggle every single inch to get just a little bit out. You see, that's the old way. Jesus Christ came to break the old way, to break out of religion, to break how it used to be—where the weeds were so easy but the fruit was hard. And He came to bring about something new. He came to bring about relationship.

I look at the Word and it goes all the way back to Adam. You think about Adam in the Garden of Eden—how beautiful it was. He just went around and there was fruit. He tended to it a little bit, but he wasn't a farmer. He wasn't out there busting his hump from day up to day down trying to kill himself to get a little bit. No, he went about and tended the garden, and he just got fruit. It was amazing.

But then what happened? Sin came in. “The ground will be cursed because of you; through painful toil you will eat from it. It will produce thorns and thistles for you.” That ground, that soil, was cursed. And that's what we're left with today—people's soil being cursed. People's hearts who are hardened to God, who don't want to know the ways of God. Who don't want to understand the ways of God. Who when the seed is thrown they say, “Ah, no, that's not for me. I'm just not ready. That's not how I do things.” Their soil is hardened to God. It's cursed. And it doesn't want to know the ways of God. They are their own god, and they don't need another God after that.

And even those that want God—it's toiling, and it's a work, and it's a burden to come and find God. And God saw this, and this went on for thousands of years. And God saw it and said, “That's enough. There's a better way.” And He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come and die on the Cross. Why? So that you could be done with religion. So that the toiling could be over with. You could come into the new covenant. That you can come into relationship. That you could come to know Him. That you could approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing that God You will see me and you will hear me. And you come and the toiling is done.

We have to look and say, “Are we toiling today to find God?” Because if so, we're in the old. It’s not to say there isn’t a work that takes place of the heart to toil the ground. But it's to say that, “Are we killing ourselves every single day to try to find God a little bit and trying to fight for every inch?” That’s not what God intended. He intended for you to come into the new covenant. The one where He knocks on the door and you find Him. The one who seeks and finds God—the ones whose hearts are not forced into obedience, but joyfully surrender their lives at the feet of the Cross. The ones who are not forced to open up the Word, but rejoice that they are spending time and communing with God. The ones who are not forced to pray, but want to spend all the days of their lives in the courts of God. That’s the new covenant. That’s what David predicted so long ago. That’s what David exemplified and that's what God is looking to do today.

That’s maturity. That’s bringing about the new thing. “All by itself the soil produces grain: first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel.” Jesus Christ, He was enough to accomplish that. He did enough to accomplish that in each one of us.

I was reading about this and it baffled scientists, and it just made me laugh. They can't figure out, they spend billions of dollars on trying to figure stuff like this out, instead of curing cancer. But this is what it is. They go and they can't figure out how it is a seed knows which way to grow. You can’t throw a seed upside down in the ground. No matter how you throw it in, the roots will always grow down and the sprout will grow up. They can't figure it out. They spend all these dollars trying to figure out how it happened and yet they can't figure it out. It’s a mystery.

And I thought about that, right, and I said, “God, You always know how to grow things. It doesn't matter what happens, You know how to grow, which way you have to go first. You know that the roots must come first, that they go down deep inside of the heart.”

So once we look and say, “Has the seed been maturing?” And we really have to look and say, “Has the seed entered in and has it been maturing?” Then we can say, “Alright, has the seed produced a harvest?” Verse 28: “All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel. As soon as the grain is ripe, He puts the sickle to it, why? Because the harvest has come.”

I look around and I gotta tell you, this is a harvest time in the Church. I look around at the building and everything God has done with that. I look at the Spanish Church coming about. I look at so many of you guys and your families being transformed. And love and new things sprouting up in your hearts. I look at what God’s doing with some of the youth group and high school kids. I look at everything God’s doing and I say, “Oh God, it's so amazing. This is such a harvest time. Because the fruit has truly come forward.”

And we know that the Bible says in the last days death and desolation, it’ll be prevalent in the world. You’ll see it all over. The world will be full of death and desolation, but that's okay, ya know why? Because the church is supposed to be filled with men and women of God who have fruit hanging from their branches—that someone can walk in off the street, come and taste and see that God is good, and have their fill. That’s what God is calling the Church to.

And Jesus spoke about a time like today. There is a verse, its in Matthew, I think it’s 9. There's a big crowd of people, and He looks upon them and it says His heart was moved. And He had compassion on the people. And He looked upon them and saw what could be. He saw that their soil was ready to receive. And He looked in His own hands and He knew what God the Father had planned for His life and He looked and He said, “This is the reason that I have come.” He knew that God had something special for Him. And he knew he held the seed of God and He looked and saw the soil and His heart was moved and He turned to His disciples and said this, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

You see, He wasn't looking at things as they were. He was looking at things as they could be. As they would be. As they were going to be. He was looking forward to what God was gonna do through His life. He was looking forward to what was gonna come forward in the hearts of men when they received the heart of God—no longer a sprout, no longer just going through the motions, no longer the old, but that the seed of God would enter in, that it would grow up, that it would mature and it would bring about a harvest. That your houses would be filled with life. That your hearts would be abounding in God’s love. That generations would come from that one seed of God that was implanted in your hearts.

You know, I read this and what am I learning? God’s doing the work. And I think about the goodness of God. That He’s the One doing the work. He’s the One inside of the heart making it happen, day and night, night and day, whether I’m asleep or awake, God’s bringing it about and growing it and doing new things. And how amazing God is that He would do the work and He would make my heart transform, “God you are so good.” And even further than that, even though we’re not the ones doing the work, we are reaping the benefits. We are the ones reaping the harvest.

In Deuteronomy it says He’s going to give you “large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—and then you eat and be satisfied…” One day He will reap us, one day He will come down and bring us into Heaven, one day He will come for the harvest and bring it back up into Heaven. But until then, we are so blessed and so lucky that we could serve this God, who, while we are here, we are benefiting from the work that God has done.

You know, a lot of people will preach prosperity to you. They'll tell you about God's going to give you houses and boats and mansions and millions and millions of dollars. Well, I preach prosperity too, but it's a different kind. I preach the prosperity that when God comes down and implants a seed in you, that it'll mature and grow fruit, and you will benefit from that fruit. Amen.

And it's nothing to bat an eye at. I look around at the world and see people who are riddled in their minds with doubt and uncertainty and can't stand on their own, and they're so confused all the time. And I say that the fruit of God is that you would have a sound mind, that you would be standing on your own two feet, that you would have your mind set on things above, and that God would be prevailing and certain in you. Amen.

Or the promise that you have been praying about and seeking after, and God's ready to deliver to you—the one you have been waiting for. You say, “God, the harvest time is now because You're giving it to me.” That you are in His hand. That nothing can separate you from the love of God. That you're in His provision and His protection, and His love is abounding over you.

We did nothing to bring it about, yet we are reaping the harvest of God's goodness and God's grace, because that is what He does for His beloved. Because that is what He does for His Church. It's a special time. It's a harvest time.

I think about the Jews going out into the field with their sickles. They had been working all year long to bring about this time. And they go out. It's not work for them to go out and get the fruit. They go out rejoicing, cutting the stalk down, cutting the fruit off, cutting that grain down and bringing it back in with their families.

There was no ShopRite. There was no Walmart. They couldn't go get more food if they ran out. No, this was their sustenance. This was going to see their family through for a whole year. It was a time of rejoicing. It was a time of celebration. And I tell you, it's the same thing in the Church of God. It's a time of rejoicing. It's a time of celebration. It's a time to say, “Thank You, God, that Your love was enough. Thank You, God, for what You have done in my family. Thank You, God, for what You have done in my life.”

And they come in, take all that fruit, and they put it into two piles. The first pile would be to eat, right? To be for them and their family. And it would be what gets them through from day to day for that year. And they would eat of that fruit.

And as I was praying about that, God began to speak to me and say, “Don't you get that fruit that you get, that is what sees you through from day to day.” You see, the more you come into Christ, the more you understand that, “man does not live on bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” We begin to understand that the food that we get, as tasty as it might be, guess what? It's temporary foolishness even.

But the gift of God, the Word of God, you begin to understand that that's truly what sees you from day to day. And you begin to seek it. And you begin to search for it. And you can't be without it. And it's like if you were to skip it a day, it would be like that hunger pain where you search after God and you say, “God, I need more of Your Word to see me through today because without it I'd die.”

That's the first pile. They would set aside the second pile for reproduction, to put it back into the ground for the next generation of the harvest. To put it back in so that next year that harvest can come out and be even more bountiful than the previous.

You know, I look at what God's seed is for. It's not just for you. It's for you and your children and your children's children, that out of that one seed, goodness would abound for generations and generations to come.

You know, I look at my son Joshua, and I think, you know, a lot of you guys are like me. You've been through some stuff. You've seen some stuff that you can't forget. You've seen what this world has to offer, and you kind of look at it and say, “You know what? I know what the world is like.”

My prayer for my son is that maybe, just maybe, that seed that God had given me and my wife would be enough to overflow onto him, that he would never have to know the ways of this world, that he would never have to see the things that I've seen, that he would never have to understand what this world holds like I have come to find.

That he would live all of his days just knowing the goodness of God, being ignorant to the world and its ways, and just knowing and moving in God's love. You see, that's what God's seed is for. It's not just for you. It's for your children and your children's children. We can't be so short-sighted.

I tried to explain kind of being short-sighted to the kids. I said, “Look, imagine one thread on this carpet is your life because that's how God sees it. Right? You could pluck it out and the carpet wouldn't change. It's one little thread.” And we get so caught up in that one little thread so often, and what's happening in that one little thread. And we complain and we say, “God, how could this happen?” And we get so caught up. Our eyes are so focused on that one little thread.

When God says, “Don't you get it? Eternity is the whole carpet. I look at eternity for generations and generations and generations.” And I tell you that one seed can have ripples that go out through all of eternity. That one seed is to bring you into Heaven. That one seed is that you would be seated with Him in the heavenly realms for all the days of your life.

That your children would not have to suffer. That your children would not have to see the things that you have seen, but that the Word of God would ripple out for generations to come. That is the blessing in the House of God. Amen.

We need to be purposeful in our walk with God. Even if you and your family, or you yourself, are going through things today and you say, “Kris, it really doesn't look like a harvest to me. This is hard. You know, these things are happening in my life.” That's okay. Because we have to look forward to what is coming, as Jesus did. Jesus—things were hard for Him. He knew what was coming, the Cross. And yet He looked forward to the harvest that was going to come.

He wasn't short-sighted, looking at what was directly in front of His eyes. He looked forward to the harvest that was going to come. And I say, don't be a runner that just stares down at his feet. Look down at the finish line. Look at where the crown of life is. Look where God is holding it. It's at the finish line for you. Amen.

God's calling for an investment today. He's calling for an investment of your hearts today. You see, He invested in you on the Cross. He invested in each one of you when He went to the Cross and died. And He's saying, “Now invest your lives back into Me. I sowed and reaped. Now you sow and reap into the Kingdom.”

Invest your life. Open up your arms and say, “God, here I am today. God, here I am. I don't want to do it the old way anymore, God.” Even if I've been in church, whether this is your first day or you've been here since the beginning, there's a point where you have to come to say, “God, I open up my arms to You. I don't want to do it the old way anymore. God, send Your seed down. God, send Your life down. Implant it in my soul, God, that it would grow up, that it would mature, and that it would produce a harvest in me.”

God is looking for us to be like those people who go out checking the grass seed every single day, waiting for the sprout. God said the seed isn't enough. God wants us to be the ones chasing after, looking forward, going out to the grass every day, doing what we have to do, watering it, no matter what—whatever you have to do—but eagerly expecting the sprout to come forward and bring new life.

God wants to bring about a new life today. Life is so short. If you look at the carpet example or whatever it is, life is so short. It's but a mist—here one second and gone the next. God is saying, “Don't wait for it later. Take it now.” Don't accept the old now. Come before God. Open up your arms and say, “Lord, today is the day. I need Your life inside of me, Lord. I need Your newness. I need the new things inside of me that's going to sprout up new life today.”

That love would sprout up—not just worldly love—but that love that the Bible talks about. That trust would sprout up—trust that makes you move and makes you act. That truth would sprout up—the type of truth that sets you free and that you live on every single day.

God is calling for new things this day. I pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon your hearts, that He would touch you in a new way, that you would open up your arms and say, “God, the old is not enough anymore. God, I need new things. I want to see Your life come down. I need Your seed to be implanted in my heart. I want to eagerly be expecting that sprout to come forward. I want to look for the fruit, God.

I want my children to not have to see the things that I've seen. I want generations to come from the one seed that You're implanting this day.” God, let Your goodness come forward this day, God. Let Your goodness come forward and touch the hearts of the soil.

We need to trust. We need to believe. We need to prepare the soil. But God, You take that seed down, Lord. You implant it inside of the heart. You make it grow and bring about a harvest because that's just the way You do things. Night and day, day and night, whether we're asleep or awake, You are growing new things. You are bringing about life.

I don't understand how it's possible what You have done in my life, God, but Your goodness and Your grace and what You did on the Cross, it's enough for me. It's enough to take someone like me—a kid who was broken and lost and had no idea about what life was and was reveling in death and all of that—God, You took a person like me and transformed me. I don't understand how.

But God, I look back and I say, “Thank You, Lord, for not forgetting me. Thank You, Lord, for not passing me over. Thank You, Lord, that who am I that You would take me from the depths, from the grave, and take my hand and pull me out? Who am I to do that, God?”

Yet You did not forget me. Yet Your goodness did not overlook me. Where would I be today, God, without You? Where would I be today without Your life? Where would I be today without Your goodness? Lord, do something new this day, God. Spread out new life, Jesus. Spread out new life, God.

Like seed sown on good soil—hear the Word, accept it, and produce a crop. Some 30, some 60, some 100 times what was sown. Amen. And that's what God wants to do in His House today. God wants to bring that seed forward.

And I pray today that you would say, “God, let that seed grow. Let that seed mature. Let that seed bring about a harvest for me, my household, my family, and for the generations that are gonna come forward.” Amen.