THEEVANGELIST
23rd May 2004, 08:58 PM
Glory to God! Praise the Lord! I have been in Lexington, Ky all week long attending our financial conference. Everynight a different speaker brought new revelation concerning the believers' finances. It was awesome! As most of you know, I have been teaching on finances for some time now. Todays message will be the fourth and final message on The Laws of Sowing and Reaping. I have a lot of ground to cover so lets get started.
During the conference, a couple of statistics surfaced that I want to discuss. Of all of the believers in the United States, less than 30% obey the Lord in the tithe. Furthermore, Christians that do give, give about 3% of their income. Malachi 3:8 ask the question, Will a man rob God? It goes on to say that if a person does not give tithes and offerings that is the equivalent to robbing God. Jesus said that he is coming back for a glorious church that is without spot or wrinkle. He is not coming back to a poor, oppressed, and/or depressed group of Christians that are just "holding on 'till Jesus comes". C'mon yall, we're the endtime church, it is time to rise up! So now God has saved this prosperity message for a time such as now. God is saying it my desire that my people be wealthy, but you have to obey me. We got under a third of the Christian community that won't follow the first step to building our financial portfolios=the tithe. So now with the primarily new revelation that God wants us to prosper in every area of our life including finances, because most Christians don't wanna listen to the voice of God they just have deaf ears. All they ever heard was money is the root of all evil. They never seen grandmama or mama give or sow seed. So now some preacher says to obtain abundance in your life, God says to give. They don't want to hear that. Well, all that preacher wants is your money. Lets dig into the word of God; lets pull out some revelation and really determine what is going on.
Turn to Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. When you read this verse it sounds like God is saying I will give you clear understanding on a particular subject. I'm sure that that could apply, but that word shew means something else. In the Hebrew, the word shew means "manifest or to bring to the front". God is saying come follow me, and I will bring to pass great things in your life. As a result of obedience in God's financial system you will have manifested abundance in your life. Look at the last part of Jeremiah 33:3=which thou knowest not. Now quickly turn to Mark 4:26. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; (27)And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. Notice that Jesus said that man should cast seed, man should sleep and rise, and the seed should. Then Jesus says that the man doesn't know how the seed works in the ground. It just does. As a sower, all I know is to sow seed. I don't know how my harvest is gonna come. I just know that it is coming. Glory to God! To many times, Christians want to try to figure God out. His ways are higher than our ways. Just do what the book says to do, and God will do the rest.
Follow me to Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters for thou shalt find it after many days. (2)Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest now what evil shall be upon the earth. (3)If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, into the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. (4)He that observeth the wind shall not show; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. (5)As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In verses one and two, Solomon says to give into different grounds, and your harvest will come. In verse three, he says that showers of blessings will come once the cloud is full. How do you get the cloud full? By giving. Now look at verse four. This is very important. The believer has to stay in the spirit concerning his/her giving. That is why we look not at the things that are seen, but rather at the things that are unseen(2nd Corinthian 4:18) If you look at the natural it seems crazy to give and yet somehow you are supposed to increase. It doesn't matter what your bank account says. It doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter that that heathen down the street seems to have everything. Galatians 6 says that God will not be mocked. Again verse five is saying what the previous two passages of scripture were saying. We don't know how God is directing the angels to bring our harvest. I just know that he is!
Finally, beloved I wish to close this series with Proverbs 11:24. This verse could probably sum up this entire series. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but tendeth to poverty. Sowing and reaping is God's financial system of increase for the believer. Everything in the kingdom of God operates off faith. Faith is that connecting force that links you with God. This sowing and reaping is a faith thing. The bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Well, did this help you. I hope it did. Be looking for next weeks message. I have a real goody for ya. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus.
During the conference, a couple of statistics surfaced that I want to discuss. Of all of the believers in the United States, less than 30% obey the Lord in the tithe. Furthermore, Christians that do give, give about 3% of their income. Malachi 3:8 ask the question, Will a man rob God? It goes on to say that if a person does not give tithes and offerings that is the equivalent to robbing God. Jesus said that he is coming back for a glorious church that is without spot or wrinkle. He is not coming back to a poor, oppressed, and/or depressed group of Christians that are just "holding on 'till Jesus comes". C'mon yall, we're the endtime church, it is time to rise up! So now God has saved this prosperity message for a time such as now. God is saying it my desire that my people be wealthy, but you have to obey me. We got under a third of the Christian community that won't follow the first step to building our financial portfolios=the tithe. So now with the primarily new revelation that God wants us to prosper in every area of our life including finances, because most Christians don't wanna listen to the voice of God they just have deaf ears. All they ever heard was money is the root of all evil. They never seen grandmama or mama give or sow seed. So now some preacher says to obtain abundance in your life, God says to give. They don't want to hear that. Well, all that preacher wants is your money. Lets dig into the word of God; lets pull out some revelation and really determine what is going on.
Turn to Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. When you read this verse it sounds like God is saying I will give you clear understanding on a particular subject. I'm sure that that could apply, but that word shew means something else. In the Hebrew, the word shew means "manifest or to bring to the front". God is saying come follow me, and I will bring to pass great things in your life. As a result of obedience in God's financial system you will have manifested abundance in your life. Look at the last part of Jeremiah 33:3=which thou knowest not. Now quickly turn to Mark 4:26. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; (27)And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. Notice that Jesus said that man should cast seed, man should sleep and rise, and the seed should. Then Jesus says that the man doesn't know how the seed works in the ground. It just does. As a sower, all I know is to sow seed. I don't know how my harvest is gonna come. I just know that it is coming. Glory to God! To many times, Christians want to try to figure God out. His ways are higher than our ways. Just do what the book says to do, and God will do the rest.
Follow me to Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters for thou shalt find it after many days. (2)Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest now what evil shall be upon the earth. (3)If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, into the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. (4)He that observeth the wind shall not show; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. (5)As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In verses one and two, Solomon says to give into different grounds, and your harvest will come. In verse three, he says that showers of blessings will come once the cloud is full. How do you get the cloud full? By giving. Now look at verse four. This is very important. The believer has to stay in the spirit concerning his/her giving. That is why we look not at the things that are seen, but rather at the things that are unseen(2nd Corinthian 4:18) If you look at the natural it seems crazy to give and yet somehow you are supposed to increase. It doesn't matter what your bank account says. It doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter that that heathen down the street seems to have everything. Galatians 6 says that God will not be mocked. Again verse five is saying what the previous two passages of scripture were saying. We don't know how God is directing the angels to bring our harvest. I just know that he is!
Finally, beloved I wish to close this series with Proverbs 11:24. This verse could probably sum up this entire series. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but tendeth to poverty. Sowing and reaping is God's financial system of increase for the believer. Everything in the kingdom of God operates off faith. Faith is that connecting force that links you with God. This sowing and reaping is a faith thing. The bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Well, did this help you. I hope it did. Be looking for next weeks message. I have a real goody for ya. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus.