Following The Seed To Salvation

By Reverend Stoy L. Yeager

In the beginning, God created a perfect world that included people who had a faultless relationship with Him. Not long after that, there was a spiritual war that took place here on earth with evil against Adam and his wife, Eve. Unfortunately for mankind, Adam and Eve lost this spiritual war, and everything on earth changed. This is when sin entered the world, spiritually and physically. This a true story about how God used a man to set in motion a plan to get back what humanity had lost spiritually. God made a covenant with this man to show that He was true to His word. However, there was one big stipulation: God would have to die.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640282223

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Following

the Seed

to Salvation

Reverend Stoy L. Yeager III

ISBN 978-1-64028-221-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64028-222-3 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by Reverend Stoy L. Yeager III

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

I dedicate this book to the memory of my mom, Delores Yeager, who always supported me in everything I did in life.

To my dad, Stoy L. Yeager Jr.; my wife, Carol Yeager; my sons, Steven Yeager and Reyn Yeager; and my daughter, April Michaels.

I thank Kyoko Mastrogiovanni, Kaitlyn Gaskill, Shelby Wilmarth, and my mentor Wayne Cordeiro for their help and support.

Without the help and support of all these people, I would have not had the confidence to write this book.

I thank Jesus Christ for all His help and guidance that made all this possible.

My Testimony

Running, with its many benefits, has always been a big part of my life. However, there was one run in particular that before I finished my life was changed for eternity.

I like most sports, but the sport I enjoyed the most and found that I could be competitive in were running track and cross-country. As a junior in high school, I held the school record in the two mile; and in that same year, our cross-country team competed in Oregon’s state high school championship.

One reason cross-country was my favorite was that it was not on a track. The courses varied every week—some were on golf courses with pretty landscaping, but others were out in the woods with trees, mud, and hills. A runner not only has to pay attention to the race but also to where exactly he or she is going. If you got hit by a limb or ran into a tree, it would not only slow you down but would also definitely leave a mark.

Living in Eugene, Oregon (the track capital of the world), where so many world-class athletes have trained and competed, I’ve had lots of opportunities to see several good runners in races throughout the years. When I first got into running, I really looked up to a world-class runner named Jim Ryun.

Jim Ryun was the real deal. In 1964, he was the first high school runner to break under four minutes in the mile with a time of 3:59. Then in 1965, Ryun ran even faster with a time of 3:55. This was not only a personal best for him but it was also a national high school record that stood for thirty-six years.

In the 1980s, a friend of mine organized a race that would be in conjunction with a big track meet going on at the University of Oregon. He introduced me to Jim Ryun and other big-name runners who had competed in the sixties and the seventies Olympics. But it was Jim Ryun who I was most excited to meet. There I was meeting in person, away from the track, and one on one the very person I had looked up to for so many years. Actually, it worked out that I got to talk with him many times after that. My two older kids, Steve and April, played with Ryun’s kids a few times while his whole family was in town for the race. It was so amazing that Jim’s kids and my kids became friends and had so much fun together.

When I was a runner in junior high school and high school, I was very inspired by Ryun’s athletic ability and all that he had accomplished throughout the years. But after meeting him and his family in person, I admired Jim for a different reason. I discovered that he was not only a very nice man but also a very down-to-earth person. As a matter of fact, his whole family was very nice!

The Ryun family is a Christian family. It did not really surprise me when I found this out because they seemed like what I thought a Christian family should look and act like in their daily walk with Christ. Everyone in their family seemed very happy and not in a phony way or just for show either. I am not saying they were flawless, but this family seemed to have something different than most.

Christians are not perfect people by any means because we are only human, but our hearts should be different from the world’s thoughts about life and being successful. There is nothing wrong with people succeeding in any area of their lives. However, a Christian should strive to do their best no matter what they are doing. A Christian should give 100 percent in everything they do. This can and will bring happiness. But it is important to remember that true happiness lives in our heart that only Christ can give us. I could see this in the Ryun family. I could see that Jim had a good attitude about life, and it was an attitude that was easily catchable. He was Christlike without saying a word. It was a very good lesson that I learned from him, and amazingly, it had nothing to do with running.

During cross-country season in my senior year of high school, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. It was very disappointing for me because just a few months earlier, I had started training very hard for the upcoming cross-country season that would be starting in the fall. I wanted to be at least one of the top five runners in the state. I knew I could achieve this if I worked hard during these summer workouts. I felt that everything was going well as I was getting in shape. I worked on my speed and endurance throughout that summer. But after a few weeks into the cross-country season, I started to feel weak and I did not have the energy that I once had. Once I got the results from the blood test and was diagnosed with mononucleosis, it made sense why I did not have the running drive I once had.

After a year, I felt I could run again, but it would be just for fun. The doctor never explained to me it would just take time to recover, so I never followed up on the colleges that had written me letters wanting me to come to their school and join their track team.

Over the years, I still enjoy running in road races, and I have competed in two marathons. I still have that desire to go out and run. But the most important run I ever went on was still yet to come.

One day in the early 1980s, I put my running shoes on and went out for a six-and-a-half-mile run. My stretching consisted of trying to touch my toes, which was not successful, but I did make the effort. I always carried a little AM radio with me to listen to talk shows and music while I ran. I left my house that morning with it and started running. This was going to be just an ordinary workout, but there was more on my mind than running that day. For a few weeks, the Holy Spirit had been talking to me. Every day I felt closer to God. It’s difficult to explain, but God was pulling me closer to Jesus to become my Lord and Savior.

During the past few weeks, I had this need to read the Bible; and I started going to church, which is a Southern Baptist Church in Springfield, the city right next to Eugene in Oregon. I could not read enough of the Bible and wanted to know more and more about Jesus. Before I started reading it for the first time, I thought the Bible was just a bunch of proverbs and psalms. Like a lot of Americans, even though I had always owned a Bible I really never read it or knew what it was all about.

As I ran toward a secluded paved bike path about a mile from my house, I was thinking about God and what He had in store for me. To be honest, I was always afraid to become a Christian because I thought God would make a missionary out of me and send me to somewhere in South Africa where I would never be heard from ever again. But the truth is, God has a plan for each and every one of His children, whether it is going overseas or using you at your workplace.

Once I got to the bike trail, I noticed how quiet the area was around me. This trail was in the middle of a field with light brown, tall hay on both sides of it. With the wind slightly blowing, I could hear the tops of the hay making a soft noise as it swayed back and forth. It was very peaceful and calming.

As I was running, I felt in my heart that God was talking to me again. The Holy Spirit was telling me it was time to change my life spiritually. Being the only person on this trail, it was nice because I could really focus on what was going on. I felt it was time to move toward God and invite Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and to follow Him. As this was going on, I never stopped running; I just kept praying and talking to God. I can’t remember, but with all of this going on and being so excited, I may have started running faster.

I prayed that day and decided to follow Jesus as a born-again believer. I asked God for the Blood of Jesus to cover all my sins and to start guiding me through my life. After doing this, my life was totally changed spiritually. I went from death to life for eternity. From that moment on, I knew I had a future and a hope with God in this life as well as after I leave this earth.

The Bible says if you become born-again, you are a new person and all your sins are forgiven (from past sins to future sins). Once the Blood of Jesus covers these sins, God doesn’t see them anymore. For me that day, this run started out as just a workout; but when it was finished, I placed first spiritually in the kingdom of God.

I was very happy about this decision and have never once regretted it. The Holy Spirit has lived within me ever since that day. I know this because Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to live in the people who believed in Him. Running always helps me think more clearly, but never as clearly as the day I became born-again.

Many years later, I would become a reverend. It was a long road getting there though because I got sidetracked along the way. Being a reverend is very rewarding. However, it does not mean I know everything about the Bible or about spiritual things because I do not. Yet I can say that I am learning more every day in my walk with the Lord. It is also so rewarding to read the Bible and to learn new things from God’s Word every time I open it. The more I read the Bible, the more I learn about the teachings of God and His purpose for all of us. One of the first important things I learned is that being a Christian is not about being religious; it is having a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ and walking with Him every day and being with Him for eternity.

Introduction

In this book, I want to show you that God had a plan to redeem the whole human race by using His Son, Jesus Christ. Even though the relationship was broken between God and the people of the earth in the beginning, He did not let us all die and be without Him for eternity. Not only does God have a plan for each individual but He also gives us a second chance to reestablish our relationship with Him. You will see that in the Old Testament, God used certain people to pass the Seed down through generations to bring Christ into the world. Even though this was His plan for us, we must do our part too. What is our part? Our part is to have a daily walk with Christ in our hearts. By doing this, He can and will teach and correct us along the way. Every day we must get back to Jesus (our foundation) and not only let Him give us instructions but allow Him to renew us as well.

After becoming a Christian, you might ask this question: How will I know what God’s plan is for me? Once you open your heart to Christ and have daily prayer with Him, you will start to see His plan for you. God has a way of revealing His plan for each individual in a very unique way that He knows we will understand. Praying to God and reading the Bible starts the process. This will be your next step after inviting Jesus into your life. As Christians, we pray to God [the Father] through [His Son] Jesus Christ. It is important to know that praying is not just asking for things from the Lord. It is having conversations and communicating with Him by talking about everything in your life, but what is most important is to listen to what God has to say to you. By having this relationship, you will discover what your life is all about.

Because Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected to life, His sacrifice allowed people to reconnect to a direct line with God the Father, which had been disconnected by Adam and Eve through the fall of mankind. What was the Fall and what happened because of it? God created the first people on earth named Adam and Eve. They had everything, including and most importantly a relationship with God. They only had one rule from God: to not eat the fruit from a particular tree in the garden. Life would be good, and a strong relationship with God would be given to all people on earth as long as the fruit was not eaten.

Everything on earth was peaceful and wonderful with no pain or suffering. Plus, everything was beautiful, and the animals were friendly. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God all the time. Unfortunately, there was an angel that God kicked out from heaven and went to earth. This Evil One wanted to mess everything up here on earth to get back at God for kicking him out of heaven. He wanted to make earth a bad place and not the paradise it certainly was at that time. Spiritual warfare was about to take place.

Eve was the first to go into battle, and in this spiritual warfare, she also became the first victim. The Evil One spoke to Eve and began messing with her mind by convincing her that God was not telling her the truth and that she and Adam could be just like God. Eve could have stopped everything right then and there, but she believed the lie. Both Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and lost their relationship with God. Ever since that moment, this spiritual war continues to grow even bigger as time goes on.

This changed the relationship between God and mankind, and it would stay this way for generations. The day they ate from the tree, their bodies began to die and their spirits were cut off from God the Father. The spiritual relationship was broken; for mankind, there was no hope, guidance, or turning back. In other words, they did not have the ability to have a personal relationship with God any longer, and there was no more purity on earth.

From that time on, everything on earth became different. There is now sickness, war, death, and changes in the environment, and many animals are very dangerous to mankind. Humans also started thinking selfishly and not about God. Everything bad here on earth started that day with the fall. As soon as Eve took that first bite and went against God, everything changed and would never be the same again.

But wait! There is good news! Even though Adam and Eve messed everything up for the rest of us, God never stopped loving us. Because God loves us so much, He gives us a second chance to change our lives with Him. In the midst of all the spiritual warfare going on, God sent His Son to deliver us from death and from being eternally kept away from Him forever.

The Old Testament points to Jesus in many ways, for example, by the sacrifices made with animals by the Jewish people according to the Law given by God. This emulated what was going to happen to Jesus. When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God directed them to a place called Moriah. Later this same place would be called Golgotha where Jesus was sacrificed on the cross. So the Old Testament shows us what God was up to and that He did have a plan! Part of a person’s daily routine is to make plans. It is really remarkable how many plans we make in one day. It may be from doing laundry to having a business meeting. I personally have all my plans and appointments on my phone’s calendar, and I also write them down on a paper calendar to keep track of everything going on in my life. God also has plans on a timeline and a purpose for every person on earth.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the

Lord

, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)

God, our Creator, not only created us spiritually and physically but He also created plans for each one of us. These plans would help carry out His plans for the world and would help us along in our daily lives. From the beginning of our life to the end of our life here on earth, God is with us every step of the way guiding