Recover the Mindset
Scatter the Seed
Session 2:Recover the Mindset
In the parable, we hear how the farms had departed from the practice of scattering seed. Some, caring about soil health, had become ant farmers. Others became greenhouse farmers, who individually potted their plants and moved them indoors.
How do you think the ant and greenhouse farmers correspond with Christians and churches today?
VALUE GOD’S PLAN FOR MAKING DISCIPLES.
Matthew 28:18–20
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
In the simplest terms, Jesus’ command was to make disciples. This was to be done in three ways: by going to tell people, baptizing the believers, and then teaching them to obey Christ’s commands. Baptism acts as a hinge between sharing the gospel and teaching the disciples. Many people tend to separate sharing from teaching. Some will neglect one practice or the other entirely.
Which is more difficult for you, sharing the gospel or helping another person grow in their faith?
Many people struggle with sharing their faith. What makes sharing your faith with others difficult?
When inconvenient circumstances come, people often comment that the problem could not have come at a worse time.
God has established that these are the very times when His plan is often unfolding.
How might the knowledge that God is often at work in these situations adjust the way you face them?
REALIZE THE IMPACT OF GOD’S PLAN FOR MAKING DISCIPLES
Joel 2:25–27
25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.[a]
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
Through Joel, God promises Israel that He will restore them once again with times of plenty. Their physical scarcity matched a parched spiritual landscape. They had drifted from spiritual fruitfulness, and eventually, through God’s loving judgment, the land became parched, too.
If you have not experienced a time of spiritual growth, that is okay. Such a time may come soon, and it is worth praying for. If you have experienced past intense growth, what has changed?
Many people who are growing in their faith find it easier to share their faith with others. If you have shared your faith with others, how has that influenced your own spiritual growth? Most Christians who share their faith with others find that their own prayer life, personal Bible study, and fellowship with Christians increase.
In the video, we heard about the unstable element plutonium, which decays over time into lead. The process is gradual. His point was that this same scenario plays out in our spiritual growth. Without a faith-sharing mindset, Christians find their personal growth becomes less dynamic. How have you seen this scenario at work?
Remember that God’s promise through Joel was of restoration. Former or newfound spiritual vibrancy can be ours through Him. This comes through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us. He makes as a new creation in Him.
Romans 12:1–2
12 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
What is the condition under which a person becomes a new creation?
What “old” aspects of your life have passed away since coming to faith in Christ? What new aspects have come?
How does the declaration of newness encourage you to become more committed to your role in making disciples?
How can God’s people around you help you with this?
SURRENDER TO GOD’S PLAN FOR MAKING DISCIPLES
In the book of Joel, God waited for His people to become desperate for renewal. They recognized that they had been living in a mess of their own creation and recovered the mindset that they must depend on God, committing to His ways. Their scarcity led to dependency.
How does God use difficult circumstances to teach us?
God alone changes lives. While our efforts to make disciples does not change hearts, God has made clear His intention to change hearts through our efforts. God’s plan is to use you and me to make disciples.
When you consider God’s plan to make disciples through you, what thoughts and feelings emerge?
Israel had to learn that God’s plan was best. Only when they submitted to it did they receive God’s promise of restoration. The closing portion of the parable in the video described a rediscovery that the farmers’ former seed-scattering practices still had merit.
Restoration emerges from desperation. When circumstances move people to depend wholly on God, they will find Him ready to act on their behalf.
What circumstances in your life are nudging you toward greater dependence on God?
We were encouraged to ask God to restore a heart for disciple-making.
What activities in your life do you currently see or envision that will reflect your disciple-making heart?
Disciple-making Conversations
Jesus gave us a great example of making disciples in his conversation with the woman at the well.
John 4:1-26
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
What did Jesus do to pique the woman’s spiritual interest?
How do we turn everyday conversation toward spiritual topics?
Where did the conversation turn to the person of Christ?
What principles of respect for others can you draw from the passage?
Our mission is to work with the global church to inspire people to love others before self and Christ above all.
Last Word
God longs for us to enjoy spiritual vibrancy! Our spiritual health - our vitality - is greatly improved when we embrace God’s full plan to make disciples by both sharing our faith and growing in it. While this may seem scary for some, God shows Himself faithful to help our efforts. Those efforts often start with prayer, where God will restore in us an increasing desire to see others transformed by Christ.
Go Deeper
The Go Deeper section has two potential functions. It can supplement your small group discussion by providing extra discussion material. We’ve highlighted a place where each of the following segments could fit in the Discuss section of the study guide.