Sermon Transcript: Soil & Seed – The Keys to the Kingdom – Image & Likeness
Pastor Chad Everett | The Roads Church
Knowing the Bible Over Social Media
The most prepared people in the world will be those who know the Bible—not those who scan the most on social media. If your worldview comes from your feed, your chances of being deceived are through the roof. The only way we will know the truth is through our knowledge of the Word. There is no way to be successful in a walk with Jesus without knowing the Bible.
God’s Love Is for All Nations
God loves Iranians. In fact, one of the greatest revivals happening right now is in Iran. At the same time, God loves Israel. We have to remember, the Bible is a Jerusalem-centered, Israel-centered, Middle Eastern book—not an American one. It wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us.
Jesus is returning to a specific place—Israel—not Alabama, the Congo, or Australia. He’s returning to the Mount of Olives, and Israel matters.
Celebrating the Word and Getting into Genesis
Thank you to the amazing speakers while I was away—Greg Short, Promise Bradley, Blake Bradley. If you missed those weeks, go back and watch them. Today, we’re talking about The Soil and the Seed. We love the Bible. If you’ve got yours, open to Genesis 1.
Why Genesis?
We go back to Genesis to understand the kingdom of God before sin entered the world. Most people believe God is completely sovereign over everything in their life. But God has already decided how He feels about us and made Himself universally available—yet individually applicable through faith.
Grace and Faith Work Together
Salvation is not based on sovereign selection but on our individual response to God’s universally available grace. That same system applies to all of God’s benefits. Psalm 103 lists benefits like forgiveness, healing, and redemption. These are not sovereign selections—they are part of the same grace-through-faith system.
Genesis 1 – The Principle of the Seed
Genesis 1:11–13 tells us:
- Seed is in itself.
- Seed produces after its own kind.
Everything needed is already in the seed. It’s just waiting for soil to activate it. The Bible is our seed. You can have a Bible on your shelf for 1,000 years and it won’t produce anything. But put it in your heart, and it begins to grow.
Seed Produces After Its Own Kind
Tomato seeds don’t produce oranges. You don’t need to beg a tomato plant to bear tomatoes. It does it naturally. Likewise, the Word of God produces what it is—not something random. We don’t read the Bible to impress God so He’ll bless us. We read it to become like Him. Then what’s in us will be produced through us.
The Seed Becomes Something Before It Produces Something
This is vital: a seed’s goal isn’t to bear fruit so it can be called a tomato plant. It becomes a tomato plant—and because of what it is, it naturally bears tomatoes.
Likewise, the goal of God’s Word in our life isn’t just to produce Christian fruit. It’s to become Christlike. When we become like Jesus, we naturally produce the fruit of Jesus.
Made in His Image and Likeness
Genesis 1:26–28 tells us we were made in God’s image and likeness. But who is the image of God? Colossians 1:15, 2 Corinthians 4:4, and Hebrews 1:3 all tell us clearly: Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Jesus is our model—not our grandparents, mentors, or anyone else. If our standard is people, we’ll stop growing once we feel better than them. But if our model is Christ, we all stay humbled and growing.
Creation vs. Formation
Genesis 2:7 shows that God formed man from the dust, but in Genesis 1, He created us in His image. Creation = spirit, something brand new. Formation = body, made from existing materials.
God created us to become before He formed us to do. Identity comes from who we are in Christ—not from what we do.
Becoming vs. Doing
Don’t try to do things in order to become a Christian. Become like Jesus, and doing will follow. A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit. We’re not trying to do good things to get good results. We’re becoming someone who naturally produces good fruit.
Jesus Is the Seed
God planted Himself in us through Jesus. Christian means Christ-like. If we claim the name, we must claim the likeness. The incorruptible seed (the Word of God) is meant to help us become like Christ—not just get things from God.
Identity from Christ, Not from Struggle
2 Corinthians 5:17 says: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Not a better formation—a new creation. You are not your struggles. You are not your temptations. You are not your sins. You are a new creation.
The seed of the Word reveals who you already are—made in the image and likeness of Christ.
Conclusion
Stop chasing behavior modification. Start becoming someone new. Your identity is not what you do. It’s who you are in Christ.
Let’s stop striving to do Christian things and start becoming people who naturally bear the fruit of the Spirit. You’ll resist sin not because you’re trying harder—but because it no longer aligns with who you’ve become.
Final Prayer
“Lord, help us become who you made us to be. Not just do things for you, but live as sons and daughters who reflect your image. Let your Word grow in our hearts and produce the fruit of Christlikeness. In Jesus’ name, amen.”