“Remember this: whosoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” (2 Cor. 9:6 NIV)

You will reap what you sow!

Everything you sow (good and bad) works like a seed in God’s kingdom way of doing things. And there are many, many verses in the Old and New Testament that clearly say this. Yes, it is very important to understand “seed, time, and harvest” principles (Gen. 8:22). And yes, you need to be planting good seeds into God’s kingdom. This is the main way God blesses his kids. In fact, this is something that God tells you to test Him about (Malachi 3:10), and He says the blessing will be so large you won’t be able to contain it.

Don’t throw out the baby! 

So, don’t get put off by looking at people you are turned off personally by who tell you to send them your “seed faith” money. Just because there are people who may be using these principles in ways you don’t like don’t make God’s Word and promises of provision untrue. Don’t throw out “the baby with the bath”! The devil loves to get you to not do God’s principles (for any negative reason) so that you won’t benefit from them!

Check out the fruit

Yes, you MUST plant money as seed, but do what I do! I find ministries that I really trust and believe in and then I support them! I look at their fruit (you will know them by their fruit, Matt. 7:16). And I check them out in other ways too, through legitimate agencies who track non-profit’s money usage, so that I can make sure my money is being used as they claim it is and in ways which will bring the most increase. And I then give confidently to them.

Don’t eat your seed! 

By the way, when I first discovered these principles, I had very little. And I was tempted to eat my seed rather than to sow it! But God showed me something powerful about sowing seed in the following verse: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7). First, you always get the same thing you plant! If you plant a radish seed, you won’t get potatoes! If you plant discord you won’t get peace. It works the same way with everything in God’s created world, including money! Secondly, you get more than what you plant! If you plant just one corn seed, you don’t get back just one corn seed, you get a plant with lots and lots of corn! So, it doesn’t take much seed to get a great harvest! And then thirdly, it comes later (takes time). Seed not only must be planted in good soil, but it takes time for it to grow and produce a crop that you can harvest. That’s why it is important to be planting good seed of all kinds continuously.

Be a cheerful giver. God loves them! 

I give every way I can and I am very much blessed because of it! I am now able to sow much more than I used to, and I do so cheerfully. Praise God!!!!

Therefore…

“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.’” (2 Cor. 9:7 NLT)

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“Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:20 NLT)

We should never look to wealth and riches to find our happiness

In the gospel of Luke, verses 12:17-21, a rich man planned to build bigger barns to store up his excess grain, “but thinking to himself, he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And God said unto him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be, which you have provided? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Notice the last part here, that he “lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”. The problem wasn’t that the man was wealthy. It was that he was selfish and he was storing up his wealth only for himself and not to be used “toward God”.

Have the same mind of Christ

And we should have the “same mind” of Christ (Phil. 2) to do what is needed according to the calling God has called us to. The Apostle Paul said it this way in 1 Cor. 9:19, “Although I am free from all men, I have made myself to be a slave to all that I might win the more…. and I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share the blessing therein.” And, keep in mind that what Jesus did on the cross paid for thousands of powerful promises found throughout the Bible to cover every possible need. And the main thing to understand is to use whatever you have been given by God to serve Him and others and to “establish His Covenant on earth.” By the way, I have been poor and also rich, and rich is far better! And I don’t apologize how God blesses me. 

Therefore…

“Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits.”
(Psalm 68:19)

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“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,To all who call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

In God we live and move and have our being 

“…He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:27-28 NKJV)

“You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are truth.” (Psalm 119:151)

He’s near to the brokenhearted 

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Therefore…

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:5-7 ESV)

'"Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty."' (Zech. 1:3 NIV)

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart…’” (Joel 2:12 ESV)

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (Janes 4:8)

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“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day”. (Deut. 8:18 NKJV)

The devil has wrongly convinced many of God’s kids to have a poverty mentality to defund the work of God so that the covenant of God won’t be established! If you think you must be poor than that is what you will always be! If, on the other hand, you see yourself prospering and successful by God’s hand for the right reasons you will prosper!

Money Is Not the Problem!

Many Christians believe that God wants them to be poor because they equate being poor to being godly. But, nothing could be further from the truth! Having money and being wealthy is not evil. It’s actually the “love of money” that the Bible says is the “root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Tim. 6:10). And you can look around you and see that that statement is certainly true! But you can biblically say the same fact about lots of other things because loving them could also lead you into evil. For instance, loving food can lead you into serious problems (gluttony) and hurt your body which is called “God’s temple”. Loving sleep, can lead you into serious problems (slothfulness) and into poverty. And loving wine can lead you to serious problems (alcoholism), but, Jesus turned the water into wine, so wine in itself isn’t bad.

It’s a Blessing to “Establish God’s Covenant” and much more! 

Having money, or anything else for that matter, is a blessing if you don’t love it more than you love God. Understand that money and everything else you have is a blessing from God and He blesses you so you can “establish His covenant” and so that you are able to be a blessing to others. The promise at the top says that God “gives you power to get wealth” in order to “establish His covenant… as it is to this day.” Knowing what wealth is for is the important thing to remember. 

Wealth is a great personal blessing and a great ministry tool

 “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing to others.” (Gen. 12:2)

“You will be enriched in all ways so that you will be able to be generous on all occasions.” (2 Cor. 9:11)

Just think what a wonderful blessing it is to be able to give generously to promote God’s Kingdom! 

But wait, there’s more!  

When I told someone this recently (someone who is very religious and always struggles financially, by the way), they said, “Jesus was poor!” And I pointed out to them that he was NOT in fact poor! Even as a baby, wealthy people sought Him out to give riches to Him (the wise men in chapter 2 of the gospel of Luke). He was in fact the “King of Kings and the Lord of Lords” but, He deliberately “lowered himself” in order to accomplish His specific mission to bring redemption. (Phil. 2:7). Even so, many wealthy people followed and supported Him. And the only people who criticized him were religious people. When a woman broke a bottle of very expensive perfume onto Jesus they complained about it! (Mark 14). And later, when He was crucified the soldiers nearby cast lots for his robe because it was valuable. And he was buried in a rich man’s tomb.

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“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:6 KJV)

Powerful resources

Have you given much thought about the many good things from Christ Jesus which are in you according to the Bible? Well, you have an amazing amount of powerful resources at your disposal. If you don’t know what they are and if you aren’t using them, you are really missing out!

The knowledge of what you have in Jesus is powerful 

“Acknowledging every good thing which is in you in Jesus” is a very powerful exercise to do, and it has the power to make “the communication of your faith effectual!” Just think about what you have as a Christian! If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your list will begin with Jesus, Himself, (Christ in you – Col. 1:27). Then, you have the Holy Spirit – (Spirit-filled – John 14:16). And then there is the Spiritual fruit which He produces in your life (the fruit of the Spirit – Gal. 5:22-23). And, of course, there are His many gifts that He gives to believers – (Spiritual gifts – Rom. 12 & 1 Cor. 12). And, don’t forget the Word of God itself, that you have hidden in your heart – (Psalm 119:11).

The devil is a liar so don’t listen to him!

The devil deceives God’s people by telling them they are helpless and powerless! Nothing could be further from the truth! “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3 ESV). Do a personal survey to discover who you are in Jesus and what you have according to what He says you have! That knowledge is empowering!

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“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 NIV)

What’s real and what’s fake?

Over the last few months the main stream media has been filled with much discussion and opinion on the topic of so called, “fake news.” And, every side of every issue is accusing the other side of being guilty of it. And, quite frankly, it's hard to tell the difference between what is real news and what is “fake news” because each side spins the “facts” to support their own opinions.

How can they do this with actual “facts” you may ask?

Wall Street Journal columnist, James Taranto, opined on Twitter: “Fact checking” is opinion journalism pretending to be some sort of heightened objectivity.” Simply put, “fact checkers” cherry-pick the statements to “fact-check” and then decide which data to back it up with. In short, statistics can be manipulated to come up with any conclusion wanted to promote.

This is nothing new

the enemies of Jesus took statements He had said and twisted them to use against Him. “Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” (Mark 24:57-58)

What is truth?

According to the dictionary, truth is the quality or state of being true; truthfulness, honesty, accuracy, correctness, validity, factuality, and authenticity. The exact opposite of truth (antonyms) is falsehood, dishonesty, fiction, and lies.

Truth comes from God

• Jesus is the truth – “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6 NIV)

• Jesus’s Word is truth - “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NIV)

• Jesus is full of grace and truth - “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV)

Therefore…

 “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.”  (1 John 1:6 NIV)

 “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” (James 1:18 NIV)

 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:5 NIV)

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4 NIV)

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“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chron. 16:9 NKJV)

Have you ever watched little children at play in a public playground? The children will often look up to make sure their parents are looking at them. Every now and then, a child will say, “Look, Mommy! Look, Daddy!” And, of course, the parents are looking, because they love and care about them.

It's wonderful to know that God loves us (John 3:16), and constantly keeps His eyes on us, too!

He sees the sparrow and he sees you!

One of my all-time favorite gospel songs is, His eye is on the sparrow, written in 1905, by Civilla Martinand and Charles Gabriel. The lyrics were inspired from a story in Matthew 10:29, which tells how God knows when a small sparrow falls to the ground, and yet, we are more valuable to Him than they.

The chorus is very joyful and I often have it running through my head

I sing because I’m happy.

I sing because I’m free.

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

“But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” (Psalm 33:18 NIV)

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“Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ A staff,’ he replied.” (Ex. 4:2 NIV)

It is easy to get discouraged when things look bad  

Perhaps your supplies are low and the need is very big, even looks impossible. But, be encouraged, when you follow God’s instructions, and you do what He says to do, He can cause what you already have in your hands to produce miraculous results. The Bible is filled with many examples of this.

A boy’s lunch feeds thousands

Jesus prayed over a small amount of loaves and fishes, then placed them into the hands of His disciples, and the miracle continued as the loaves and fishes kept dividing in their own hands as they fed thousands!  “Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.” (Matt. 14:19b NIV)

A desperate mother’s last meal doesn't run out

A mother was down to her last and all seemed hopeless for her and her son! She told the prophet Elijah that she planned to eat her last meal then die!

But, Elijah told her to take her last flour and oil and prepare him a meal, (what a step of faith!) and then, he promised her that her food would not run out! She followed his instructions and was blessed for doing so. The food she already had in her hands did not run out! (1 Kings 17:10-15)

Moses had a staff in his hand 

Moses had been a Hebrew baby rescued from the Nile river by a Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex. 2:5). He was raised and educated to be a leader there in Egypt. But things took a nasty turn when he stood up for a fellow Hebrew who was being beaten by an Egyptian. He killed him and tried to cover up the crime (Ex. 2:12), but was found out, and then fled to live the next 40 years in the backside of the desert. Then, one day, God spoke to him out of a flaming bush (Ex. 3) and told him that he was to do what seemed impossible – to deliver the Hebrew children from pharaoh’s evil control. Moses was filled with fear, objected, and gave God excuses for why he couldn't do, what God had said. Then God asked him a question, “Then, the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' 'A staff,' he replied." (Ex. 4:2 NIV)

Moses had a staff in his hand! It was a walking stick! A piece of wood! But, it’s what God worked His power through to enable Moses to do miraculous things like parting the Red Sea (Ex. 24:21).

So, what has God placed in your hand?

It doesn't really matter what it is, big or small, God can use it, if you have the faith to allow Him to! (Heb. 4:2)

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“Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:12 ESV)

Comparing worldliness with godliness

Worldly people:

• Worldly people are devoid of the Spirit

“It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” (Jude 1:19 ESV) 

• Worldly people love the things in the world rather than doing God’s will

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 ESV) 

• Worldly people who wish to be friends of the world makes themselves to be enemies of God

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4 ESV)

• Worldly people are loved by the world and godly people are hated by them

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19 ESV)

• Worldly people may appear Godly but they deny its power

“Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Tim. 3:5 ESV)

“For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4 ESV) 

Godly people:

• Godly people are not conformed to the world but are transformed by the renewal of their mind

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 ESV)

• Godly people have their minds set on things above

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2 ESV) 

• Godly people aren’t conformed to passions of their former ignorance 

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,” (1 Peter 1:14 ESV) 

• Godly people are effective and fruitful

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 5:1-8 ESV)

• Godly people will be persecuted

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Tim. 3:12 ESV)

• Godly people have great gain in godliness with contentment 

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” (1 Tim. 6:6 ESV) 

Therefore…

“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Tim. 2:4 ESV)

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 15:15-16 ESV)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)

Quotes:

“We must meet the uncertainties of this world with the certainty of the world to come.” - A. W. Tozer

“May the things of this world so lose their power over us that we do not in the slightest wish to be "worldly"; nay, we even delight in not remaining "in the world.” - Watchman Nee

“The best means of resisting the devil is, to destroy whatever of the world remains in us, in order to raise for God, upon its ruins, a building all of love. Then shall we begin, in this fleeting life, to love God as we shall love him in eternity. - John Wesley

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