Preamble
The moment you find yourself in the midst of overwhelming challenges that do not seem to line up with your expectations your faith begins to decline, and when that happens you can’t think right.
The moment you don’t feel right, you can’t talk right and thus cannot live right. That moment turns to God for help. In order to think right, talk right and live right you need to fine-tune your faith and hope in God.
That you are overwhelmed means that you have created God in your mind after your image and likeness. You have seen the limitations of everything around you and decided to put the limitations on God.
The moment your expectations are not met, and you forget past mercies, deliverances and things God had done to focus on the present things; you recreate God in your image, in your likeness and make Him look powerless.
The moment your heart is not set right if anything goes wrong; that is the end, Psalm 78: 1-8, 40-44, 56-57.
Don’t settle for discouragement like Judah in Nehemiah 4: 6-10 or the two Disciples on the way to Emmaus, Luke 24: 17-21.
When hope is lost, faith will reduce and a limitation is put on God.
If any man would have been discouraged in life it should be Joseph. His experiences before meeting Pharaoh were contrary to his visions and dreams.
David too did not ask for anointing but soon after he was anointed he went from one crisis to another, Psalm 37: 1-15.
We are in the same race but our destination is not the same place, Proverbs 10:23-24, 28-29.
Prayer.
Lord I will not look at the rain, I will not look at the storm or circumstances. I focus on God; I am looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. I thank you for strengthening me in my inner man.
I thank you for grace for the race and strength for the journey. Every inch on the way you will be by my side; you will never forsake. You are there, faithful and true, you have been faithful throughout all ages; never said anything that will return to you void. We lift you up and glorify your Holy Name. We fine-tune our faith and hope in you. We give you glory and praise in Jesus Mighty Name.
Whenever God makes a promise to you, it is as good as done. Fine-tune your faith in God as we learn from father Abraham, Romans 4: 13-25.
Abraham believed that God gives life to the dead and call those things which do not exist as though they do.
When everything around him was contrary to hope, he believed that there was still hope, and as hope does not disappoint he became the father of many Nations according to the Word of God spoken to him.
God’s Word will not return to Him void.
His hope in God fired up his faith in God so that the seemingly impossible things began to happen one after the other.
He was no longer weak in faith. He judged God to be faithful, Hebrew 11:11-12.
The moment you don’t consider God to be faithful you go down into fear, unbelief and doubt.
Whenever you fret when there is a delay, you adjudge God unfaithful.
Abraham’s faith was strengthened because he continually gave glory to God.
He was fully persuaded that what He had promised He was also able to perform, Romans 4:21.
The moment you believe, there shall be performance, Luke 1:45.
Message Focus.
The objective of the message was to make clear the essential communication in giving and receiving so nothing will hinder any of our Partners and all of God’s people from enjoying the abundant provision made available by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
An exchange took place at Calvary. God who possesses all the Riches in Heaven and the Earth chose to become poor so that the Saints of God through His poverty might become rich, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Genesis 8: 20-22.
It is impossible for you to access the riches that Christ died for except grace is imparted to you.
After you have obtained that grace, you then determine how far to go with God in matters of increase and abundance, 2 Corinthians 9: 6.
Until your giving gets to a place where God smells a sweet aroma as in Genesis you cannot say my God supplies my need.
By the word, communication, in Philippians 4:15, Paul means sharing.
We need clear and effective communication in giving and receiving more than ever before because of our past background as Christians.
Our attitude to giving is often influenced by our background experience from Churches we previously attended.
Here at the Citadel no one is compelled to give and no one has tried to wind you to give in a particular way.
You are simply taught the Word so that the exchange that took place at Calvary may be your portion.
Essential Truth To Know.
You cannot abound in grace of giving except you are taught; the grace is transmitted to you either by the Lord or the Carriers of that grace, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7.
The proof of your obedience to the Gospel is the liberal sharing of your resources with the Saints, and all men God brings your way, 2 Corinthians 9: 10-15.
It is not gracious giving when the reason or motive is to attract attention to yourself or make others like or love you.
To make them do your bidding is nothing short of control and witchcraft which is counterproductive. You cannot buy love. When you genuinely love and sow a seed of love you reap a bumper harvest of love later or sooner, 1 John 4: 25-21.
Giving is not natural and there is grace for giving. What is natural with man is selfishness: the desire to get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can.
It takes grace to continue in the things you have heard and learned Romans 12:3-8, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Acts 20:26-35, Hebrew 13:7-9.
Seven Diverse Biblical Views on Sowing and Reaping.
Sowing and Reaping is not all about money.
There is a place of action.
Long before Jesus came, before the Disciples wrote the Gospel and the Epistles, Isaac sowed the Word of God into his life by simply obeying God’s Word to dwell in Gerar.
Isaac sowed the Word into his life, obeyed God completely and stayed in Gerar. In that one year his turnover, profit, rewards and harvest were one hundredfold. He grew until others became envious of him, Genesis 26: 1-6, 12-14.
Isaiah the prophet equated the seed to the Word of God and not money, Isaiah 55:1-13.
In the parable of the Sower, the seed is interpreted as the Word, Matthew 13, Mark 4:14, Luke 8:11.
How much of the Word you sow into your life is the measure of what will produce in your life.
Luke 6:38.
The things that will be given back to you are not money; instead, they are such as joy, blessing, prayer, mercy, judgment, condemnation, forgiveness etc.
The parable of the wheat and tare is also not about money.
As much as it is true that everyone will reap what he sows, sometimes it is true that the harvest is reaped by people who do not sow the seed.
For example in the Old Testament, the produce left behind in the field during harvest are for the poor, Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 24:19-22.
Caution.
There are those who do not sow at all like the Levites, those who work in the vineyard.
Do not deprive them by choosing to sow your seed where you like.
You can support other Ministries apart from your local Church but there are certain things that exclusively belong to your local Church that should not be sowed elsewhere. You can do that with your offerings but never with your Tithe, Deuteronomy 12:8-21.
Examples of those who reaped where they did not sow are Ruth, Israel and the Disciples of Jesus. The reason why these people reaped where they did not bestow labour is because they have sowed somewhere where they did not reap. Examples are the Children of Israel when in captivity in Egypt Exodus 1: 7-14.
Ruth who sowed into the life of Naomi, Ruth 2:11-18.
Faltering Harvest.
The principle of sowing and reaping applies to both good and bad seeds as stated in the parable of wheat and tares. These are forms of sowing that are actually enjoyable at least in carnal nature and reaping of associated consequences.
Example is when Cain killed Abel. He probably must have been happy that his competitor was dead but he reaped the harvest of becoming a vagabond and a fugitive.
The sowing of good seed whilst the anticipated harvest is not forthcoming because of violation of God commands, Haggai 2: 2-11. This happens when God has a need and you feel it is not your business to attend to such need.
Sowing with tears always results in reaping joy and cheerful giving. Hannah sowed her desire with tears, and Nehemiah wept when he heard what happened to Judah.
When God gives you a vision you may have to sow that vision with tears. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
To every man, there are different seasons; a time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to weep is when you are sowing in tears; a time to laugh is when you are harvesting with joy, Psalm 126; 5-6
The turnaround season of favour when the seasons of life collide and overlap.
That is a prophetic time when the plow man will overtake the reaper, Leviticus 26:3-10, Amos 9:13-15.
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