Sow in the Famine! Don't Stop Now!

I was speaking to a friend of mine a short while ago and he was telling me about how tough things have been for him. As we were talking I mentioned another friend who also was having a really tough time economically. After our conversation, I walked away thinking how crazy it was that when others were going through economic hardship God had preserved me. Then God spoke a word to my heart Daniel 11:32 "...they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits."

The Lord just kept ministering to my heart as I meditated on that word. This is our year of distinction and they that know their God shall continue to flourish in the midst of trouble. As I thought about that word, I began to wonder what that word "know" meant. Many of the people suffering at this time are Christians who I believe know and love God. So what is this knowing? The Lord said to me that knowing him meant not just being saved and reading the word of God, but entering into covenant with him and obeying the terms of the covenant which are laid out in his word.

He caused me to meditate on the last 7 months and how he accelerated my giving. I have never given the way I have done these last seven months. I gave sacrificially and didn't even realize it. I sowed so much seed that the enemy began to come against me. At one point I began to wonder what it was all about. I began to wonder if I had been deceived. The devil would say to me "look around you, what do you have to show for what you earn? You have given it all away." One time when the enemy was working me seriously I asked the Lord why he would not let me save and his answer was, "But you are saving. Where rust and moth do not destroy." That had not been the answer I was looking for, but I entered rest about saving and the peace of God was able to govern within me.

Today the Lord said to me that things will continue to be tough but in the famine I must keep on sowing. Just like Isaac did in Genesis 26. The distinction between the righteous and the wicked will be clear moving forward. Those who are his will be gathered to him and will flourish even in a barren land. The Lord revealed to me that the reason he had me sowing so much was because he knew that a famine was coming and just like in the days of Joseph, he had me store up abundantly during the time of plenty so that I will not feel the famine, and so that I will be a light for those who will suffer from it.

I am reminded of the hymn below known as Bringing In The Sheaves:

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Sowing can be painful, especially when you are broke or when God demands what we think is "just too much!" But one thing I know, that God is faithful to make sure that you reap a harvest if you faint not.

Psalm 126:5-6 says

Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

The word says "continually goes forth" you must sow and keep on sowing. No giving up, no stopping, no reducing the amount you sow in fact, if you can, increase it. The word says you shall "doubtless" i.e there is no doubt about it, i.e FO SHO, there is a harvest for you and you shall come rejoicing carrying your harvest singing the Nigerian chorus:

Come and see oh...
Come and see
Come and see what the Lord has done x4

I believe my season for harvest has come. I shall begin to see my harvest and shall sing a new song to the Lord. Many times I have sown in tears, but I will now come back with laughter. Hey! My God has done it for me oh! Come and see!!!!

Lend and DO NOT borrow!

God is giving me such sound financial advice. I am loving it! Ecclesiastes 11:4,6

"Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap...
Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well."

vs 4 talks about people who wait for ideal situations before they can sow their seed. God said to stop waiting for ideal situations before I can invest. Start where you are and work your way up. Don't say "when i have a little more money, when I get married, when ..." There will never be an ideal situation so make a habit of investing now, regardless of your situation. Sow your seed and trust Jehovah for the harvest. He is Lord of the harvest.

v6 talks about keeping busy constantly sowing your seed. Don't just do one thing. Find ways to do more than one money making activity. You never know which one will excel and or even if both will do equally well. Avoid idleness at all costs. Stay busy from morning till evening and God will bless your efforts. Instill a culture of staying busy in your children. Idleness is an enemy!

The above verses tie in perfectly with the following passage:

Deuteronomy 28:12

"The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none"

As you get busy sowing seed, God will cause his rain to come and will give you a mighty harvest. Once you get your harvest you are to lend and not borrow. I have been considering where to save or invest what God has given me but I had a wrong perspective.

1) I was thinking about investing and in my mind (for some weird reason) I was thinking, "do I really want to tie down money in some investment project".

2) I was thinking of putting the bulk of my savings into a sacco or other banking system that would lend me money in the future should I need to borrow.

Then the Lord asked me, 'What do Banks do where lending is concerned?' So I said 'they give money to an individual or organization and then ask the person to pay it back with interest.' The Lord said to me "Be the Bank!" He said to me that I should consider investing as lending money to someone who will then pay it back to me with interest, not as tying down money.

Another thing he needed to point out and correct was my expectation that I would need to borrow at some point in the future. The Lord said to line up my thinking with his word. That I will only be a lender and not a borrower. He said to align my mind and wealth creation strategy to 2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace (every favor and [c]earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need [d]be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

Is that deep or what? My motto is lend and do not borrow. I will invest only and not borrow. The situation will never be ideal. Work with what you have, where you are and God who is the Lord of the harvest will safeguard your seed and ensure you receive the harvest you are believing him for.

It's a Heart Issue

Money is a heart issue. The question with God is, where is your heart? For where your treasure is, there your heart is also. The question then becomes what is your treasure. Is it God or is it money? God's school of prosperity is based on teaching you about true treasure while entrusting you with money to advance God's agenda on the earth. It is not an easy school to be enrolled in, but the lessons are priceless.

I have been in a test since October. The Lord spoke to me very clearly in October 2009 and commanded me to give Ksh.100,000 ($ 1,350)every month, for three months. That was a good chunk out of my monthly income. I had just moved into my own place and needed furniture for my house among other things. I was really in a bind. I couldn't understand why God would put money into my hand and then ask me to give so much of it away. What about me?

Well, I gave in October and then went into total rebellion in November. This is not our way of thinking. This was not wisdom to me it was foolishness. I kept thinking to myself, "I should be saving not giving it all away." I kept wondering what people would think and what my family would say if they knew I was busy giving away money. Good thing I was not living with my folks!!

Then God started speaking to my heart about what I had done in November. The good thing with the School of prosperity is that it's a school. When you fail a test you can go over the mistakes you made and retake the test for an opportunity to pass. I was comforted by Peter who failed the test by outrightly denying Jesus. But when he repented Jesus re-instated him and commanded him to lead the Church. He didn't punish him for failing. He didn't say "I had thought of putting you in charge but since you failed this test you just need to stay at the back of the class." That is not our God. Take heart if you have failed any God tests. Repent, learn from your mistakes and keep walking.

That is exactly what I did when I came to my senses. I repented and gave the Ksh. 100,000 in Dec and I am looking forward to my January giving. And guess what God has done for me? He brought a great lady to be my administrator at the writing business and that is taking off quite nicely. When it is all said and done, I will have more money than before.

So what did I learn in all this? Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. I learnt that if I put God's agenda first in my life then all my personal needs will be met. My heart is finally in the right place. Fear is a killer. The fear of man is a snare. I was so afraid of what people would say if they learnt about my giving that I fell right into the devil's trap. But not anymore!

As I continue giving and learning, I am sure that this year will be absolutely fabulous for me where my finances are concerned. Enroll in God's school of prosperity and see him do you good. You are blessed!!!

Wow!!

God just connected these two verses for me. I'm so amazingly jazzed.

Joshua 1:8

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful"

As you keep God's word on your mind, mouth and actions the results are 3 John 2

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

You prosper all round. Your soul begins to prosper from the revelations that God downloads, you get material wealth and health as well.

I just never saw that before. So the way to fulfill God's highest wish for man "...I wish above all things..." is to keep his word in your mouth, meditate on it and do it. Are we blessed or what ya'll?!!!!

The Laws of God

I am not a quantum physicist but I am beginning to learn a few things about the way God made this universe that are very exciting. The Bible always talks about the laws of God and I have always taken that to mean the written word of God. This is true but only partly. There are other laws of God that govern how our universe works. Better still, they are in operation whether we want them to be or not. It does not matter whether you believe they exist or not, they are still in operation and they are still affecting your life.

You have all heard about "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Many Christians did not read that book because of the fact that it had quite a bit of new ageism in it. Wanting to know what all the hype was about I decided not to throw out the baby with the bath water and read it. I went a step further and watched the video. Severally. Sieving the information as I read, I found that there were many insights and many truths in the book. They rang true in my spirit and most of them aligned with my Bible. Where they spoke of the universe and the universal mind, I put in the word 'God' and realized that the principles taught in that book were very powerful.

Rhonda and her friends have discovered the laws of God, and put them to good use. True, they have eliminated God from the equation which we MUST NEVER do, but the information therein is priceless. Other laws of God that I have discovered include the law of habit, the law of belief and the law of cause and effect. Putting these laws in place and using them to change my life has become a wonderful thing. Best of all, God is helping me implement them and I am seeing results. I couldn't be happier.

Prophetic Acts

Prophetic acts are very powerful and are great for rendering the devil powerless in any situation. One thing I have learned from David Oyedepo, founder of Winners Church is that you should always ask God what you are to do in any situation. And whatever he tells you to do, do it.

I have exercised many different prophetic acts by the Spirit of God and seen the results almost immediately. On of those involves a rock I call "Eb." I was in need of clients and had been praying to God for help when I read about Joshua and Samuel setting up a stone as a witness between God and the people. I felt God move me to set up a stone that would be a witness between he and I. That whenever he saw the stone he would come to my aid.

So I ran outside, got a small rock, anointed it with oil and called it Ebenezer "The Lord is my stone of help" and whenever I worked I would put it on my PC and when God saw it he would give me favor and give me the jobs I was bidding for, and I would remember that I am helped. And wouldn't you know it, before long I had more work than I knew what to do with. So much so, that I began to jokingly refer to Eb as the trouble maker, because I couldn't handle it.

Last week I spoke to God about a harvest I needed from my year of giving (2008). He gave me some strange instructions. I could not understand the purpose of the action, but God did and all I had to do was follow his instructions. He told me that when I got to church on Sunday, I was to get an envelope, write on it the amount of money I would give as first fruits when my harvest came in (which I had designated as 50% of my net income) and then during praise and worship dance and wave that envelope to him. When I got to Church on Sunday, we sang all these warfare songs, and I just followed the Lords instructions and waved my envelop in his presence. When we finished praising, I sensed in my spirit that it was done. And the Lord said to me, now loose your harvest. So I loosed it and called in forth in Jesus Name. The Lord reminded me of Matt 12:29

"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob is house."

The Lord revealed to me that as I was singing and praising and waving my envelope. I was binding the strong man, and now I could go in and take my stuff. Isaiah 30:32 says it very well:

"Every stroke the Lord lays on them with his punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps, as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm."

So as we sang and praised with shouts and musical instruments, the Lord was fighting for me and in the end he said to me just call forth your harvest. It is yours. The strong man is bound, now you can spoil his goods. Hallelujah!

Matt 16:19 tells me clearly that "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Hallelujah! Now all I have to do is wait on my harvest. It is surely coming!

Matthew 6:10-11

"...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread..."

God of the 24 hour turn around!

With God all things are possible. Circumstances that seem dire and unchangeable can be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Hallelujah! He is the God of the 24hr turn around and he is my God.

God has been known to make some really incredible statements. Picture this: Your city has been under siege for quite a while. The water has dried up, the food has been long gone. It is so bad that women actually make deals to kill, cook and eat their own children. Then God says through the man of God 2 Kings 7:1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah [a] of flour will sell for a shekel [b] and two seahs [c] of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." He was proclaiming a 24hr turn around in a place where a donkey's head is a King's meal!!

Now there are two ways to look at God's statements. You can take the Abraham approach and count him faithful who made the promise or you can say like the soldier "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" I choose the Abraham approach. I choose to count him faithful who has made the promise. I choose to look to the Rock from which I was hewn and follow in my fathers steps. I believe and it is credited to me as righteousness in heavens records. He is the God of the 24hr turnaround!!

And you know exactly what happened, God made a way and the word of the prophet was fulfilled. Vs 16 "Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the LORD had said".

Ruth is another person who experienced a 24hr turn around. She was a poor widow, and outcast in society one day and the next she was the wife of Boaz a wealthy Jewish man, and a leader in the society. The Bible says that she went to the threshing floor, made her request and went home. That morning Naomi says to her Ruth 3:18 "Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." Praise the Lord! Today the matter will be settled. Today it will happen. Today the turn around comes! And sure enough, Boaz gets up and hurries to the City gate to make sure the deal is done. The Bible records that he calls the elders of the land to witness that Ruth is now his wife.

Ruth 4:10 "I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife..." Just like that, in 24hrs, she turned from a poor widow to the wife of one of the wealthy leaders of the city, and was put in line to be King David's grandma and an ancestor of Jesus!! Ruth 4:13 "So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son." God is just quick like that!!

When your Kairos time comes, he does it in the twinkling of an eye. When the set time comes, there is nothing to stop it. The turn around must come. Hallelujah Lord!!!

Psalm 102:13
"You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come."

My Kairos time has come. It is time to show favor to me, my appointed time has come!!

Law of Reciprocation

The Kingdom of heaven is governed by laws, just like nations or organizations are governed by laws. One of the laws is the law of reciprocation. To reciprocate means:

To return like for like
To make some sort of return for something done, given
To give or take mutually; interchange.
To show, feel, or give in response or return.
To make a return for something given or done.
To be complementary or equivalent.

Hence we find phrases like these in the Bible:

"Give, and it will be given to you"
"With the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

This same law is what God uses between himself and us:
"We love because he first loved us."

Because he wanted us to come to him, he gave his son so we may give ourselves to him. He loved us so we could love him. He blesses us and we bless him back with worship and praise.

Now, that means that if I need something from God I must give something first to activate the law of reciprocation. If I want him to be concerned about my house I must be concerned about his house. If I need him to heal me, I must bring "healing" to him through praising him for the healer that he is. If I am lonely and I need his presence, I must make my presence felt in heaven by my worship of the King and by operating in faith.

Everytime you need something from the Lord or man, you must activate the law of reciprocation. If you want friends, the Bible says you must first show yourself friendly. If you want me to smile at you, smile at me first. If you want to get to know me, come introduce yourself to me and lets have a chat.

I really have never thought of it as a law before. Now I know!!!