I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story
because I know it’s true;
it satisfies my longings
as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the story;
’twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

Nothing beats a good story that we can all relate to with understanding.  As we listen to others, we are usually thinking; “Yeah, I get that, I’ve had a similar experience in my life.”  This is one of many reasons we tell stories.  Stories are ways to connect to each other.  Stories reveal who we are as share what has or is happening in our lives along with our response to these situations.  To those who are learners, we also share what we gained in knowledge and wisdom from our experiences!

After Jesus’ first story about planters who produce harvests, His guys ask him, “Why stories?”  What does Jesus do?  He answers by telling them another story, followed by another…I love it!  Why?  Because I love to tell stories, too!  Most of all I love to tell the story of Jesus!

Matthew 13:10-23, The Message

¹⁰ The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

^11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.
    Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.
The people are stupid!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.

^16-17 “But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.

The Meaning of the Harvest Story

^18-19 “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.

^20-21 “The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

²² “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.

²³ “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Great teachers and speakers have learned how to use and apply Jesus’ technique for storytelling “…to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening.  A good story gets the attention of our audience because it relates from  where they are and acts as a vehicle to drive them where you want them to be with what you want them to do.  Jesus is truly the Master Teacher who is the great example of opening ears to hear and eyes to see Kingdom of God thinking and behaving!

Because He is God in flesh, Jesus tills, stirring up the soil of our hearts and gets us ready for planting seeds of His love with understanding of the way to truth and eternal life.  His seeds go deep and take root in the good soil of our acceptance. Within His seeds are the DNA of His character traits that develop within us to eventually bear His beautiful Holy Fruit as evidence of His Spirit living in us.  See Galatian 5:22-23 for the list of the fruits we will produce!

How do we respond to Jesus’ stories of readiness?  We worship, believing in the One and Only who died for our sins in our place and gave us life!  We ready ourselves by coming to Him in gratitude and thanksgiving. We listen with understanding and the  willingness to trust and obey what He says.

How will we respond to His call to multiply the harvest “beyond our wildest dreams”?  The fruit He produces in us contains the seeds of salvation to plant in someone else!  This is how God works!  We tell His story for His Glory so others will know Him, too!  It’s the God-math of God’s work of His Kingdom working in and through us.  And the beauty of it all? —We are given the opportunity to join Him in the Kingdom of God harvest work. 

So, are we “soil ready” for planting and reproducing?  Are we ready to go and tell?  I pray that we are!  It’s in our DNA as a new creation in Christ!

I love to tell the story;
’twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

Lord,

Plant your seeds.  I’m ready to grow in your love, mercy and grace.  I’m willing to be nurtured as a grow in trust and faith in you.  I’m your harvest hand who tells your story to others. Help me make the most of every opportunity. 

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

One More Thought—

I have learned over the many years of my life that the more I tell the story of Jesus, the more my own love, joy, and peace for Him multiplies in my own story. 

“Because He lives, all fear is gone,” I have sung with others so many times. So, I ask myself in those fearful times of the unknown, coupled with my anxious thoughts—Are the words of our songs truly reflecting the God of our stories of the blessed assurance of all that we do not see?  And do we trust and obey God even if we don’t understand it all? 

Seek Him first and with readiness to really hear what He has to say without deciding first what we want to hear and then we will find Him.

Believe Him, really believe Him, and watch the fear, worry, wondering, and anxious thoughts fall away.

Let’s worship the Savior Jesus and the Lord of our story!  And we’re singing…“Fear Is Not My Future” by Kirk Franklin and Maverick City Music

Let Him turn it in your favor
Watch Him work it for your good
‘Cause He’s not done with what He started
He’s not done until it’s good

So let Him turn it in your favor
Watch Him work it for your good
He’s not done with what He started
He’s not done until it’s good

Hello, peace
Hello, joy
Hello, love
Hello, strength
Hello, hope, it’s a new horizon!

It’s just a new horizon
It’s a new day
It’s a new day
It’s a new day
It’s a new prayer

Fear is not my future
You are, You are (You are)
Sickness is not my story
You are, You are (You are)
Heartbreak’s not my home
You are, You are (You are)
Death is not the end
You are, You are (You are)

Hello, peace
Hello, joy
Hello, love
Hello, strength
Hello, hope, it’s a new horizon!