Day 25

25 - Initiating Gospel Conversations // Plant 

“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 

My wife loves to garden. She has planted and grown all kinds of flowers, vegetables, and even trees. She has planted in the ground and pots all types of seeds, bulbs, and seedlings. She has made our home and yard very attractive, and has fed our family as well, all through her planting.

Planting is hard work, just like cultivating. It takes time, effort, and even a plan. The planter must space the seeds the right distance apart, and also the proper depth in the soil. The planter must plan for the right amount of sunlight or shade, depending on the species of plant. Planting requires both insight and foresight. Insight is knowing what you're planting, and foresight is knowing what you need to do to achieve the desired end-product. Planting is WORK.

Planting is an essential part of the work in the spiritual harvest field. After cultivating the heart-soil of lost friends with a loving relationship, we plant seeds of spiritual truth. These seeds are verbal or written questions or comments specifically about God. You bring God into the conversation.

Read John 4:1-26.

• We see Jesus cultivating, showing love by talking to the woman, and planting, asking questions and making statements that bring up God and spiritual things. List some questions or statements Jesus made to insert God or spiritual topics into His conversation with the Samaritan woman. 

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John 4:7, 10, 13-14.

John 4:16-18.

John 4:21-24.

This took WORK on Jesus' part. I suspect that He didn't just think up these questions and comments on-the-spot, off-the-cuff. I think He probably thought of some of these things ahead of time and planned out some questions He might ask and answers He might give.

Think of some questions you can ask your friends that can insert a spiritual topic or God into a

conversation.

• Write out three possible questions.

1.

2.

3. 

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Jesus started planting seeds by asking questions related to His surroundings. He was at a well, so he began the conversation by talking about water. From there He directed the conversation to spiritual matters and God. He planted spiritual seeds about God with His questions and His statements.

My friend from Idaho, Don, likes to plant seeds by simply asking people he meets, "Do you ever think about spiritual things?" My friend Zane from Minnesota likes to ask a lot of personal questions first, then admire anything he can about them and their beliefs, and finally admit why he needs Jesus in his life.

I like to ask questions about popular movies or songs, like, "Have you seen the Book of Eli? What did you think about it?" And then start talking about God. Or, “Have you ever seen the show 'The Walking Dead?' Do you like it? Do you think zombies are real? What do you think really happens when we die?" And then share what the Bible says about death & eternal life.

• What are some popular movies or songs and their topics that you could use to start a planting conversation about God? 

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Apart From Him…

• Ask God for wisdom to know what questions to ask your friends, and what statements about God will have the greatest planting results. 

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Walking As Jesus…

• Call a friend who is a believer and ask some of the questions you listed above to practice getting the hang of planting gospel seeds. Then, call a lost friend and ask these questions to start planting gospel seeds today. 

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: