God's
Word - The Seed Of His Blessing
A
true revelation of God's Word is the single
most important element of a victorious Christian
life.
The
Word of God often refers to itself as a
seed. There are a total of forty-four
verses in the New Testament where the Greek
word "sperma" was translated "seed."
This is the same word from which we derive
our English word "sperm."
To
conceive and give birth to the miracles
you need, you must first plant God's Word
like a seed in your heart. Conception
cannot take place without first planting
the seed. There has only been one virgin
birth, and the birth of your miracle won't
be the second.
I
constantly meet Christians who pray and
believe for God's intervention in their
lives, but remain frustrated with the results.
It's because they are missing the seeds
of conception; they just don't know God's
Word.
In
Mark 4, the Lord taught three parables which
illustrate that the Word is to the kingdom
of God what a natural seed is to a harvest.
The first of these parables, the story of
the sower, is the key to unlocking all the
Word of God (Mark 4:13). If we don't understand
these truths, Jesus said we won't understand
any of His other parables.
There
are many life-changing truths in these parables,
but one fact must be understood to get the
full benefit of this teaching. The Lord
used the comparison of His Word to a law
of nature that is unchangeable, not an institution
of man.
Here's
what I mean. You can cheat or manipulate
nearly all systems that men have created.
The legal system can be beaten, letting
the guilty go free. Our educational system
can be beaten, passing students who haven't
really learned the material. But you
can't change seedtime and harvest.
What
if a farmer waited until he saw his neighbors
reaping their crops before he sowed for
his crop? Regardless of how sincere he was,
or the justification for not sowing his
seed at the proper time, he would not reap
a crop overnight. The law of seedtime
and harvest cannot be violated.
This
is why our Lord chose to compare the way
His Word works to a seed. There is a germination
process of the Word of God in your life
that takes time and can't be avoided. In
the second parable of
Mark
4, Jesus said in verses 26-29,
"So
is the kingdom of God, as if a man should
cast seed into the ground; And should sleep,
and rise night and day, and the seed should
spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself;
first the blade, then the ear, after that
the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit
is brought forth, immediately he putteth
in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
The
seed is the Word of God (verse 14), and
the ground is our hearts (verse 15).
Our hearts were created by God to bring
forth fruit when His Word is planted in
them. Just as a seed has to remain in the
ground over time to germinate, so the Word
of God has to abide in us.
Jesus
said in John 15:7,
"If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you."
What
would happen if you planted a seed in your
garden and then dug it up each morning to
see if anything was happening? It would
die and never produce fruit. You have to
have faith that the seed is doing what God
created it to do.
Some
people put God's Word in their hearts for
a day or two, but if they don't see fruit
almost immediately, they dig up the seed
through their words and actions and
wonder why it didn't work. You have to leave
it in the ground over time. Then, there
are also different stages of growth.
Mark
4:28 says,
“
"First the blade, then the ear, after
that the full corn in the ear."
Many people are impatient, wanting to bypass
the growth cycle and get the full ear right
now. I've actually had to tell people that
what they were believing God for was not
going to happen, not because the vision
wasn't good, but because they were expecting
a complete ear of corn immediately.
For
example, one of our Charis Bible College
students came to me who had never held a
job, had been in a mental hospital, and
had lived on welfare his whole life. When
he heard the teaching on prosperity and
vision, he started dreaming big. He had
a plan to buy and renovate an old hotel.
The total cost would be over four million
dollars.
It
really was a grand plan. I complimented
him for the fact that he was dreaming and
told him to keep dreaming big. Then I told
him that it might work for someone but it
wouldn't work for him. Why? Because this
person had never believed for a dime before.
There has to be “"first the
blade, then the ear, after that the full
corn in the ear."
You
may think that's not so. It's possible that
he could have won the lottery or the Publisher's
Clearing House Sweepstakes. It's possible,
but that wouldn't have been God. God's kingdom
operates on laws, like the laws that govern
the fruit-bearing process of a seed. God
will not give you the full ear of corn if
you haven't seen the first blade.
That's
the way God's kingdom works. And this
is precisely the reason most people don't
see God's best come to pass in their lives.
They think that since God loves them, He
will just grant their request regardless
of whether they put the miracle of the seed
to work or not.
Look
at what happened after Jesus taught His
disciples these principles of the seed.
Mark
4:35 says,
"And
the same day, when the even was come, he
saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the
other side."
In a sense, Jesus was giving them a test.
On the same day that He taught them the
principles of God's Word as a seed, He gave
them a seed. He said, “"Let
us pass over unto the other side."
He didn't say, "Let us go halfway across
and drown." The disciples had a seed
from the lips of the Creator that gave them
authority over the creation.
What
happened? A two-hour trip turned into a
fight for the disciples' lives. Instead
of using the seed the Lord had given them,
they did all they knew to do in the natural
and then got put out with the Lord.
They
said in verse 38,
"Master,
carest thou not that we perish?"
This
wasn't a cabin cruiser. Jesus was in an
open boat full of water (verse 37) sloshing
all around Him. He was well aware of their
plight and yet was trying to sleep. They
wanted Him to pick up a bucket and bail
or row or do something.
How
did Jesus respond? Did He apologize and
say, "I m sorry guys. I was really
tired?" No!
Instead
He said, “"Why are ye so fearful?
how is it that ye have no faith?"
(verse 40).
Jesus
was telling them that they should have stilled
the storm. If they would have operated
in faith instead of fear, that s exactly
what they could have done.
The
Lord did His job by giving them the seed
of His Word. Their job was to take the
seed and make it work. Instead, they doubted
Jesus' love for them and thought He wasn't
pulling His weight. Likewise, we often complain
to the Lord, "Don't You love me? Why
aren't You healing me or prospering me,
etc.?"
God
has done His part; He has given us the Word.
For example, the Lord doesn't give us money
directly. Deuteronomy 8:18 says that the
Lord gives us the power to get wealth. The
power is in His promises, His Word.
As we plant those promises in our hearts,
the truth of His Word germinates and prosperity
comes.
Healing
operates the same way. There are numerous
scriptures that get the point across that
God s Word is health to all our flesh.
Here's two:
“
"For they are life unto those that
find them, and health to all their flesh"
(Prov. 4:22).
“
"He sent his word, and healed them,
and delivered them from their destructions"
(Ps. 107:20).
Yes,
a person can get healed without planting
God's Word in their heart. It comes through
the prayers of others with the gifts of
healing (1 Cor. 12:9), but it is not God's
best. We should never be too proud to ask
for help, but the proper way to get healed
is to take God's promises of healing and
plant them in our hearts until they release
their life-giving power into our physical
bodies.
This
law of seedtime and harvest operates in
every area of our lives. If we will
plant God's Word in our hearts, then allow
the seed to germinate and the plant to grow
to maturity, we will reap the fruit of a
harvest. That is God's best!
I
cannot tell you strongly enough how important
it is that you know God's Word and that
you plant the seed of His Word in your
heart long before you need the fruit of
the harvest. It could mean the difference
between prosperity and poverty, or even
life and death. I believe this is so
important that it s the very first class
I teach to new students at CBC every year.
My
teaching series A Sure Foundation
will help you understand the power and importance
of God s Word in your life. It will help
you go beyond the "touchy-feely,"
emotion-based thinking that many mistake
for faith. It's not about what you feel;
it's about what has been planted in your
heart and come to full fruit. It's the foundation
to receiving the promises of God.
So,
make this year your personal Year of
the Bible and build a sure foundation
in your own life. It will be the best decision
you have ever made.
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