Saturday, January 11, 2014

Seed In Your Hand



Today’s Bible readings are Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, 7 Proverbs 3:7-8


Genesis 26:1
A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

Genesis 26:12

12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him.

What a picture of the difference it makes to have the favor of God on your life. Here is a famine unlike any that has ever occurred since the early days of Abraham. There was great need in the land. People were starving everywhere. Families were trying to figure out how to survive. Things were definitely tough to say the least.

Imagine everybody planting seed & getting only a very small return on their harvest. Then in the midst of all this, there is a man who is blessed beyond even the greatest year of any harvest. That is what happened in the life of Jacob.

It must have caused people to look at him in envy. But the great thing is that people knew the reason that he was so blessed was because of his God. They remembered his father Abraham & how he walked in fellowship with God. They knew that Abraham was a friend of God & now they see the blessing of God continued in Isaac’s life. What a testimony of God’s goodness.

Let me point the conversation to our lives. Just think for a moment about all the great blessings in your life as a result of your relationship with Jesus. It is important for us to remind ourselves the God is the giver of good gifts. He will always get to us the things that we need.

We live in some difficult times. There is no doubt economic strain in our country today. People hear all the talk about difficult days ahead & it often puts them in fear mode. Even Christians begin to tighten the purse strings & give less. They can begin to think that they need to cut back in their giving so that they can survive. This usually comes in the form of not giving to missions & not tithing. The enemy convinces them that they must hang on to what is in their hands so they can survive.

I want to remind you of the very basis principles of the Law of the Harvest.
1.     Your harvest is directly connected to your seed.
Isaac easily could have withheld his seed so that they would have grain to eat but he understood that the only way to be able to believe for a harvest is to get seed in the ground. It is a known fact that if you don’t plant you won’t reap. Isaac went out & sowed seed. He therefore gave God an avenue to bless him.

I’m sure that there may have been some concern that year when he planted. There were probably some who told him not to bother. There will always be some naysayers in the bunch. Get away from them. If you give your ear to them you will surely be paralyzed in your faith.

2.     Let go of what is in your hand.
This is the place where faith is required. It is easy to trust in what we have. To let go of it is a risk. Our natural response is that if we sow we won’t have anything left. That is true in the world’s economy but it is not true in the Kingdom’s economy. Remember, what you have in your hand is your seed. God gives seed to the sower. Don’t be afraid to sow!

3.     Your harvest rests in the hands of a faithful God.
Nobody else was blessed the way that Isaac was that year. I am confident that he was not the only one to sow that year but he is the only one mentioned as receiving a 100 fold harvest. That is the favor of God.

God is not limited by the world’s economy. Recession does not affect Him. HIS ECONOMY HAS NEVER SEEN A RECESSION. That is why we want to make sure that we stay in His economy by yielding in faith to the principals that govern it.

2 Corinthians 9:6-10

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 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.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.


This is God’s promise to us. Let’s live life like we believe it!

 

Pastor Richard



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