If you don’t open the door. . .you will never enter your new house.

If you don’t put the key in the ignition. . .you will never start your new car.

If you don’t’ get to work on time. . .you will never get your promotion.

If you don’t practice your musical instrument. . .you will never become an accomplished performer.

If you don’t tell somebody you love them. . .you will never know the blessing of love reciprocated.

If you don’t prove yourself as a faithful employee. . .you will never get a raise.

If you don’t study the text book and take good notes. . .you will never be a great student.

If you don’t accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. . .you will never obtain eternal life.

If you don’t show faith in His promises. . .you will never receive the benefit of his blessings.

If you don’t tithe and give offerings. . .the windows of heaven will never open over you.

If you don’t sow. . .you will never reap.

If you sow excuses, regardless of how valid they may seem. . .you will never reap a harvest of financial blessings.

If you say you have nothing to sow. . .you never will.

If you say you’re on a fixed income. . .you are.

If you say. . .you’ve sown and sown but have never received a harvest. . .you never will.

The Bible is a book of absolutes.  The promises and principles of God are not conditional. . .based on your circumstances and situations.  They are only conditional when God says: “If you do this…then I’ll do that.”

Here is an absolute. . .

If you sow. . .you will reap.

Conversely, if you don’t sow. . .you won’t reap.

And what you sow. . .that is what you reap.

As a boy growing up in North Carolina, my grandparents (on my father’s side of the family) lived about two miles off the highway up in the fields.

As a boy, I remember going to my grandfather’s house. 

Without question, some of the best water I have ever tasted came out of an old pump that was just outside the front door of my grandfather’s country home. There was always a bucket sitting close by filled with water.

In order to taste the cool refreshing water from that pump … you had to prime the pump by pouring water in the top as you were working the handle. Initially, you had to pump the handle fast and furiously but once that pump caught prime and the water began flowing, you could relax and keep the flow going with little or no effort. The secret to tasting that wonderful water was priming the pump.

However, here’s a fact.  If you didn’t prime the pump with water. . .you would never get water out of that pump regardless of hard you worked the handle.

You could pray. . .you could do a rain dance. . .but if you didn’t prime the pump with water. . .you would never have received the continual flow of fresh cool water.

Here are seven scriptural principles that confirm what I’m saying to you.

First, “everything reproduces after its own kind”

Genesis 1:11 in the Amplified Bible says:

“And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.”

I have heard that the biggest fool is the one who fools himself. God warns us not to make fools of ourselves in sowing and reaping.

Galatians 6:7 says:

“Be not deceived [fooled]; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Everyone knows apple seeds bring forth an apple harvest and peach seeds bring forth a harvest of peaches. Seeds produce a harvest after their own kind.

Cats don’t reproduce dogs.  Elephants don’t reproduce monkeys.

Everything reproduces after its own kind or as it says in the New Living Translation of Genesis 1:11:

“. . . these seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.”

As a further example consider Job 4:8 which says:

“Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.”

Everything reproduces after its own kind. . .including evil.

It has always been this way, and it will never change. The seed you plant always determines the kind of harvest you reap.

I cannot stress this point too strongly. It is not the kind of harvest you need that determines the kind of harvest you will receive. It is the kind of seed you plant. Don’t fool yourself.

Luke 6:38 says:

“Give, and it [that which you have given] shall be given unto you…”

Notice the word “give” in this verse. It is a powerful word.

Let me paraphrase verse 38 to show just how big this word really is.

Give apples, and it (apples) will be given to you.

Give clothing, and it (clothing) will be given to you.

Give money, and it (money) will be given to you.

Now read verse 38 this way:

Give money, and it (money) will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men pour money into your bosom. For with the same measure that you give money, it (money) will be given back to you!

Please don’t fool yourself. If you expect to receive a financial harvest from God, you must plant some money seeds into the work of God.

Galatians 6:7 says:

“whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.“

The kind of seed you plant is the kind of seed you will reap.

Second, sowing and reaping will never leave cease to exist

Have you ever thought or said. . .I wish this day would never end?

But the reality is. . .no matter how much you enjoy a particular day. . .it ends.  It’s a scientific fact that days end followed by night and then the beginning of a new day.

Have you ever thought or said. . .I’ll be glad when this 100 degree weather ends?  I’m ready for winter.

Here’s another scientific fact. . .the ending of summer heat is not a matter of wishing and hoping. . .it’s a natural law.

Every twenty-four hours. . .a new day begins followed by the night.

Genesis 8:28 says:

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The Message Bible translation of Genesis 8:28 begins:

“For as long as Earth lasts. . .”

This scripture clearly establishes that there will be no end to sowing and reaping as long as planet earth exists.

Truthfully, there is no need to comment any further on the verse. . .because all we really need to know is seedtime and harvest. . .sowing and reaping. . .will never end.

Third, the convenient time to sow will never come

Over the years, I’ve heard a significant number of people say they’ll sow when they can or when they’re able.

Here’s an absolute fact.

If you don’t sow what you got right now. . .you will never sow later on.

I’ve heard people say they’ll begin to sow when they get a job.  No, they won’t.

I’ve heard people say they’ll give big when they get a bonus or a raise.  No, they won’t.

I’ve heard people say they’ll begin to sow when they’re ship comes in. . .no, they won’t.

I’ve got news for you. . .if you don’t send a ship out. . .seed out for a harvest. . .then your ship is never going to come in.

You’ll spend your life like Otis Redding “sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time.”

Ecclesiastes 11:4 in the Amplified Bible says:

“He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

The Living Bible Translation of this verse says “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.”

Begin sowing now with what you’ve got.

I remember the first time we ever gave $1,000. . .we gave it $100 a month for ten months.

If we had waited until we had the $1,000. . .we may have never given it.

Start where you are with what you’ve got right now.

Fourth, there is a spiritual dynamic in sowing and reaping

2 Corinthians 9:6 in the Amplified Bible says:

“[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.”

Simply said, the proportion with which you sow. . .is the proportion to which you will reap.

The Living Bible Translation of 2 Corinthians 9:6 says:

“But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.”

Now let me also point out that “little” and “much” is relative to what you have.

For a single mother, working two jobs just to make ends meet. . .twenty dollars may be a significant seed.  However, for someone who has a six-figure income, $20 is probably insignificant.

Luke 21:3-5 in the Amplified Bible says:

“And He saw also a poor widow putting in two mites (copper coins).  And He said, Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;  For they all gave out of their abundance (their surplus); but she has contributed out of her lack and her want, putting in all that she had on which to live.”

The significance of your seed is based on what you have left after you’ve sown the seed.

2 Corinthians 8:12 in the New King James Version says:

“For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”

The implication of this scripture is that your gift should be based on what you have been provided and not according to what you have at the moment.

In fact, what you have at the moment or the lack thereof. . .is all a result of the principles of stewardship.

Think about it.

Fifth, you should never doubt that your harvest is coming

Galatians 6:7 in the Amplified Bible says:

 “Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.

This scripture is very clear. . .God will not allow His percepts to be set aside.  What is the scriptural percept in this verse?

“. . .whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.”

If you sow. . .you will reap in your due season. . .your right time.

It doesn’t matter what your circumstances look like. . .your right time is coming.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve lost your job. . .your right time is coming.

It doesn’t matter what’s happened to your investment portfolio. . .your right time is coming.

Perhaps any or all of these circumstances were the reason you were led to plant your seed.

Galatians 6:9 in the Amplified Bible says:

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

This scripture in Galatians gives you seven very specific directives in order to reap.

1.      Do not lose heart.

2.      Do not grow weary.

3.      Do not faint in acting nobly.

4.      Do not faint in doing right.

5.      You will reap at the right time. . .if you do not lose your hope.

6.      You will reap at the right time. . .if you have courage.

7.      You will reap at the right time. . .if you do not faint.

It’s clear that you should never doubt. . .nor give up while waiting for your harvest.  What should you do?

Get ready to shout. . .as we look at Isaiah 40:28  in the Amplified Bible which says:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.”

In other words, the scripture says. . .how many times do I have to tell you this?  Have you not been reading my instructions and listening to my voice?  I haven’t changed my mind or my promises to you.

Isaiah 40:29 in the Amplified Bible says:

“He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].”

Are you hearing/seeing this. . . “He gives power to the faint and weary.”  Could that be you?

We’re not just talking about any kind of power. . .we’re talking about the resurrection power of God flowing through you and working on your behalf.

Not only does He give you power. . .but He is increasing your strength.

Here’s the bottom line. . .when it appears that you’re not seeing any movement toward your harvest. . .hold fast to the confession of your faith.

God is doing things for you right now that you can’t see so He can bring into manifestation the things that you can see.

Just remember. . .what you sow. . .that and that only will you reap.

Sixth, our priority should be based in what He wants and not what we want

Haggai 1:6-8 in the Amplified Bible says:

“You have sown much, but you have reaped little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages has earned them to put them in a bag with holes in it.”

Do you feel like you’ve sown much but reaped little?

There are three plateaus when it comes to giving.

First, when God prompts you … you must give what, when and where He tells you to give.

Second, you must sure there are no hindrances. . .that there’s nothing will hinder the free flow of God’s abundant provision into your life.  For instance, unforgivness is a covenant breaker.

Thirdly, you’ve got to know there is a devil who will do any and everything possible to keep you from receiving God’s abundance into your life.

It’s not just that the enemy doesn’t want you to prosper. . .He doesn’t want you to realize the power available to you. . .when you tap into God’s economic delivery system.

Haggai 1:7 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways (your previous and present conduct) and how you have faired.”

This verse just confirms what I said earlier. . .the question isn’t whether or not God’s word is true. . .or whether His promises are for us. . .but rather, what’s keeping abundance from our house.  Perhaps, it’s how we treat His house.

Haggai 1:8 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Go up to the hill country and bring lumber and rebuild [My] house, and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, says the Lord [by accepting it as done for My glory and by displaying My glory in it].”

Let me be very clear.

If you’ve been using God’s money without His permission. . .there’s a hole in your bag.

If you’ve haven’t given what, when and where He told you to give. . .there’s a hole in your bag.

If you’re paying interest of any kind, there are holes in your financial “bag” or checkbook.  This is true of all interest . . . credit cards, car loans and mortgage loans.  If you are paying interest, ask God to show you how to start getting rid of it as quickly as possible.

When it comes to His money. . .the money He’s entrusted  to you. . .then His priority should be your priority.

Seventh, He will give seed to the sower

2 Corinthians 9:10 in the Amplified Bible says:

“And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [[a]which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].”

The key phrase here is “God will give seed for the sower.”

Here’s a revelation for you. . .if you don’t sow. . .then you don’t get any seed.

2 Corinthians 9:10 in the New Living Translation says:

“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.”

He will provide seed to you. . .why?  So you can sow.  So you can reap.  So you can experience increase.  So you can be generous.

How does this process start?  When you sow.  As important as prayer is. . .seed doesn’t come when you pray. . .it comes when you sow.

I could keep on. . .but if you don’t have it by now. . .it’s not more information that you need. . .it’s deliverance from not hearing what the Word of God is saying to you.

Text GIVE to 817-693-1557 to sow your seed securely and easily.

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