Seed for Sowing

By Curtis Bay

The forty-five faith confessions, which comprise this book, have been thoughtfully and prayerfully crafted to help the reader experience the creative power of the Word of God. Seed for Sowing is based on the principles of sowing and reaping and that the Scriptures contain the life of God in seed form. When that seed is planted in the good ground of a believer's heart, that ground brings forth a harvest according to the nature of the seed sown. As you apply yourself to this process and "hold fast the profession of [your] faith without wavering" (Hebrews 10:23a), your circumstances will begin to line up with the Word, for He is "watching over His word to perform it" in your life (Jeremiah 1:12).

I am strong and of good courage; I am not afraid or dismayed: For the Lord my God goes with me. He will not fail me nor forsake me. I shall not be afraid of evil tidings; my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

This selection from the chapter entitled "Freedom from Fear" and numerous other personalized passages of Scripture like it in this book are designed to help you, the believer, to plant God's Word in your heart and, thereby, to reap an abundant harvest and walk in victory in every area of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781638446576

Book preview

cover.jpg

Seed for Sowing

Curtis Bay

ISBN 978-1-63844-656-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63844-657-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Curtis Bay

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

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Cover photo by Gary Cervaney, Lightworks Photography

PO Box 524, Edgewood, NM 87015

505-281-1018

Drawing of The Sower by Ann Huyler

SEED FOR SOWING

by Curtis Bay

All Scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the King James Version of the Bible, with the language modernized at the author’s discretion, and rephrased (mostly by putting it in the first person) to fit the format and concept of the book.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Walking in Faith

Faith

Heart Care

God's Word

The Tongue

In and Through Christ

The Names of God

Healing

God's Supply

Blessing

The Favor of God

The Prayer of Jabez

Walking and Growing in the Spirit

Walking in Love

God's Grace

Peace

Righteousness

The Blood of Jesus

New Creature

Christ in Me

Assurance of Salvation

Boldness and Confidence

The Thought Life

God's Workmanship

Divine Guidance

Walking in the Spirit

God-Given Vision

New Day

A Living Hope

Deliverance and Overcoming

The Overcoming Life

Freedom from Fear

Freedom from Sin

Controlling Anger

Breaking Addiction

Self-Esteem

Remedy for Depression

Sleep

Protection and Safety

The Armor of God

Home and Career

On the Job

Minister

Students

Athlete

Wife for Husband

Husband for Wife

Parent for a Child

Teenager

For Senior Saints

Salvation Prayer

References

Notes:

About the Author

To my wife, Jeannette, the gift of God, my best friend, my fellow faith traveler, and my encourager

To all the great pioneers of faith, past and present

To my Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

—Luke 8:11

Introduction

The purpose of Seed for Sowing is to put God's word in your mouth and in your heart and, thereby, to help you operate in the process of faith. This book assembles under one cover a topical arrangement of scriptural meditations and positive confessions covering a variety of subjects and life areas. For the most part, these are simply personalized passages of Scripture. All but a few are in the first person. For those which are not, blanks are left for you to fill in the name of the person (i.e., a spouse or child) for whom faith is being released. While there are some wonderful books about praying the scriptures and some useful collections of Scripture promises, this book is unique in that it personalizes the scriptures to help you, the believer, to sow God's word into your heart and to release your faith by speaking it forth.

The most important of Jesus's parables, according to Jesus Himself, is the parable of the sower (see Matthew 13:3–23). In it, He compares the word of God to seed and explains why the seed, having been sown into the ground, sometimes fails to produce a crop. He also explains what is required in order to produce a crop. In one instance, the word is not understood, and in the same way a bird may snatch a seed out of the ground before it can take root, the enemy snatches the word out of a person's heart before it can become productive. In the second instance, the word or seed falls on stony places where the ground is too shallow to allow it to take root. The believer, with no root in himself, is easily offended by trouble or persecution. In the third instance, the seed is sown among thorns, indicating a heart that is distracted by the things of this world. The word is choked and becomes unfruitful. The one who brings forth fruit (some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty) is the one who receives the word into good ground, having heard it and understood it.

I believe this is the most important parable because it deals with the Word, and the word of God is foundational to everything God does on the earth and in the life of the believer. God created the universe through His word (Hebrews 11:3). He established His covenant with Abraham through His word and bases the born-again experience on the Word. Significantly, Jesus is called the Word (John 1:1). And just as there is life in Jesus, the Word (John 1:4), there is life in every word God speaks. In explaining the parable of the sower to His disciples, Jesus stated, The parable is this: The seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11 KJV). He was teaching us that His word contains the life of God in seed form. And just as a seed is unproductive until planted and properly tended to, the word of God remains unfruitful until it is sown in our hearts and mixed with faith (Hebrews 4:2).

What we have just described is the operation of faith. And as important as this process is for the believer in crises, it is just as important, if not more so, to understand that God intends faith to be a lifestyle. Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV) says, The just shall live by his faith. The fact that this is found three other places in Scripture (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38) is a fair indication that God is saying something important to us. Paul wrote, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17 KJV). If we continually build our faith by putting the Word into our hearts, we will not only be prepared for life's challenges and crises when they come, but I believe we may avoid many of them altogether. The believer should also recognize there are scriptures to cover any and every area of life. (I have endeavored to include a broad spectrum of life areas in the chapters of this book.)

In the life of the believer, the operation of faith begins with the born-again experience:

Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. (1 Peter 1:23 KJV)

When that seed is received into the fertile ground of a believer's heart, it germinates and sends forth roots and branches, and the very life and nature of God are reproduced in the believer. We become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Whatever area of life a verse or passage of Scripture speaks to, that scripture, when mixed with faith, has the ability to fulfill itself in the believer's life. This applies to salvation, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing, blessing and provision, protection and safety, deliverance, and so forth.

It is by the Word that God does an ongoing work in the life of the believer:

When you received the word of God, you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV)

Inherent in the word of God is the power to bring itself to pass. In Luke 1 is the story of the annunciation to Mary. When the angel told her she would conceive, Mary responded by asking, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? In verse 37 is the King James rendering of the angel's response: For with God, nothing shall be impossible. The original Greek text reads, "No word (Gr.: rhema) of God will be impossible." (Praise Releases Faith, p. 150). To state it another way, the word of God was the means by which the angelic prophecy was to be fulfilled. In reply, Mary said, "Be it unto me according to Thy word (rhema)" (Luke 1:38). Once she agreed with the word, the matter was settled.

In the Old Testament, the people of God were instructed to get the Word into their hearts through the process of meditation:

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all