God’s Seeds of Greatness

God has planted seeds of greatness in every person, and His plan for your life is for those seeds to sprout and grow and produce in you a life of health, wealth and happiness. From the very start of creation it was God’s plan for people to enjoy life. Man was the ultimate, the highest pinnacle of creation. Man was created in the image of God; he was the reason for the creation. God did not plan for His man to be sick, to be poor, to be in bondage; He planned for man to be on top of the world. When God created Adam, He did it in such a way that in order for Adam to achieve greatness there had to be a co-operative effort between God and Adam. This is a vital point.
    We often think of Adam as being a perfect creature, yet God created him with the potential to grow and develop. God said to Adam, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over all the wild animals”. God placed this man that He had created in the Garden of Eden, and said to him, “I want you to tend the garden, and keep it”. This implies that Adam had a job to do, a part to play in developing God’s seeds of greatness in his life. God’s desire for humanity is the same as His desire for Adam. God wanted Adam to take what had been given to him in creation, and make it productive, make it grow, make it develop.
       The New Testament verse that is the key to these truths is II Corinthians 9:10, “Now He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, will supply and multiply the seed you have… and increase the fruits of your righteousness” (NKJV, margin). God gives the seed; you have to sow them in your life, and God will multiply, make productive, germinate, allow to grow to full splendour, the seed you have sown in your life. God has supplied to you His seeds of success; they are found in His positive Word. If you will provide the warmth and the water the seed needs to germinate and grow, then you will enjoy the results that God has promised.

The power of a seed

The word “seed” implies potential, for within every seed is life and a program that determines its growth. Everything necessary for an oak tree to grow is held within the acorn. I have taught the Word of God many times in the redwood area of northern California. Redwood trees grow to an incredible height and live for centuries. It is claimed that trees in that area were alive in the time of Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago. I have the seen the seed of the redwood tree; very small seeds, only a millimetre or two in length. Yet within that seed is the initial nourishment for the tree and a complete operating program that determines the shape, structure and colour of those magnificent trees. A seed has within the potential necessary for the development of a plant for mankind to enjoy and utilize. God deliberately uses the illustration of a seed to teach us that within every believer is the potential to grow and develop and to maximize our potential. A seed then implies potential, productivity and pleasurable results.
    There is one difference between natural seed and God’s seeds of greatness, and that is that God’s seeds are permanent. In I John 3:9 God says that His seed will remain within the believer; it is permanent. There is therefore no question as to whether you do or do not have God’s seeds in your life. God shows no favouritism (Romans 2:11), and if only one person can be shown to be enjoying health, wealth and happiness, then it is available for every person. We all have the seed, but what are we doing with it?
    One other aspect of seed is that it does matter as to the type of soil in which seeds are planted. We need to provide God’s seeds with good soil, like that in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-15). The farmers of that day took a handful of seed and threw it from left to right in front of them as they walked across the plowed field. Some would fall on the unplowed edges of the field, others on paths, and hopefully most on good soil. In the parable, the seed is the Word of God (verse 11), and this is why I believe that God’s seeds of greatness are principles in the Word that we can allow to germinate and grow in our lives and bring forth a good result. The seed that fell on good ground is likened to those who hear God’s Word “with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience [endurance]”. The development of the seed is determined by the quality of the ground in which it is placed. Let’s provide the soil of positive faith and affirmation and enjoy the fruits of God’s seeds of greatness in our lives.

The example of Abraham

One of the great Bible examples of the cultivation of the seeds of greatness in a person’s life is seen in the Bible record concerning Abraham. When he first appears on the Old Testament scene, Abram (his former name) receives a command from God: “Get out of your country… to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing… And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
    God has planted in Abram seeds of greatness. Abram now has to make a choice. He could reject the concept that God had clearly defined for his life, or he could provide the water and warmth of his positive attitude and action to make those seed grow. He was not concerned that he was 75 years old, past the age of retirement. He was not content for younger men to get in there and do the task for him. God had planted in him seeds of greatness and Abram is going to run with them. “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him…” (verse 4).
    The record is clear that Abram’s faith in the seeds of greatness that God planted in him brought great results. “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2). He was the world’s first millionaire! “Now Abraham was old [140 years!], well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things” (Genesis 24:1). No, everything did not go smoothly for him. Those challenges “we can do without” we cannot do without, for they are stepping stones to maturity, to greatness. Abraham rose to the opportunities of life, and when he died at 175 years of age he left to his family not only great possessions but also a great faith to follow. The Bible calls him “the Friend of God”, and that is God’s desire for all who put their faith in Him.

Faith and God’s Seed

There are many seeds of greatness, but they all revolve around one great requirement: faith!

• Self-esteem requires faith.
• Lordship requires faith.
• Desire requires faith.
• Decision requires faith.

    Abraham believed “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did… He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:17,20).
    Why is Abraham of interest to us today? Because “the promise [is] sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law… that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus… And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:14,15,29). Abraham is the Old Testament’s greatest example of faith–he gets the most detailed mention in the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11, and in addition the whole of Romans chapter 4 is devoted to him. That seed of greatness which God planted in him certainly grew and produced a rich harvest, and we are to “walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had” (Romans 4:12).
    I believe God sows the same seeds of greatness in everyone who becomes a member of His forever family. For us God has taken the future tense and turned it into the past tense. I believe God is saying to us today, “I have made you… I have blessed you… you are a blessing…” He says to us, “You are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37); “You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3); “You are an overcomer, because I am in you” (I John 4:4); “As I am, so are you in this world” (I John 4:17); “Your faith in Me has won the victory” (I John 5:4); “I hear what you have asked, and its yours!” (I John 5:15). “My seed remains in you, so the power and penalty of sin has no dominion over you” (I John 3:9; Romans 6:14).
    The seed to succeed in life is powerful, productive, and present in you! Do you believe it?

Copyright © 1989 Peter Wade. The Bible text in this publication, except where otherwise indicated, is from the New International Version (NIV), Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. This article appears on the site: http://peterwade.com/.

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