Sowing Good Seed

Welcome to the Lookout Weekly Podcast.

Church of the Lookout is in Boulder, Colorado, and our vision is Jesus abiding in his presence, growing in his family, and living on his mission to transform the world with awe-inspiring love.

Visit us online at the lookout.church.

So let's do this this morning.

By the way, if we haven't met yet, if you're newer to The Lookout, my name is Luke.

So good to see you.

Some of you are back after bouts with COVID, after bouts with whatever travel you've been doing.

It's good to see you this morning.

We are going to jump into the word.

Are you guys ready to jump into the word?

Alright, open up your Bibles to Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

We're going to start there this morning.

We are officially, officially slash, unofficially, depending on how you look at it, we are in the fall season.

Football has started.

School's back in session.

I got three kids in three different schools.

God help me.

And my wife, who is amazing.

And uh and we're in it to win it right now, right?

And uh and so even here at the church, there's things coming up in the fall.

And for today, um, I want to share with you a word I believe is from the Lord for us today, and then lay out a few opportunities for us in the season that we're in.

And what we're gonna do is start in Galatians chapter six, starting in verse six.

Here's what it says Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.

For whatever one sows, that he will also reap.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Let's pray.

Jesus, as we open your word this morning, we submit ourselves to you.

We submit our lives to you, God.

And I thank you, God, that it is an honor and privilege to come before you in your presence, to listen for your voice, to read the scriptures together, to encourage one another and stir one another up to love and good works.

And this morning, we say, Come, Holy Spirit.

Open us up.

As we read the scriptures, would you read our hearts and our lives?

We welcome you, we love you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So an interesting thing happened several weeks ago.

Um, I was driving here to the church, and and uh I just felt this prompting from the Lord to go into Boulder, to go to the Boulder Museum of History.

And uh it's something I had wanted to do for a while, but I was just kind of holding open this question, this big question of God, why are we here in Boulder?

What is it about this place?

Out of all the places we could be, we're here in Boulder County.

Now, you might be not specifically in the city of Boulder, you're around, but we are all in this vicinity we shared here, and I believe we're here sovereign.

We're here because God placed us here for this time and this moment.

And it's good for every now and then to ask the question, God, can you remind me again why am I here?

And so I came down Lookout Road, drove past the church, went straight down into Boulder, and went into the Boulder Museum of History, and uh just started paying attention, and there's a lot to be seen there.

Um one of the interesting things I learned about the history of Boulder is that at the turn of the century, turn of the 20th century, there was a landscape architect named Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.

And he came into Boulder and he was hired to come in to help create what we now know as the city of Boulder, to look at the park system, to look at the structure and the layout of the city, and uh, and to bring some vision.

And what was really interesting is his father, um uh Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.'s father, senior, he was also a landscape architect.

He was the guy who was responsible for building Central Park, designing and building Central Park in New York City.

He designed the landscape architecture for the Biltmore in Asheville, uh Asheville, uh Tennis, uh North Carolina.

And um, if you've ever been there, just beautiful, just unbelievable vision for creation and structure coming together.

And so his son was hired in Boulder and he wrote up this whole master plan.

Part of his master plan is he had a vision for Boulder that other people didn't see.

And he said, Listen, I feel like Boulder is supposed to be not like the other Wild West cities where people just come in, do their mining, they get rich, and then they leave and they desert it.

He's like, Boulder is going to be a place where people come and stay, and Boulder's gonna be a place where community develops.

And in this particular area of the Boulder Museum of History, there's this level that talks about all the things that have come into this valley over the years, and the contribution of this land and this geography to the wider culture, everything from health and food and nutrition to the fitness culture, to the to the outdoor culture, mountain climbing and biking and hiking, right?

Certainly camping and all those types of things, um, to technology and uh um uh aerospace and and it just you know all across the map, even going back, dating back to the 60s and the the hippie movement, and and even you know, for better or for worse, uh just just the way spirituality from around the world has landed into this valley and has found a place to grow, right?

And so it was really interesting because up on the wall on the top floor of this Museum of History, I snapped this photo of one of Frederick Law Umset's quotes where he said, Boulder is a place where ripe theme what ripe things seem to happen.

Boulder is a place where ripe things seem to happen.

And I read that, something pinged me in my heart.

And I knew like this is almost his observation I almost receive as a prophetic word over this place, that boulder is a place, I believe, destined by God for things sown into the ground, for ripe things when things are ready, that it's a place where ripe things can grow and flourish.

I believe that in my heart.

So it started.

So I read this quote, and then that immediately became a prayer in my heart.

God, what are the ripe things that you have in mind for Bohler County, Colorado?

What are the ripe things you have in mind for 2024?

What are the things that we that need to be sown into the ground now that we have yet to see?

Have you asked that question before?

God, what are the things, what are your purposes and your desires?

What is the fruit?

What did you have in mind when you created this place and you created these cities that surround?

And why did you bring us here for this moment?

So, for something to become ripe, there must be a preparation.

There's a season of sowing before anything is ripe for the taking and to the receiving.

So, over the summer as a church, we spent a considerable amount of time walking through the Sermon on the Mount.

Part of the reason we did that is because this was the penultimate, this was the picture, this was Jesus' vision of what it looks like to follow him into a creative, distinct counterculture in the face of hyper-religiosity or people that have been hijacked by political domination and a political vision of how the earth is supposed to move forward.

He he painted this picture of like, no, what I am doing, Jesus' vision was the opposite.

Jesus' vision was to create for himself a people that would be diverse, that would be set apart, and in their following him, they would become like seeds.

It would be like yeast sown into all of the world that would that would show the world what the kingdom of heaven is like.

And he's like, I'm doing this now, and and uh I'm gonna send you out to do the same.

And his disciples are like, Great, do you have a plan?

Nope.

Okay, do you have a project for us?

No, I don't.

Uh but it but you have me.

Just do what I tell you to do.

And then actually, I have someone better than me.

His name is Holy Spirit.

I'm gonna I'm gonna send him, and he's actually gonna remind you of everything I just told you.

And uh and then just, yeah, just from there, just go on out to all the world and make disciples, right?

Like, okay, that's specific.

And so he he painted a picture though of what life in the kingdom looked like.

And he invited them to be a part.

But one of the challenging things that, as you guys know and as I know, about following Jesus is it's not, it's it's often hard to know what to do next.

It's hard to know if the things that you're doing are making a difference.

It's not always a straight path, right?

You guys with me?

It's hard to know the difference between what you're doing and the fruit that it bears over time.

And so maybe some of you here, you know what that feels like to have prayed for something, nothing happened, and so you concluded, well, that didn't work.

Have you heard that before?

Have you said that before?

Or maybe, maybe in your life you feel like you've done everything right, but you st but think but there's certain things that still didn't pan out, you still didn't get the job, you still didn't get the you know, the spouse, you still didn't get that thing that you had been waiting for.

Or maybe as a parent, you've tried your best as a parent to wait, raise your kids as best you know how, and they still walked away from God.

Maybe, maybe even like in the Sermon on the Mount, you forgave, you did what Jesus said, but you're still waiting.

It didn't fix the situation, right?

You forgave, but you're like, and and and something else is supposed to happen, right?

Or like I didn't judge you, and and you're still a terrible person, right?

I thought you were supposed to fix this, God.

If I don't judge him, you're supposed to make them a better person, right?

God, I was generous and I'm still waiting on provision.

Or I've been praying for my husband or my wife to come to know you, and it's been years, and I'm still waiting, I'm still praying the same prayer.

When do when does this, my actions translate into outcomes?

Have you guys ever asked questions like that?

I know I have.

It's one of the things that we we face and we contend with, partly because in our modern Western lens, we tend to think in the frame of mathematical equations, right?

Addition and subtraction.

But here's the thing, guys, in the kingdom of God, this is very important for us.

In the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is not one of addition and subtraction, it's one of sowing and reaping.

Which means that you're not in control.

When you sow, you are automatically in trust and surrender to the God who will make the fruit come alive.

And when we change the way we think, I believe if we can think with a mindset of sowing and reaping, it's gonna be a key for us in this next season ahead, both in Boulder County, in this church, and in your own life and in your own family.

So back to our passage, our passage in Galatians chapter six.

Some of you guys know in Galatians chapter six, this is Paul writing.

And Galatians is a fiery, it's kind of a spicy letter.

It's not it's not super nice.

Because what's happening is you have a whole group of believers that um that they they believe that following Jesus means kind of going back and adhering to a strict adherence of ceremonial law, specifically circumcision.

So he has to correct a lot of things, but towards the end of this passage, he he anchors them back into the principle of sowing and reaping, this kingdom principle of sowing and reaping.

And so the beginning of the passage starts off with, let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Now, on the front end, this passage is about the sharing of resources and finances, right?

Teachers and ministers are worth sowing into.

Paul is saying if you've received anything, then reciprocate by sharing what you have and giving back to them.

Okay?

Now, I I know what you're thinking because I am the one with the microphone.

That's easy for me to say, right?

So just to kind of cut any uh, you know, potential backlash, I'm not starting a GoFundMe right now.

There's no vacation fund for the Humbrex GoFundMe launching today as a result.

At the same time, you need to know it is very biblical and right to sew into the people who pour into your life.

You need to know that.

There's a lot of places to sew into, and the thing is, generosity, it needs to, it should be beyond the church, but it should include the church.

It should include the house of faith, the household of faith that you have been given into, that God has called you to sow into.

The strengthening of the household of faith.

All right.

So he starts there and then he goes into this principle of sowing and reaping.

And like I said before, kind of a second layer here.

The reason why he talks about sowing to the flesh and sowing to the spirit is because there were a group of people here that were convinced that Jesus, you know, following Jesus faithfully meant you all need to be circumcised, right?

And so they were deceived to believe that they had to follow Jesus through a bunch of outward-facing actions to make sure that they were doing it right.

And this is why Paul would go hard on them, and we're not talking about this today, but he would go hard on them in this letter and other places.

He says, Listen, no, do not sow into your flesh.

He's saying that if you think that mutilating yourself gets you closer to God or urds you brownie points, you are completely wrong.

And I would say the same thing goes with all of us.

It's not our outward works that save us, it's the grace of God and faith through grace, by grace through faith, that we enter into the life of God.

And then when we enter into the life of God, it leads to outward works as we are led, right?

It leads to a life that reflects God and is fruitful.

But what Paul is saying, listen, no, do not be circumcised in your flesh, be circumcised in your heart.

Let the word of God cut you in your heart first.

And that's how you become born of the Spirit.

And you have to get that, this starts in the Spirit.

So don't sow into your flesh thinking that that's going to save you.

Sow into the things of the Spirit.

And so as he's talking about sowing and reaping, he kind of shifts to a kind of a third layer, third movement that seems to be wider than finances, it seems to be wider than circumcision.

And he he goes into this third part here where he says, Listen, guys, don't grow weary in doing good, for in due time you will reap a harvest.

Don't grow weary in doing good, for in due time you will reap a harvest.

So sowing has to do, according to Paul, if you follow this through, sowing has to do with the planting of good seeds and doing good.

Now, what is he talking about?

He's talking about the lifestyle that we've been talking about for several months, the lifestyle of forgiving, the lifestyle of blessing, giving, serving, listening well, slowing down, showing humility, honor, right?

Bringing blessing, bringing justice, confronting evil, showing mercy, extending grace.

These are the things, this is the lifestyle of those who are given to Christ.

And so he says, listen, you need to, I I want you to know this.

Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due time you will reap a harvest.

Well, doing good to who?

Well, to everyone, he says, but especially the household of faith.

Do good to everyone, but especially the household of faith.

And so he draws a distinction here between sowing to the flesh and sowing to the spirit.

Now, what is sowing to the flesh and sowing to the spirit?

Sowing to the flesh is being primarily consumed with your own needs, desires, concerns, things that you can see, things that you can feel, things that only concern you.

Now, is that wrong on one level?

No, it's not necessarily wrong.

But he says if you only sow to the flesh, the problem is your flesh will corrupt at some point.

Like you can sow as much as you want to your flesh.

Sow away, right?

Sow away to your flesh.

But what happens is it's limited, it expires over a period of time.

You can spend your entire life accumulating security.

You can spend your entire life getting job security.

You can spend your entire life chasing the dollar, chasing the possession, chasing experience.

But listen, at the end of the day, all of that, it will just phase out.

It fizzles out at some point.

He's saying you can do that, but it will, the things of the flesh will pass away.

But he says, instead of sowing to the flesh, sow to the spirit.

And what is the spirit?

The spirit is the things on the mind and the heart of God, the things that aren't that maybe go beyond us.

It's not primarily concerned with our own needs, it's primarily concerned with God.

What's on your heart and your mind?

And I'm gonna sow, I'm gonna sow my energy, my time, my prayer, my money, my service.

I'm gonna sow into the things that matter to your heart.

Why?

Because the things of the Spirit will reap eternal life.

No, it no, when he says eternal life, don't misunderstand what he's saying.

He's not just talking about afterlife.

Eternal life in the scriptures in the New Testament refers to a quality of life in the kingdom that starts right here and right now and lasts through eternity.

Eternal life has to do with the life of God that doesn't end.

When you start sowing into the spirit, this is such good news.

When you sow into the spirit, you step into the life of God right here and right now that does not end.

You're giving yourself to what is eternal and what is unseen, and it goes beyond your own concern.

And he's saying, listen, don't sow to the flesh, which only results in corruption, sow to the things of the spirit.

Are you guys following?

So all of that can be summarized pay attention to what God's Spirit is telling you to give yourself to, even if it's not your own need.

Alright?

But but this is why he follows it up.

This is the key here.

This is so important for us here today.

This is important for you, this is important for me.

This is why he goes into this next verse and he says, That being said, do not grow weary in doing good.

Do not grow weary in doing good.

Now, why would he say that?

Why would we grow weary in doing good?

Because when it comes to sowing and reaping, we often get stuck in the space between putting seed in the ground and waiting for it to bear fruit.

Most of us live our lives between the two.

Prayers and actions and things that we sow in the spirit, and then waiting for them to come into fruition.

And in the mirror in the middle, it can get very tiresome.

It can get very confusing.

Why?

Because again, the kingdom of God doesn't work like mathematics and engineering.

Right?

In mathematics and engineering, it's about control, it's about certainty, it's about efficiency.

But sowing and reaping isn't about any of those things.

A farmer knows that he is not in control of anything.

So when it comes to agriculture and sowing and reaping, sowing and reaping is much more about steadfastness and trust and surrender, not knowing when the time will come when the things that we sow in the spirit will bear fruit.

So this is why Paul says listen, don't grow weary and doing good.

Why?

Because in due time you will reap a harvest if you don't give up.

If you don't give up.

None of us.

I don't like that time.

I don't like due time.

I like now.

I'm a good American.

Now.

How about God?

How about right now?

I said it, I believe it, I name it, claim it now.

It's like, no, due time.

I don't want due time.

Well, you that's what you get.

You get due time.

You're gonna reap in due time.

If what?

If you do not give up.

How many of us give up before we get to due time?

This is where it's at, guys.

This is where it's at in the kingdom of God.

We give up before we get to due time.

But if we got the lesson of sowing and reaping, that the things that we sow into now, trusting that they will come to fruition and they are not for a waste, then it changes how we live every day of our lives.

There's a space between sowing and reaping, or you could say a space between obedience and fruitfulness.

Weariness can come in the waiting.

Now, listen, I'm from Indiana, and I know you think that means I know something about agriculture.

But I want to assure you, I know nothing about farming.

You're like, but you're from Indiana.

Yeah, I know nothing about corn, alright?

I like corn, but you think Indiana, I tell you I'm from Indiana, you think, oh, what you just grew up planting corn and playing basketball.

That's what you did in Indiana.

No, I know nothing about those things, alright?

I know nothing about agriculture.

I don't even know the difference between a tree and a bush, apparently.

Sometimes I water fake plants at home.

I don't know the difference.

I just don't know.

I'm not good with these things, alright?

I can't be perfect at everything, guys.

But apparently, I had to Google this.

Apparently, when you put a seed into the ground, it has different lengths of time for germination to work, alright?

A honeydew melon.

You put a seed in the ground.

You gotta wait about 65 to 100 days for a honeydew to become ripe or whatever.

Come up from the ground.

A sweet potato, that's gonna be more like 100 to 125 days, okay?

Green onion, a little speedier.

We get 30 to 50 days with a green onion.

Good job, green onion.

But then you go over to tree world, it's it's we're we're gonna you're gonna need to hang on for a bit more.

An apple tree is gonna be four to five years.

A cherry tree, three to five years, a pear tree, four to six years, a plum tree, three to five years.

I hope you're taking notes.

You can use this someday, all right?

Um, I I discovered too this last week that the oldest viable seed that has been grown into a full plant was about 2,000-year-old Judean date palm seed.

We got a photo of this.

It was recovered and excavated from Herod the Great's palace, Masada in Israel.

It was preserved in a cool, dry place, not by freezing.

It was germinated in 2005.

So you think three to five years is a long time.

What about a seed that's just hanging out for 2,000 years?

But inside this seed is still the possibility of life.

And the seed waited and waited and waited.

And when the time was right, it was sown and it bore fruit.

It became something.

And it wasn't in control of when that was going to be.

It was when it would be discovered and sown into the ground.

Most of us spend our lives like a seed.

We're somewhere in between sowing and reaping.

And this is the thing about Christ-likeness, this is about following Jesus.

Most of the time, there's absolutely no applause.

Like I have it good because you laugh at my jokes on Sunday mornings and I get a this.

You don't get that like Monday through Friday.

I don't even get that Monday through Friday.

Like, you're the rest of the week, it's a hidden life, it's slow, it's small, it's one decision at your time.

Most of the time you're guessing, right?

Most of the time you're like, Holy Spirit, am I with you?

Am I doing?

Do you want me to pray for that person?

Do you want me to take that risk?

Do you want me to do something?

And there's a lot that goes on.

Hello, Bernie.

Thank you, thank you.

And most of the life in the kingdom, though, is hidden, it's small, it's secret, which is why Jesus would even have to say, Listen, the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.

Nobody, you can barely even detect it.

But once it's sown in the ground over time, it bears something else.

But the problem is sometimes it's so small, so quiet that we don't know if it's making any difference and we give up in the process.

Which is why we lose heart so often.

I think that so many of us lose heart.

Some of you know what that feels like.

Some of you are here right now and you've you've lost heart.

You've lost heart, you've grown weary in the process.

Okay.

Which is where Paul says, listen, guys, I know that this life of sowing and reaping, it requires something from you.

But as you're giving yourself to this life, you need to stay in the game and you need to keep being faithful in the small things and trust God with the outcome.

And this is why for Paul, all of this is framed in not as just try harder.

He starts off this whole passage like this.

He says, Do not be deceived.

God is not mocked, for whatever once sows, he will also reap.

Okay, so just hang with me here.

For Paul, all the sowing and reaping talk is tied back into the nature of God.

And when he reflects on the nature of God, he has to remind the Galatians, listen, guys, do not fall for the lie.

God will not be mocked.

In other translations, it says, God is not a fool.

What once sows, he will reap.

Now, this means a couple different things.

Number one, don't pretend that you're walking in the spirit when you only sow into your flesh.

So, number one, that's a good word.

If you're wanting to walk in the spirit, but all you spend all of your day and time sowing into the flesh, hey, good luck with that.

That's not gonna work.

That's not how sowing and reaping, you're not gonna plant a tomato seed and get a cantaloupe, right?

It's not gonna work like that.

You can't sow, you can't spend your life in your flesh.

You spend your life in the spirit, and that's that yields spiritual fruit, right?

So that's kind of the first outcome here.

But the second is equally true.

Don't believe that when you sow into the spirit, that God won't be faithful to bring the harvest in due time.

God's not going to be mocked.

He won't be made a fool of.

One of the biggest challenges I hear from people and things you know, even the you know, the challenges I even detect in my own heart from time to time is feeling like the small things we do don't matter, that it's all in vain, that it's a waste of time.

And this is what the devil will tell you.

This is how the devil will deceive you.

He will say, Listen, everything that you're working for, all these things that you're fighting for, all the secret times in prayer, all the serving, the forgiving, the blessing, the giving, all of these things.

Like, listen, it's it's cute.

It's nice.

I hope you feel better.

I hope you you can pat yourself on the back.

But it's, you know, I don't expect anything good to come from this.

This is what the devil whispers to us day in and day in day in and day out.

But guess what?

God will not be mocked.

Don't be deceived.

God is not a fool.

What you sow into the spirit, he sees every single seed that is sown into the spirit.

So every prayer that you pray, every act of generosity, every time you serve others, every every time you pray for your spouse or your kids, every selfless act, all these things that we do in the spirit, they don't make sense.

Every time you stop by the homeless person, you give them money because the spirit led you to do that.

The Father in heaven sees every single thing, and he is not going to be made a fool of.

Everything that you sow into his kingdom, he will make sure it reaps and bears fruit for kingdom harvest.

Some of you need to know that.

I just want to speak that into your heart.

Some of you who are weary, the Father sees you, and what you've sown into the Spirit will not be laid waste.

There will be kingdom harvests waiting for you.

It may not be exactly how you expect, it may be differently in different times that you expect.

Now, this is where Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he has to talk about this as well.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians chapter 3, he says, I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.

The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor, for we are co-workers in God's service, you are God's field and God's building.

So Paul knew, like, listen, I'm just doing my part.

I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna plant, Paul's is gonna water, but guess what?

None of us are in control because it's God who does the work.

It's God who makes things grow.

This is a good word for us here today, too.

You don't know the outcome.

You don't know that every everything you do, every choice of words that you make has an outcome.

You won't know the fruit of your life, and it will be made clear and exposed when we enter the throne room of God and when all of history culminates before Jesus and everything will be made clear and be brought to light.

The lives that we lived, the lives that we built, you don't know.

But guess what?

God does, and it's his responsibility.

Your responsibility is just to be faithful with what you've given what he's given you to do.

His responsibility is to make sure that seed grows into fruition.

Come on.

Come on, somebody shout at me right now.

Why does this matter?

Because for a few different reasons.

For today, here's why I think this matters.

Number one, because right even right now, we're standing on seeds that we have not sown.

We are recipients of the fruit of seeds that we have not sown.

We're sitting in a building that we did not build.

We were part of a church that we have, most of us, at least, there's a few of us here that were part of the building of this building, but we're part of a church that we didn't birth.

We just showed up into this church one time and something was waiting for us because somebody else believed in it before we ever got here.

Somebody else saw it before we ever stepped foot in.

We're standing on the prayers of those who've come before us.

We have received the harvest of other people's seeds, and I just believe that in this season, we too are in a season of sowing.

We are recipients of what others have sown and God has grown, and we are in a season of sowing.

And let me ask you the question: what are the seeds that you are going to sow for others who are not here yet?

What are the seeds that you are sowing in the spirit for people that you will never meet?

What are the seeds you are sowing in this house for years and generations to come?

Okay?

I believe, you know, even going into Boulder at the Boulder History Museum, and over the summer we did these prayer hikes in Boulders.

My friend Andy and I had this crazy idea, and we some of you guys joined us in these prayer hikes.

Like every Wednesday morning for about seven weeks or beyond, like we would go up to a peak in Boulder and get a bird's eye view of the entire city, and not just the city of Boulder, but we could see Longmont, we could see Erie, we could see Lafayette, you could even see Denver, you could see out to the trash heap in Erie, you could see, you could see Frederick.

I mean, you could see everything, all right?

And it was a full bird's eye view, and we would just begin to pray over the land, pray over Boulder County.

Lord God, let your revival touch this land.

And we started sowing seeds of faith.

God, let your glory come to this land like we've never seen before.

Let our kids come to know you, let this generation come to awake up to your glory and to your majesty and your goodness and your love.

God, would you meet marriages across this land?

Would you restore marriages that are broken down and weary?

God, would you would you would you rise up women who are powerful in the faith and take up their voice and their mantle of leadership, right?

God, would you raise up men who are doing the same thing, leading in their homes and God help men get their testicles back or whatever?

We need men who lead to powerful men, powerful women in the spirit who are willing to confront injustice, who are willing to call evil evil, who are willing to contend for what's good.

God, we need your power in this land.

We need your power in this church.

We have barely scratched the surface, guys.

I'm I've been, there's a holy discontent inside of me.

I we need to see, I want to see the power of God unleashed here.

We've barely scratched the surface, guys.

I believe the days are coming where just signs and wonders and miracles.

It's like this is the life that we've been given.

And God, forgive me where I've settled for status quo.

Forgive me where we've just been content with coming in, having a really pleasant time of worship and preaching of the word.

We high-five each other and go home.

God, I want those days to be over.

I want your spirit and your glory to break out in and among us, and not just here, not just here, in every church across Boulder County.

I believe that ripe things are ready to happen.

I believe that God wants to burst fruit that is ripe in this region, and those who see it and are willing to sow into it and receive it and actually contend for it will be the ones that bring it into fruition.

I believe that's part of our responsibility in the season.

It's sowing and it's reaping.

God stows, He stowed seeds into this land, He's stowed seeds into every city here, He's stowed seeds into your home and to your lineage as well.

But I believe part of our responsibility is to, in faith, continue to steward, to tend to every seed that's sown until it comes into fruition.

We want to see things become ripe in the kingdom.

Come on.

And I believe it in my heart.

So, what does that mean for you and me?

It means that we have to stay faithful.

We have to not give up, we have to keep sowing into the spirit and seeing what other people do not see.

Do not grow weary.

Paul makes it sound so simple.

Just stop it.

Just stop being weary.

But Paul, did you know about all the advanced therapy and self-care systems that we have?

He's like, okay, that's great.

Stop being weary.

Just don't do it.

Just stop being just keep doing good things.

Keep going.

Okay, I'll just do that.

No, but for real, though.

There can be a place of weariness, but I just want to speak to your heart's strength this morning.

I speak to your heart's strength.

You are not one who's been given a faint spirit.

You've been given a spirit of strength.

You are sons and daughters of the living God.

And some of you are about to throw in the towel on your faith, on your marriage, the creative pursuits, the things, the ministries that God has put into you.

I'm just saying to you, you better hear from the Lord.

You will stand before Him.

Some things have to end.

There are necessary endings, but you better hear from the Lord.

Don't give up.

Keep moving.

It's okay to want to quit.

Just don't.

Somebody told me that early on in ministry.

Like, hey, there's gonna be days you want to quit, and that's fine.

Just don't do it.

I think I can owe that to Walt Robertson over here.

He's like, that's great, you want to quit.

That's cute.

Just don't do it.

Just keep going.

Like, oh, okay, cool.

That's comforting.

Okay, so listen, just a few more things I want to move through.

So a few specific things in this season for this house.

Hang with me.

Just give me a little bit more time.

I wanted to lay that foundation.

There's a word in there for all of us here today.

Don't lose heart.

Stay faithful with what God's given you.

He will, you will reap a harvest when you sow into the spirit.

Why?

Because God won't be mocked.

And he's not a fool.

He knows what you're sowing into.

Okay, that's your word for today.

Take that home.

Chew on that.

Digest that.

All right.

Take it to the bank.

It's going to be good.

Now, for us in the lookout, here's a few things that I believe is important that we sew into together.

We continue to sew into together.

Number one, we you know, when we look at our vision, which is, you know, we're following Jesus, all right?

And we believe the three main expressions of that are being a people of his presence, being a people rooted in family, and be people that go with Jesus in family to be on mission with him, so that all will experience his love.

It's not really just about us.

Okay?

So I'm going to talk about sowing in family this season.

Number one, um, we do that through serving.

Number two, we do that through giving.

We sow into family.

God, you are not alone, you're not a lone ranger.

There's no lone rangers in the kingdom of God.

We're a part of what God is doing in the household of faith.

That includes those here and probably those outside of this room that you're connected with as well.

We we're we're an interconnected family, and we need everybody engaged.

Like Paul said, especially in the household of faith, we do good to each other.

That means we need to find a place and a space to serve sacrificially and wholeheartedly.

Um, and like I said earlier, this week we received uh in a moment's notice that one of our key leaders had to step out.

Fortunately, I had a conversation with Carly Robertson here this week, and she said, Listen, I'm ready to go.

I'm ready to jump in and just to kind of hold the space.

I said, Carly, are you serious?

You're doing a ton.

You're an amazing leader.

You do all these things.

Are you gonna be able to kind of hold, you know, hold the space?

You're gonna be able to do this.

She said, Listen, this is what family does.

She said, This is what family does.

And listen, we don't pay her.

It's like she's completely volunteer.

She says, this is what family does.

And listen, I think all of us, there's an invitation for all of us to just have that same attitude.

This is what family does.

We serve and we give our time to each other.

So our kids in this season, they need your presence.

Some of you guys need to sign up to be a part.

One of the ways you can do that, again, Josh told you earlier, you can scan that little QR code, it's a little fancy code on your seat back, and you're gonna go through that list.

Click on serve on a team.

We need to lead teachers who are willing to just come into a prepared lesson plan and just ready to be with the kids.

And everything will be prepared for you.

We make it really easy.

It's just all you have to do is be ready to be present with the kids, pray for them, lead them through a lesson.

We need other kinds of help down there too.

We need a handful of you to sign up even here today, and I want to invite you to do that, to be a part of what God's doing in kids.

It's a privilege that we get to sow into the lives of kids.

It's not a duty, it's not an obligation, it is a privilege of ours that we get to raise up young ones who know the Lord.

So I'm excited for what's in this next season.

But for some of you, you need to sow in service, even if it's not something that was on the top of your list.

This is what we do as a family.

Everybody smile at me.

This is what we do.

We're a family, right?

We give.

We don't just give flippantly, we build generosity into our budgets.

And I just want to encourage you to this morning, be decisive.

Don't leave generosity up to, let's see if I have enough.

Make generosity the first building block of your lifestyle and watch God bless it.

This is what he does, is what he does for my wife and I.

This is what he does for, I know many of you guys, you've just decided this is the lifestyle I'm gonna give myself to, and I'm gonna I'm gonna set myself up to see how God's gonna make the rest of it make sense.

I want to encourage you to give, not out of a place of poverty, but you're putting a stake in the ground.

That God, we're gonna sow into the spirit for what you're doing in this church, and not just in this church, but all of Boulder and all around the world.

Okay?

So we sow through sowing and giving serving and giving.

Everybody say serving and giving.

Come on, I believe you.

I believe you.

It's a privilege of ours.

But also we sow through mission.

And uh, one of the cool things in this next season is where some stuff is ramping up around international missions, and so we we do, we, we we are in mission with Jesus both globally and locally.

So last year we named this church, we renamed it Church of the Lookout because we believe that, again, we believe as a church, we're supposed to look out beyond ourselves.

We're supposed to look out way beyond ourselves.

We want to sow seeds beyond ourselves to transform the world with awe-inspiring love.

And so, one of the cool things is we're currently finalizing, just re-evaluating all of our missions, global missions partnerships.

We're gonna be re-establishing those.

This next year we'll be building a fund to resource these key partnerships in Mexico and Rwanda and other ministries that are going all over the world.

Next week, Willie, you heard it already, Pastor Willie Romanera will be here from Rwanda.

Do you guys know how important it is to hear somebody who is on the ground in another part of the world that is unlike ours?

It is critical that you guys show up next week if you can.

Make it a priority to show up next week.

He's gonna have a word.

For us, and it's it's imperative that we hear it and we receive it.

And likewise, we reciprocate and we bless what God is doing in Rwanda, okay?

Next month, we're gonna be uh we're gonna be uh investing in Mexico through blessing bags.

We're gonna create blessing bags as a community, send them to Mexico as Christmas gifts for kids and orphans in four different locations in Mexico.

It's gonna be awesome.

We're gonna send hundreds of bags of Christmas gifts down there to be there in time for Christmas.

In November, we're gonna be resourcing our Wellspring food and clothing bank.

We're gonna stock up food, we're gonna stock up cans of canned food, box food, and uh, and get uh our food bank ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, gift cards that will go out to all these families that we're serving.

We're serving thousands of people across Boulder County and beyond.

We're delivering food to them every week.

It's awesome.

So that's coming in probably in November.

On a local side, we have a we have so many opportunities before us, and we have work to do.

I just want to encourage you, though, on the very primal, just very basic level, when it comes to living on mission with Jesus, I just want to ask you this.

Who is in your life that is far from God that you are praying for on a regular basis?

Who is the one person that you have adopted into your life that God has assigned to you that you can pray for?

And if you don't have an answer to that question, I don't want to challenge you.

Because this church does not exist for us to have a good spiritual experience on a Sunday morning.

That's not the point.

I I I'm grateful that that happens, but that's not God's design.

To just become these like super spiritual, charismatic Christians who just like do everything loud and vibrant and then just go back to our lives.

I want to invite you, who are you inviting to follow Jesus with you?

Let me ask you, who has been transformed by the love of Jesus, maybe even through this church?

Just put your hand up in the air.

Who has been transformed by the love of Jesus?

Okay.

Now let me ask you, who in your life needs that same transformation?

And when are you going to invite them to be a part with you?

What does that mean?

Invite them into your life, invite them to your dinner table.

The next men's night, invite a friend with you, the next women's night, invite a lady with you.

At church, who are you going to invite in time?

Do you trust that God wants to meet them in the same way that He's met you?

Hello?

We good?

Because what God does in you, He also wants to do through you.

What God has done in you, He wants to pass on through you.

God has assigned you, He's put people in your life.

Are you praying for them and receiving?

Are you sowing into the people in your life?

Alright.

You guys are wearing down.

I'm gonna keep going here.

I'll keep preaching.

We sow in mission, family sow in mission, we sow in presence.

All right, this is my last thing, and then we're gonna bless and we're gonna go, okay?

We sow in presence as well.

This October, we are, we do believe that we are supposed to give ourselves to an extended week of prayer.

We're calling it a week of unbroken prayer.

We're sowing seeds of faith.

We're joining with the National Ministry, 24-7 Prayer USA, who is filling all of 2024.

Every week is being basically received by another church across the country that the entire year of 2024 is covered in unbroken prayer.

And our week is coming up October 14th through the 20th.

We're gonna talk more about this in the next few weeks, but what we believe is that we're to be praying for renewal in the church and revival in the land.

Every prayer movement, every move of God in church history started with a prayer movement.

Started with men and women who said, We're going to give ourselves to prayer in unseen places.

Okay?

We believe the same is true for us.

Then we want to pray for the church.

We pray for Boulder County.

And listen, we're gonna we're gonna be inviting you to be a part.

You can even sign up at that link.

If you go to that same link, you can sign up for the week of prayer.

Here's our ask that you consider in mid-October for that week for seven days straight, taking one hour a day for seven days.

One hour a day for seven days.

You can pick whatever hour that is.

We're gonna give you a prayer guide, we're gonna show you what to do in an hour.

Some of you are like, I've never prayed for an hour in my life.

Well, guess what?

This October is the first time you're gonna be able to pray for an hour straight, and you're gonna do it for seven days.

It's gonna be awesome.

Some of us are gonna do it here, some of us will do it at home.

But what if we covered seven straight days with prayer?

What would God do if we're faithful to sow into the spirit for seven days with what God wants to do in this church and our families in all of Boulder County?

Come on.

I believe it.

Okay, so that being said, those are a few things coming up.

We're sowing in family, we're sowing in mission, we're sowing in presence.

But this morning, I want to pray for you here this morning.

Some of you are coming and you're feeling that weariness.

I just want to invite you to close your eyes with me for a moment.

Some of you need strength.

I need strength.

Some of you need the eyes to see what God's doing in your life.

I want to pray for you this morning.

Jesus, I thank you that your word is true.

That what one sows will be reaped in due time.

I want to pray for my brothers and sisters here, God, as we're faithful to what you've called us to, as we take small steps every day to live the life in your kingdom, God.

I pray for my friends.

I pray for a renewal of life from the inside out.

I pray for the supernatural flooding of heaven's energy and strength to hit every muscle of your being, to renew your spirit, that you would rise up on eagle's wings.

It would not be a strength of your own, but you've been given strength from heaven to do exactly what God's called you to do.

And I thank you that in due time we will reap a harvest.

God, together as a church, we say yes and amen to everything you want to do here among us in this season of sowing.

We thank you for everything you want to do in our land as we look out these windows, as we go home to different cities and different neighbors.

We thank you for the purposes that you have placed.

And we don't take that lightly, God.

You have sown us a seed into this land.

And I thank you for heaven's fruit to be born in this next season.

We thank you, God, that we would see things that we have never seen in our time and in our day.

And we thank you, God, that as we're faithful to pray, as we're faithful to contend, you're sowing seeds now that will bear fruit a hundred years from now.

But what a blessing it is for us to be a part of your story that has no end.

So, God, I thank you, Father, that we get to be your church.

We get to be a part of your story.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Come on, somebody shout to Jesus this morning.