WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.540 No one fears a seed. It is too small, too ordinary, 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:07.379 too insignificant. It doesn't look dangerous. 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:10.339 It doesn't look destructive. It simply rests 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:14.859 there, quietly, waiting. But every forest was 00:00:14.859 --> 00:00:19.359 once a seed. Every garden was once a seed. Every 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.820 harvest was once a seed. And every tragedy was 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:26.980 once one too. Because the greatest dangers in 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:31.230 life rarely begin with catastrophe. They begin 00:00:31.230 --> 00:00:35.630 small enough to ignore. That is how weeds grow. 00:00:35.969 --> 00:00:38.689 That is how kingdoms grow. That is how faith 00:00:38.689 --> 00:00:43.170 grows. And that is how sin grows. No one suddenly 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:46.950 abandons God. No one suddenly destroys a family. 00:00:47.350 --> 00:00:51.070 No one suddenly loses their integrity. Long before 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:54.189 the visible collapse, there was an invisible 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:58.090 planting. A lie believe. an offense embraced, 00:00:58.429 --> 00:01:01.990 a fear entertained, a desire nourished, a question 00:01:01.990 --> 00:01:05.829 left unanswered, a seed, because sin is rarely 00:01:05.829 --> 00:01:09.569 born in the moment. It grows where a seed has 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:14.109 been welcomed. Today, I want to invite you into 00:01:14.109 --> 00:01:17.549 a conversation, a conversation that may completely 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:21.129 change the way you understand temptation. because 00:01:21.129 --> 00:01:23.989 the greatest spiritual battles are rarely won 00:01:23.989 --> 00:01:27.909 or lost at the moment of action. They are won 00:01:27.909 --> 00:01:31.969 or lost long before the action ever appears. 00:01:32.829 --> 00:01:36.049 I've entitled today's conversation, The Seeds 00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:39.829 You Entertain. More specifically, The Seed You 00:01:39.829 --> 00:01:44.230 Welcome. Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, a ministry 00:01:44.230 --> 00:01:47.659 of Life of Christ International Ministries. Where 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:50.780 we build stronger lives, deeper faith, and Christ 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:54.120 -centered homes, one story, one message, and 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:59.200 one revelation at a time. I'm Barry Mwamba. Let's 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:03.219 begin. Have you ever noticed something fascinating 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:06.180 about God? Almost everything He created begins 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:09.060 the same way, with a seed. Before there was a 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:11.639 forest, there was a seed. Before there was a 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:14.120 vineyard, there was a seed. Before there was 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:16.930 fruit, there was a seed. Even Jesus described 00:02:16.930 --> 00:02:19.490 the kingdom of God this way. He compared it to 00:02:19.490 --> 00:02:22.110 seeds scattered into the ground, a mustard seed 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:24.789 that became a tree, a sower who scattered seed 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:27.729 into different kinds of soil. Why? Because a 00:02:27.729 --> 00:02:30.330 seed is one of God's greatest principles. Everything 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:33.689 begins small, hidden, almost invisible. Then 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:37.229 it grows, quietly, patiently, until one day, 00:02:37.590 --> 00:02:40.349 everyone sees what was growing all along. A harvest 00:02:40.349 --> 00:02:42.689 never surprises the farmer. He already knows 00:02:42.689 --> 00:02:45.139 what he planted. And I believe Satan understands 00:02:45.139 --> 00:02:47.379 this principle better than many believers do. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:49.580 He knows he doesn't always have to destroy you 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:52.159 today. He simply has to plant something today 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.979 that will destroy you tomorrow. That is why scripture 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:57.680 repeatedly warns us to guard our hearts. Because 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.860 our hearts are not merely the place where emotions 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:02.680 live. They are gardens. Gardens where something 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.319 is always growing. The question is never whether 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.139 something is growing. The question is, what is 00:03:08.139 --> 00:03:11.340 growing? Every day, someone is planting. God 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:14.419 plants truth. His word plants faith. The Holy 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:17.080 Spirit plants conviction. But the enemy also 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:20.539 plants. He plants lies. He plants offense. He 00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:23.379 plants bitterness. He plants pride. He plants 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:26.939 comparison. He plants lust. He plants fear. He 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:30.020 plants discouragement. He plants unbelief. Anything 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:32.240 that can eventually produce a harvest that pulls 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.659 us away from the purpose of God. And here is 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:37.180 what makes seeds so deceptive. They don't ask 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:39.780 for permission to grow. They only ask for permission 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:43.180 to remain. Once a seed finds good soil, it simply 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.139 does what it was created to do. Grow. Which means 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:48.439 the greatest spiritual battles are rarely fought 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.659 at the moment of harvest. They are fought at 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:53.159 the moment of planting. Because every temptation 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:58.099 begins as permission given to a seed. Have you 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:00.719 ever noticed something strange? Sometimes the 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.479 opportunity to sin doesn't feel shocking. It 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.939 feels familiar, almost natural, almost comfortable. 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:09.539 And the reason is simple. The seed was planted. 00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:12.330 long before the temptation arrived. That is one 00:04:12.330 --> 00:04:14.870 of the enemy's greatest strategies. He understands 00:04:14.870 --> 00:04:17.370 that if he can make sin feel familiar, he won't 00:04:17.370 --> 00:04:20.009 have to make it look attractive, because familiarity 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:23.850 lowers our defenses. What once disturbed us eventually 00:04:23.850 --> 00:04:26.990 stops bothering us. What once shocked us slowly 00:04:26.990 --> 00:04:30.089 becomes normal. And what becomes normal eventually 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:32.910 becomes acceptable. That is why the enemy rarely 00:04:32.910 --> 00:04:35.550 begins with an invitation to rebel. He begins 00:04:35.550 --> 00:04:38.610 with exposure, little by little, day after day. 00:04:38.670 --> 00:04:41.709 One seed at a time. Sometimes without our knowledge. 00:04:42.050 --> 00:04:44.370 Sometimes with our permission. There are seeds 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:46.569 planted in our lives without us even realizing 00:04:46.569 --> 00:04:48.990 it. Through the conversations we entertain. Through 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:51.250 the voices we keep listening to. Through the 00:04:51.250 --> 00:04:53.689 stories we consume. Through the music that shapes 00:04:53.689 --> 00:04:56.129 our emotions. Through the images that remain 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:58.610 in our imagination. Through the books we read. 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:01.149 Through the jokes we laugh at. Through the bitterness 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:04.250 we replay in our minds. Through the fear we continually 00:05:04.250 --> 00:05:06.829 feed. Through the comparison that steals our 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:09.689 contentment. And yes, through social media. Not 00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:12.290 because social media is evil in itself. Like 00:05:12.290 --> 00:05:15.189 every tool, it can be used for good or for evil. 00:05:15.569 --> 00:05:17.810 Today, the gospel reaches millions through a 00:05:17.810 --> 00:05:20.329 single video. Lives are encouraged. Families 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:22.569 are restored. People encounter Christ through 00:05:22.569 --> 00:05:25.009 platforms that did not exist a generation ago. 00:05:25.269 --> 00:05:27.610 But the same technology that can carry truth 00:05:27.610 --> 00:05:30.370 can also carry deception. The same screen that 00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:32.689 can strengthen your faith can quietly weaken 00:05:32.689 --> 00:05:35.430 your convictions. Never before in human history 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:38.170 have we allowed so many strangers to speak into 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:40.829 our minds every single day. People we have never 00:05:40.829 --> 00:05:43.850 met shaping our opinions, shaping our values, 00:05:44.329 --> 00:05:47.209 shaping our emotions, shaping our desires. One 00:05:47.209 --> 00:05:50.610 short video, another short video, one post, another 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:53.930 post, one image, another image, one opinion, 00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:57.329 another opinion. until we no longer realize that 00:05:57.329 --> 00:06:00.129 something inside us has begun to change. The 00:06:00.129 --> 00:06:02.490 enemy understands something frightening. He doesn't 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:04.949 have to convince you all at once. He only needs 00:06:04.949 --> 00:06:07.709 repeated exposure. Because repeated exposure 00:06:07.709 --> 00:06:10.970 creates familiarity. Familiarity creates comfort. 00:06:11.250 --> 00:06:14.009 Comfort weakens conviction. And weakened conviction 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:16.769 opens the door to compromise. That is why Paul 00:06:16.769 --> 00:06:19.550 writes in Romans 12, Do not be conformed to this 00:06:19.550 --> 00:06:22.069 world, but be transformed by the renewing of 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.740 your mind. Notice where the battle begins. Not 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.379 in the hands. Not in the feet. Not even in the 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:30.379 mouth. In the mind. Because transformation begins 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:33.000 there. And so does conformity. The battlefield 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.019 has always been the mind. Long before there is 00:06:36.019 --> 00:06:38.339 an outward action, there is an inward agreement. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:41.100 Long before there is a visible failure, there 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:43.600 is an invisible acceptance. This is why scripture 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.699 tells us in Proverbs, Above all else, guard your 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:49.740 heart, for everything you do flows from it. Everything. 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.959 your words, your decisions, your relationships, 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.120 your character, your future. Everything flows 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:58.180 from what has been allowed to take root within, 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:00.620 which leads me to something that completely changed 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:03.240 the way I understand temptation. The enemy doesn't 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.959 begin by asking you to commit a great sin. He 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.240 begins by asking you to tolerate a small seed, 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.540 because every temptation begins as permission 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:15.959 given to a seed. And if that is true, then temptation 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.800 doesn't begin with behavior. It begins with desire. 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:21.579 Interestingly, That is exactly what James tells 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:24.899 us. He doesn't describe sin as an event. He describes 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:29.100 it as a birth. Let's look at that together. There 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:31.759 is something remarkable about the way James describes 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.980 temptation. He doesn't begin with sin. He begins 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:38.240 with desire. Listen carefully to what he writes. 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:51.199 When it is fully grown, gives birth to death. 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:55.240 James 1, 14 -15. Do you see the progression? 00:07:56.019 --> 00:08:00.800 Desire conceives. Conception gives birth. Birth 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.959 produces growth. Growth eventually produces death. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.620 James is not describing a single bad decision. 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.939 He is describing a process. Almost like a farmer 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:13.740 describing a harvest. Nothing happens overnight. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:18.120 Everything grows. Slowly, silently. patiently. 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:21.480 That is why sin rarely surprises God. It only 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.459 surprises us, because we usually notice the fruit. 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.540 God has been watching the seed. The world sees 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:30.519 the scandal. Heaven saw the planting. The world 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.120 sees the collapse. Heaven saw the compromise 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.500 that was never confronted. The world sees the 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:38.039 affair. Heaven remembers the first thought that 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:41.179 was welcomed. The world sees the addiction. Heaven 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:43.980 remembers the first moment someone decided, just 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:46.539 this once. This is why we must be careful not 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:49.139 to judge only what is visible. Because visible 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:51.960 failures often have invisible histories. Every 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:56.879 harvest has a season. Every tree has roots. Every 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:00.279 consequence has a beginning. And every sin has 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.759 a story. That story almost always begins with 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.120 something that appeared harmless. A thought. 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:09.179 A wound that was never healed. An offense that 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:12.220 was never released. A lie that was never challenged. 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:15.500 A fear that was never surrendered. a desire that 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:18.879 was never brought before God, a seed. This is 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:21.159 why I believe one of the greatest mistakes Christians 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:24.320 make is waiting until sin becomes visible before 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.340 dealing with it. By then, the roots have already 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.720 gone deep. Have you ever tried to pull a weed 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:32.480 out of the ground? When it first appears, it 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.980 comes out easily. But leave it there long enough, 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.720 and suddenly its roots spread beneath the surface. 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:41.240 What was once easy to remove now requires great 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.259 effort. Sin works the same way. The longer it 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:47.480 remains, the deeper it grows. The deeper it grows, 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:50.179 the harder it becomes to uproot. That is why 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:52.899 the Holy Spirit convicts us early, not to condemn 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:56.200 us, but to protect us. His conviction is God's 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.860 mercy. He speaks while the seed is still small, 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:01.580 while repentance is still easy, while the heart 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:03.899 is still tender, because our Father would rather 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:06.799 remove a seed than later have to cut down a tree. 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:09.980 The enemy has the opposite strategy. He whispers, 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:13.179 It's only a thought. It's only a conversation. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.399 It's only curiosity. It's only entertainment. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:19.840 It's only one time. It's only one compromise. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.659 But He never tells you that every tree begins 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:26.279 exactly that way, small enough to ignore. And 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.539 that is why I believe one of the greatest spiritual 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:32.000 disciplines is not simply asking, is this a sin? 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:34.980 But asking something much deeper. What is this 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:37.440 planting in me? Because not everything that plants 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:39.639 a seed produces the fruit you want to harvest. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.629 Some seeds grow into peace. Others grow into 00:10:42.629 --> 00:10:45.870 anxiety. Some grow into faith. Others grow into 00:10:45.870 --> 00:10:48.769 unbelief. Some grow into purity. Others grow 00:10:48.769 --> 00:10:51.470 into bondage. The question is never whether the 00:10:51.470 --> 00:10:54.509 seed will grow. The question is, what kind of 00:10:54.509 --> 00:10:56.769 harvest will it produce? And if James has taught 00:10:56.769 --> 00:10:59.909 us anything, it is this. Sin does not suddenly 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:04.549 appear. It develops. It matures. It grows. Just 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:06.889 like every other seed. Which brings us to the 00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:09.370 very first place where we see this strategy unfold. 00:11:09.750 --> 00:11:12.210 Not in the life of David. Not in the life of 00:11:12.210 --> 00:11:15.190 Samson, not even in the life of Judas, but in 00:11:15.190 --> 00:11:17.950 a garden, the Garden of Eden. Because before 00:11:17.950 --> 00:11:20.370 there was ever a forbidden fruit, there was a 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:23.269 question. And that question was the first seed. 00:11:24.929 --> 00:11:27.889 The first temptation recorded in the Bible did 00:11:27.889 --> 00:11:32.129 not begin with fruit. It began with a conversation. 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:35.929 Think about that for a moment. Satan never walked 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:38.090 into the Garden of Eden demanding rebellion. 00:11:38.649 --> 00:11:43.940 He never said, Eve. Disobey God. No. He was far 00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:47.480 more subtle than that. He planted a question. 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:52.860 Did God really say, not rebellion, just a question? 00:11:53.419 --> 00:11:55.740 Because the enemy understands something profound. 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:59.019 If he can make you question God's truth, he won't 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:02.059 have to force you to reject it. Everything that 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:04.320 followed in Eden began with that single seed. 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:08.320 A question became curiosity. Curiosity became 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:12.480 imagination. Imagination became desire. Desire 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:16.139 became justification. Justification became action. 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:20.039 Action became death. That is exactly how James 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.080 describes temptation. Long before Eve reached 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:25.580 for the fruit, she had already entertained the 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:28.100 conversation. She remained where she should have 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:30.720 walked away. She continued listening when she 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.740 should have trusted what God had already spoken. 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:36.340 She gave attention to a voice that God had never 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:39.049 authorized. And isn't that still the strategy 00:12:39.049 --> 00:12:42.169 today? The enemy rarely begins by attacking your 00:12:42.169 --> 00:12:44.929 behavior. He attacks your confidence in God's 00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:47.970 word. Did God really say marriage should be honored? 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:50.970 Did God really say forgiveness is necessary? 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:54.970 Did God really say purity still matters? Did 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:56.769 God really say you should love your enemies? 00:12:57.649 --> 00:13:00.730 Did God really say you can trust Him? Notice, 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:03.690 He always begins by questioning what God has 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:06.330 already settled. Because if God's voice becomes 00:13:06.330 --> 00:13:09.259 uncertain, Every other voice becomes louder. 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:11.960 That is why guarding your mind is not enough. 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.419 You must also guard whose voice you allow to 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:18.139 shape your thinking. Every voice is planting 00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:21.740 something. Some voices plant faith. Others plant 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:25.659 fear. Some plant hope. Others plant hopelessness. 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:29.960 Some plant humility. Others plant pride. Some 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:33.379 draw you closer to Christ. Others slowly normalize 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:36.259 distance from him. Not all seeds look dangerous. 00:13:36.669 --> 00:13:39.809 Some arrive disguised as entertainment. Some 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:43.009 arrive disguised as wisdom. Some arrive disguised 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:46.110 as harmless curiosity. Some arrive disguised 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:49.549 as personal freedom. That is why spiritual maturity 00:13:49.549 --> 00:13:51.909 is not merely knowing the difference between 00:13:51.909 --> 00:13:54.750 right and wrong. It is learning to recognize 00:13:54.750 --> 00:13:58.149 what is trying to plant itself within you because 00:13:58.149 --> 00:14:01.610 every voice carries a seed and every seed is 00:14:01.610 --> 00:14:05.049 trying to create a harvest. I often wonder What 00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:07.309 would have happened if Eve had ended the conversation 00:14:07.309 --> 00:14:11.149 with one sentence? God has already spoken. No 00:14:11.149 --> 00:14:15.610 debate, no negotiation, no second opinion, just 00:14:15.610 --> 00:14:18.110 complete confidence in what God had already said. 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:22.230 Sometimes, the greatest act of faith is refusing 00:14:22.230 --> 00:14:25.190 to continue a conversation that God has already 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:28.129 finished. That is exactly what Jesus did in the 00:14:28.129 --> 00:14:31.169 wilderness. Every temptation began with words. 00:14:31.809 --> 00:14:35.360 If you are the Son of God, again. A question. 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:39.539 Again, an attempt to create doubt. But unlike 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:42.440 Adam and Eve, Jesus never entertained the seed. 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:46.039 He answered every temptation the same way. It 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:49.700 is written. He never argued. He never negotiated. 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.179 He never explored the possibility. He simply 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:55.080 stood on what his father had already spoken. 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:58.799 What a lesson for us. Victory doesn't always 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:01.779 come because temptation disappears. Sometimes 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:04.710 victory comes. because we refuse to let another 00:15:04.710 --> 00:15:07.529 voice become greater than God's. And perhaps 00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:09.730 that is the question every one of us must answer 00:15:09.730 --> 00:15:12.809 today. Whose voice has been shaping the garden 00:15:12.809 --> 00:15:16.090 of your heart? Because the voice you trust will 00:15:16.090 --> 00:15:19.909 determine the harvest you produce. If Eve teaches 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:23.429 us how a seed is planted, David teaches us what 00:15:23.429 --> 00:15:26.629 happens when that seed is entertained. Because 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:29.529 no one falls in a single moment. Even David, 00:15:29.929 --> 00:15:33.279 a man after God's own heart, had a season when 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.279 one look became a lifetime of consequences. As 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:38.700 we come to the end of today's conversation, I 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:41.159 don't want you to think first about sin. I want 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.620 you to think about seeds. Because before there 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:47.960 is ever a harvest, there is always a moment when 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:50.539 something is welcomed into the heart. A thought, 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.539 a voice, a belief, a question. That is where 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.320 every spiritual battle begins. Not when everyone 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.779 else can see it, but while it is still hidden, 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:02.330 while it still looks harmless. while it still 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:05.750 appears too small to matter. Perhaps today, God 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:08.970 is not asking you, what have you done? Perhaps 00:16:08.970 --> 00:16:12.230 he is asking, what have you welcomed? What voice 00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:14.330 have you been listening to? What thought have 00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:17.009 you allowed to remain? What fear have you been 00:16:17.009 --> 00:16:19.970 feeding? What offense have you refused to release? 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:23.309 Because every voice carries a seed. Every thought 00:16:23.309 --> 00:16:26.190 carries a seed. Every conversation carries a 00:16:26.190 --> 00:16:29.409 seed. And every seed is preparing a harvest. 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:32.139 The beautiful thing about seeds is that while 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.779 they are still small, they can still be removed. 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.840 Don't wait until the fruit appears. Deal with 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.440 the seed. Don't wait until compromise becomes 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:43.659 a lifestyle. Deal with the seed. Don't wait until 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:47.120 doubt becomes unbelief. Deal with the seed. Because 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.100 God's conviction is not condemnation, it is His 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:52.639 mercy. He speaks to us while the seed is still 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:55.139 beneath the surface, before the roots grow deep, 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.809 before the harvest becomes visible. Today, Ask 00:16:58.809 --> 00:17:00.870 the Holy Spirit to show you the seeds that don't 00:17:00.870 --> 00:17:03.370 belong in the garden of your heart and have the 00:17:03.370 --> 00:17:06.630 courage to remove them because tomorrow's harvest 00:17:06.630 --> 00:17:10.390 is being shaped by what you welcome today. In 00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:12.670 our next conversation, we're going to answer 00:17:12.670 --> 00:17:14.990 another important question. What happens when 00:17:14.990 --> 00:17:18.029 a seed is not rejected but entertained? We'll 00:17:18.029 --> 00:17:20.569 look at the life of David and discover how one 00:17:20.569 --> 00:17:23.390 welcome seed can grow into a harvest that affects 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:26.730 an entire life. Until then, guard your heart, 00:17:27.230 --> 00:17:30.500 guard your mind. And remember, not every seed 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:32.920 deserves a place in your garden. Thank you for 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.839 joining me on Pomoja Podcast, a ministry of Life 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.140 of Christ International Ministries, building 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:40.980 stronger lives, deeper faith, Christ -centered 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:45.079 homes. One story, one message, and one revelation 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:45.700 at a time.