The Divine Setup 3: If you don’t sow, you can’t reap

Divine Set up 3: If you don’t sow, you can’t reap

Genesis 8:22

“While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night

Shall not cease.”

• We are talking about Divine set ups and what that means is the providence of God in putting us in situations, or with people in order for us to get, grow or learn from so that we will be prepared for where He is bringing us.
• When the Lord had put me divinely back with brother Henry in 2003 until August of 2004 it was a time of preparation. A time of learning and growing and a time of getting some key principals deep down in to my spirit so that I would learn to walk by them
• One of the greatest lessons brother Henry taught me and in fact he just sent me a text yesterday about it is “Sow a seed, reap a Harvest.”
• He would always say, “You can never expect a harvest if you have not put a seed in the ground.”
• I can hear his voice right now saying, “If you get it in the ground you can expect a Harvest because God is so faithful to His word.”
• The Holy Spirit used him to teach me about tithing and the importance of tithing but also the importance of sowing. Not to just hold on to extra money but to pray about where to put that in the ground and sow it for the Kingdom of God
• The truth is this is a law, more then a principle
• For this law of sowing and reaping goes beyond ones faith in God or trust in the Lord.
• Every year all over the globe farmers go out and prepare their land for a seed they will put in the ground and then that seed will germinate and grow and then the farmer will go out and harvest their crop
• Over the years I have met so many non-believers who are strong advocates about the sowing and reaping, giving and it shall be giving back unto you law
• They have learned to conduct their business and guide their wealth through such a law that goes beyond dirt and water
• We may word it differently like investment (sowing), paying it forward (sowing), but the reality of the law is present.

 

Galatians 6:7-9

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

 

• Paul makes it clear here that this sowing and reaping law/principle goes beyond the ground and the seed
• He says whatever you sow, you will reap. If you sow hate, it is hate you will reap, if you sow to the flesh you will reap corruption, but if you sow to the Spirit you will reap the fruit from the Spirit that leads to eternal life.
• This sowing mentality is one that is proven and has stood the test of time.
• Sowing into your marriage, sowing into your business, sowing into your kids, sowing into your own life is done naturally, but the one thing we have to learn to control is what are we sowing
• We must look to make heavenly investments in to the hearts and life of those around us, especially our family members who are nearest to us
• I am going to use this time to specifically focus on sowing money where the Lord would lead you.
• We live in a day where life is about dollars and cents and every penny counts. Especially after the bottom dropped out of the market, jobs were lost, hours were cut, savings were lost, 401 k’s were ruined. It has been a very uncertain time financially
• SO this principle of sowing and reaping is one that has to be a go to resource during times like this.
• Our natural instinct would be to withdraw from tithing, withdraw from giving, or sowing and start storing, or holding on to. Believe me, I get it and have been guilty of it on many occasions. I have two little kids now and a wife and even though I have founded my life and lived my life on this principle I still am tempted to scrounge up what I got and hold on to it, but to watch it rot is way worse.
• Paul says this “Yes you are going to get burned out and weary at times sowing, but don’t stop, don’t give up for your harvest is sure and it is coming.”
• Did you hear that, “YES you are going to want to stop, and hold on to what you got, but don’t you do it, for if you keep sowing, you will keep reaping and will reap a good Harvest.”
• As I said a couple of episodes ago, Brother Henry would always talk about sow, and reap, seed time and harvest, but he would always add in that Matthew 13 parable where Jesus says, “30, 60, 100 fold harvest.” What Henry would tell me was when you sow in faith, something the non-believers don’t have access to for they only depend on the natural return of the sowing and reaping, but the believer relies on the supernatural return of the sowing and reaping because we do it by faith.
• I have many stories to tell about this principle but I will share this particular one at this time. In 2005 I went on a mission trip to Mexico with Pastor Rick Hagans which I will share with you later about how amazing the Lord set that up, but I met a guy that would become one of my best friends this life has known. Joel. Now Joel loves the word of God and I remember being a young pastor in Bible college sitting next to this guy from New York City who worked as a flight attendant and who sat next to me on our bus rides in and out of Mexico every day. He held a small NT bible and just kept showing me scripture and pouring into me and showing me this and that from the word of God and I remember sitting there thinking, this dude knows more about the word of God then I did at that point. So I made it a point to get me a little NT bible and get in and become a man of the WORD. Well on that trip Joel had mentioned that Times Square Church was doing a trip to Israel and he invited me to go with him. This was December 2005. I was like, yeah man, I will go. At that time you didn’t need a passport to go across the border in Mexico and I had never flown on a airplane before but I was like, yeah I will go.
• Well, we had talked a couple of times via phone after that. I was the pastor in Two Egg and the Spring semester of 2006 had started and ended. I came back to Deland during the week to visit my mom and family and it was getting close to the end of May. It was a Wednesday night and I was in a church service at Calvary Christian Center where Pastor Jim Raley was preaching and in the middle of the sermon he said, “There is someone in here that had something that they thought was dead, but God has brought it back to life even tonight. I knew that was for me, I just knew it. I thought it was a relationship but was I wrong. I went out after the service and saw where I missed a call from Joel around that same time. I called him back and the first words out of his mouth, “You ready to go to Israel the first week of June?” This was the second to the last week of May. I said, yes, I know the Lord has put this together let me try to get my Passport. Remember I was a college student, serving as a pastor in Two Egg, which meant I had no money once so ever. I did however have enough to go to the clerk of court and pay for my passport to be expedited in 24 hours. That Sunday I told the Church in Two Egg that I felt like I had a once in a life time opportunity to go to Israel for a David Wilkerson pastors conference and a tour of the Holy Land. They were overwhelmed and said they would pay for my flight. I remember sitting there in that pew like, WOW, just WOW! I am really going to go to Israel. The next day I called Joel and told him. I ordered my passport and the Church has given me the money to pay for my flight. Hallelujah!!!!
• We were scheduled to fly out in one week. I rushed around that week as I prepared and I felt like I was on cloud 9 man. Blown away at this opportunity. As I traveled back up the Church on Friday to visit folks and preach I realized I only had $210 to my name and that should be my tithe. I knew I was flying out on Monday and I needed money to pay for rooms, food, gas, etc. but I could work that out with Joel and pay him back. I thought to myself, yeah, but you should keep that $210 so you can have money for getting something. For what felt like the entire 5 hour trip up to Two Egg I wrestled with the thought to keep the tithe or to sow it. Some people only tithe on what they earn, but over the years I made my mind up to calculate gifts toward the tithe or give an offering based on the gift. That week the Church gifted me a Flight to Israel and I was going to give an offering to the Lord on it and when it was all calculated it was about $180 and then my heart was to simply give Him all I had $210 because the $30 left over was not going to do me any good. So, I had settled it in my heart and prayed about it to the Lord. When Sunday came and the time for offering I was in tears as I said, “Lord here is my heart and my gift, thank You. I don’t care if I go two weeks in Israel without eating, I am going and I am so thankful.” Well that was a sincere prayer, and a sincere seed.
• I preached and then gave the invitation. During the invitation people started walking up to offer me a gift from the Lord. I mean, check after check. It was so overwhelming. I just was in tears. It totaled over $1500 and for a young man who grew up in Deland and who only ever could dream about maybe one day going to New York City, the Lord used His principles in which He instilled inside of me, and His Church where He placed me, to show me “30, 60, 100 fold harvest is available for those who sow in faith and leave the results to Him.”
• Israel was breath taking, the pastors conference was powerful. When we came back I stopped in New York City to stay at my Friend Joel’s house, and visit my friend Joey who was working at Times Square Church. I had always wanted to go to New York, but it was nothing compared to Israel. The Lord can do exceedingly, abundantly, more then you can think, ask or imagine. Sometimes He puts us in Divine set ups to test our faith to see if we will trust Him with all of our tomorrows. If you don’t sow, you can’t reap. Don’t stop SOWING, FOR HE IS FAITHFUL!