Begin working on what you say.
Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” Matthew 12:35. Simply put, positive words produce positive results, and negative words produce negative results. Words are seeds, and remember, every seed produces after its own kind. That’s why the Bible admonishes, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth” (Proverbs 6:2). Proverbs 6:2MSG puts it this way: Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, if you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. Our words are vehicles; they are carriers that drive us to our destiny. The only way we can change the direction we are going is by first changing our words. You must learn this lesson! You’ve got to change your words! SPEAK GOD’S WORD I’m sure you’ve read God’s promise in Mark 11:23. You have probably memorized it. “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Are you experiencing this promise in your life? Well, are you going on and on about how it’s not working in your life? Talking to your friends or whoever will listen to you? Needless to say, brace yourself, shut your big mouth! Pardon me! You need to learn the vocabulary of silence. What does that mean? It simply means this: If you can’t speak the Word of God, shut up. You’ve been sowing the wrong kind of seed with your mouth. Sometimes God has to shake us up to get our attention. That is a valuable lesson about being a sower. If you take charge of your mouth, you can take charge of your destiny. ETIPS
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When we hear the phrase seedtime and harvest, the first thing many people think of is finances. The reason so many of God’s people are not having the kind of results they should be having with their finances is that they are only applying part of the law of seedtime and harvest. They think they will just sow some money and then become instantly wealthy.
Although the law of seedtime and harvest certainly applies to finances, money is only one type of seed that we have available to sow. If we truly want to change our life and destiny, then we also need to take charge of our thoughts, our words, and our attitudes. Only then will we be able to allocate our finances and material goods in line with God’s will for our lives. Did you know that YOUR THOUGHTS ARE SEEDS? That EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE BEGAN AS A THOUGHT? That should cause you to begin at once to change the way you think. The Word of God says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). This scripture tells us that our life tends to go in the direction of our most dominant thoughts. Whatever we think about the most is the way our life will go. For example, nobody just wakes up and decides one day to embark on a life of sin and crime. That kind of life begins with a thought: I can steal that pack of gum and nobody will ever catch me. Now that person may cast down that thought at first, but then it comes back and he meditates on it for a while. Then he actually pictures himself doing it. Next thing he knows, he’s sitting in a prison cell, serving time for robbery and wondering how his life went in this direction. That’s perhaps an over simplification but you get the point! It began as a thought. Anything that has the potential of growing and becoming bigger than its present state is a seed. An acorn is an oak tree that fell to the ground, held its ground, and then grew into a giant tree. That little acorn got its beginning as a thought in the mind of God. As you set out to become a sower, God said, If you don’t get your thoughts, your words, your actions, and your attitude in line with His Word, then, the money seed you sow will have nothing but weeds around it, and it will be choked out. So, begin filling your mind and heart with the Word of God so that God’s thoughts will become your thoughts. The parable of the sower, told by Jesus in Mark, has been called the granddaddy of all parables because it is the blueprint for how God’s kingdom works.
Mark 4:3-8, 13: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? Once we understand what it means to be a sower and that our sowing activates the law of seedtime and harvest, the Bible takes on a whole new meaning. Suddenly you can’t get enough of the Word. You are on a quest. You want to understand how to apply the law of seedtime and harvest in a way that would change your life and destiny, as well as the destiny of your family. God will reveal to you that there are different types of seed available to you and how they can produce either good or bad harvests, depending on how you plant them. The Purpose of Parables Mark 4:10-12 10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” The Parable of the Sower Explained Mark 4 13-20 13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Growing a few tomato plants in the back yard doesn’t make someone a farmer. Any more than giving an offering on Sunday makes that individual a sower. Nor does planting a vegetable garden.
A sower is a person who understands the power of the seed and the law of seedtime and harvest. From the very beginning, God intended that you and I be sowers. It is how He planned for our lives to be sustained. Through our sowing, we have the power to determine our own destiny. We see this principle in Genesis 1:28 when God told the first man and woman to have dominion. The Message translation says: Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!... God is saying that through the law of seedtime and harvest, we can actually take charge of our future. Sowing is what got you where you are today and it is how you are going to get where God wants you to be. Sowing is not a part-time endeavor or a hobby. It is what you are and what you do. Most of us have no idea that the way our lives have turned out is a direct result of the seeds we’ve sown. Like most people, we wake up every morning wondering what will happen next, how will we pay the rent, will our families have enough to eat. It’s never occurred to us that we have the ability to take charge of our lives and destinies. Our lives are on a downward spiral because of the seeds we had sown and we’re still sowing. Thank God you finally hear the truth from God’s Word, and that truth sets you free. The parable of the sower, told by Jesus in Mark, has been called the granddaddy of all parables because it is the blueprint for how God’s kingdom works. You may work as a mechanic; you may be a teacher; perhaps you are a doctor. But from God’s perspective, although you may be gifted in your vocation (in other words, your job, or career), the work that you do is not how He intends for you to sustain your life or something you do to earn a living. God intends for our jobs to provide a means for us to earn a giving. Pastor has taught us that. Our jobs are nothing more than a means for us to have seed to sow.
Don’t brush me off now! Stay with me! This is probably new to most of us. Notice I said us. We cannot limit ourselves to a paycheck because we were created to be sowers. Our income is determined by our sowing, not by what we get paid. You might say, I don’t have several avenues for additional income, or I’m on a fixed income. Although we don’t realize it, when we make statements like that, we are actually limiting ourselves by our confession. Well, if we’ll do what the Word of God says, we can change some things. And the first step is making the decision to become a sower. If I asked you, “what is the greatest Spiritual Law?”
What would your answer be? You might ask, what is a spiritual law? Simply stated, it is a rule or pattern that can be applied to everything in the universe. Now I ask you again, “what is the greatest Spiritual Law?” The greatest spiritual law is the law of SEEDTIME AND HARVEST. The first thing you need to understand about the law of seedtime and harvest is this: EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS ON PLANET EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THIS LAW - including the events in your life. Or to put it another way, the seeds you sow determine how far you go – especially in God’s plan for your life. In order to understand this law, we need to go back to the book of Genesis where everything began: Genesis 1:27-29 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Notice the last word of the scripture is food. It can also mean provision. God is saying, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for your provision.” It’s clear that God intended for us to make provision for our lives by sowing. The act of sowing not only makes provision for us and sustains us, it also represents what we are and what we do. We are sowers and we sow. THE GREATEST SPIRITUAL LAW If I asked you, “what is the greatest Spiritual Law?” What would your answer be? You might ask, what is a spiritual law? Simply stated, it is a rule or pattern that can be applied to everything in the universe. Now I ask you again, “what is the greatest Spiritual Law?” The greatest spiritual law is the law of SEEDTIME AND HARVEST. The first thing you need to understand about the law of seedtime and harvest is this: EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS ON PLANET EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THIS LAW - including the events in your life. Or to put it another way, the seeds you sow determine how far you go – especially in God’s plan for your life. In order to understand this law, we need to go back to the book of Genesis where everything began: Genesis 1:27-29 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Notice the last word of the scripture is food. It can also mean provision. God is saying, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for your provision.” It’s clear that God intended for us to make provision for our lives by sowing. The act of sowing not only makes provision for us and sustains us, it also represents what we are and what we do. We are sowers and we sow. WEEK OF DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 3 God’s WORD had to become flesh to complete the redemption. Since He and His WORD are One, God Himself, in the form of a man – all God and all man – went to the altar of the Cross to pay the price for man’s treason. God sent His WORD, the same power tool with which He created this universe, to get the job done, When you receive Him, you become a son or daughter of God, just like the first man Adam, and are reconnected by the power of the living WORD to your heavenly Father (John 20:17), the Creator of all!
WEEK OF DECEMBER 21 - 27 Jesus, speaking of the eternal power of His words, said, “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) Why? Because the heaven and earth connection is restored through His words, and the born-again person becomes like Him, joined by His words to the very life force of God (John 6:63). No wonder 1 Corinthians says of the devil and his demons: “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (KJV). The reestablishment of The WORD connection between heaven and earth was a mystery hidden in God. That mystery now revealed, is the zoe life of the living WORD in you – as He had been in Adam – restored. Colossians 1:27 says, “the glorious riches of this mystery among the nations ... is Christ [the Anointed One and His Anointing] in you, the hope of glory.” God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit set a trap for satan and all his demons that had been planned from the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8), kept secret in Him. The plan would annihilate the devil’s grip of the law of sin and death on mankind and forever reconnect and restore fallen man to his rightful relationship and fellowship with His Father.
WEEK OF DECEMBER 14 - 20 In Jesus, the Anointed One, The WORD, is life, and His zoe life is the light of men. His words are life and light (John 6:63; 8:12). He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). When a person believes and receives the truth of God’s WORD, the light contained in those words, brought forth from Light Himself, illuminates the mind of the receiver. The everlasting life and light contained in them instantly changes the inner man of the person who receives them, and his or her spirit is reborn (John 14:23). The zoe, or eternal life of God Himself, contained in His words, brings it to pass. At that moment the link is reconnected between heaven and earth. The life force of Almighty God flows into the person, through the power resident in His words, and fills him or her with God’s own Spirit and life. The person’s spirit is reborn in the image and likeness of God Himself, and he or she becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17)
WEEK Of DECEMBER 7-13 God didn’t abandon the man. He put into motion His plan of redemption, which had been in the mind of God from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He began reaching out to fallen man to restore the link. Using His power tool of creation-His WORD-He connected with a man named Abram and cut a covenant of words, or promises with him. He declared to His covenant partner, speaking things that be not as though they were, that there was a Seed coming (Galatians 3:16)-The WORD made flesh-who would bless all nations of the earth (Genesis 22:18). Forty-two generations later God’s words came to pass. His WORD, part of Himself, took upon itself flesh, and Jesus (Hebrew: “he will save.” Matthew 1:21) was born as a baby in the town of Bethlehem (Hebrew: “house of bread,” John 6:51).
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