But this I
say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Every man according as he pur poseth in his heart,
so let him give; not grudgingly, or
of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you; that ye, always having
all sufficiency in all things, may abound to ever good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed
abroad; he hath given to the poor:
his righteousness
remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase
the fruits of your right eousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bounti fulness, which causeth through
us thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:6-11).
The Amplified Bible says it this way:
And God is able to make all grace (every
favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that
you may always
and under
all circumstances and what ever the need, be self-sufficient—possessing enough to
require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation….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 righteous ness….Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous,
[and your gen erosity as it is] administered
by us will bring forth
thanksgiving to God (verses
8,10-11).
As you give cheerfully
and generously, God will cause
every blessing
to come to you. He wants you to be able to give to others, to help meet their needs;
therefore, He will multiply your resources for giving.
This is the way God’s system works!
We have been discussing
the laws of prosperity
and particu larly have covered
the promises of the hundredfold return as in Mark 10:30. Now I
want to examine some
things Jesus taught
in Mark 4. Here again,
Jesus speaks of the hundredfold return in the parable
of the sower. Let’s begin with verse 14:
The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise
which are sown on stony ground;
who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction
or per secution ariseth for the word’s
sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness
of riches, and the lusts
of other things entering
in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word,
and receive it,
and bring
forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Jesus is teaching here about the Word of God. The very first rule—the
predominant rule—about believing God is faith
cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word
of God. Acting on God’s Word brings results.
You should act on His Word as
quickly as you would the word of a doctor, a lawyer, or a trusted friend—regardless
of what your circumstances dictate and regardless
of what your physical senses
tell you. Acting on God’s Word as the truth brings forth faith. Faith comes into
action and causes the laws of the world of the spirit to func
tion and bring results.
In the parable
of the sower, Jesus is teaching about the Word of God and how the Word bears fruit. Let’s examine it closely and discuss some significant facts as we go.
Verse 15, “And these
are
they by the way
side, where the
word is sown; but when they
have heard, Satan
cometh immedi
ately, and taketh
away the word
that was sown in
their hearts.” The seed, the Word of God, did its job. It went into their hearts.
This tells us that Satan will come immediately to take away the Word which was sown…immediately. Have you ever wondered
why a man can preach healing
and almost
everyone in church will
get sick? The answer is that Satan comes to
steal the Word from them
concerning healing.
“And these
are they
likewise which are sown on stony
ground; who, when they have heard the word,
immediately receive it
with gladness; And have no root in themselves.” They have no confidence in themselves as Christians, as believers. So what happens?
They endure for a time.
“Afterward, when affliction
or persecution ariseth for the
word’s sake,
immediately they are offended.”
It is because
of
the word that you have persecution and affliction. When you begin
dealing in the Word, you are marked
and Satan will do everything he can to defeat you. However, if you will use it, the Word will fight its own fight and cause
you to be more than a conqueror (see Romans
8:37). Put the Word to work. Use it. It is the sword
of the Spirit. Jam it into Satan! “Resist the devil, and
he will flee from
you” (James 4:7). Just remember he won’t flee
if you merely lie down and play dead. You must resist him with the Word!
“And these
are they
which
are sown among thorns;
such as
hear the word,
And the cares of this world, and the deceit fulness
of riches, and the lusts of other things
entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” Don’t make the mistake
of lumping these three together. They are not the same.
The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are two different areas. I want
to focus here on the cares of this world. This one area is probably
the most dangerous
and the most
capable of totally defeating you in your Christian
walk. The cares of this world will stop your faith,
stop the Word in your life,
stop your thinking,
and cripple your insides.
What is the supreme
care of this world? Strife! The right to
be ugly if you want to…the right to talk against
your brother if you
want to…the right to be fussy if you want to…the right to
say whatever you want to! The most worldly thing
that exists is
strife! Satan is strife itself. It is worldly.
It is sin. It is deadly, and
it brings disease
on its wings almost 100 percent
of the time. James 3:16 says, “For where envying and
strife
is, there
is confu sion
and
every evil work.” The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians listed
strife along with adultery,
fornication,
idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred,
murder and drunkenness (see Galatians 5:19
21). You can see that when a man gets in strife,
it is easy for him to commit murder, adultery or these other things. Strife is
the motivating force. When a man is operating in love, he won’t act
that way. If he is operating
in the love of God, he won’t
look at another woman to lust after her. It is when you are thinking of yourself that lust gets in.
Strife is the number on
tool of Satan.
Jesus said in Mark
11:25-26, “And when ye stand praying,
forgive, if
ye have ought against any: that your Father
also which is
in heaven may for give you your trespasses.
But if ye do not forgive, neither
will your Father
which
is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Unforgiveness and strife are under
the law of sin and death,
and God’s forgiveness
through Jesus Christ
is the only way the power of this law can be broken in a person’s
life. Each time a person operates in strife and unforgiveness, he submits to the law of sin and death, and he cannot
get God’s forgiveness until he forgives his brother and gets the strife out of his life. Satan knows how this works, and he will try to keep
you in strife. He will attack
your weakest area first and break down if he can.
Make up your mind at this point that you will never again operate in any area of unforgiveness.
You can’t afford to play around
with it. Faith works by love. The very instant you get into strife will be the very instant
your faith begins to falter. If
you notice your faith weakening in some area, look at your household,
your family,
your friends—strife is involved some where.
Find it, repent of it and get it straightened
out. It doesn’t matter what people have done to you. Love them in spite of it! Give love and you will get love. It may take a day, a week
or a year, but it will come! Love never fails!
“And these
are they
which
are sown on
good ground; such
as hear the word,
and
receive it, and bring forth
fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and
some an hundred.” When you receive the Word into your heart, it will bring forth fruit, as
much as a hundredfold. Praise the Lord.
Throughout Mark 4, Jesus is teaching on the Word of God. In verse 21, He says, “Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed?
and not be set on
a candlestick?” The candle represents God’s Word. Psalm 119:130
tells us that the entrance of His Word brings light. Some say we aren’t sup posed to understand the Bible, but would God send His Word and then hide it under a bushel?
Jesus says, “For there is noth ing
hid, which shall
not be manifested; neither was any
thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad” (Mark 4:22). The
apostle Paul said that the secrets
which the prophets wrote in the Scriptures are now manifested and given to us by His Spirit
(see 1 Corinthians 2:9-10). All of this is speaking
about the Word of God.
Mark 4:23-25 says, “If any man
have
ears
to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them,
Take heed what
ye hear: with what
measure ye
mete, it shall
be measured to you: and unto
you that hear shall more
be given. For
he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from
him shall be taken
even that which he
hath.” What does this have to do with the Word
of God? God has provided every single thing necessary
to make you a success in this world and in the world
to come. He has provided a Savior to break the bond between Satan
and mankind—the Lord Jesus Christ.
He bore the stripes, the spear,
the thorns, the sin, the death, and was raised from the dead to
everlasting life. God has provided
all this in Him.
Let’s read this again.
“Take heed
what
ye hear: with
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to
you: and unto you that hear
shall
more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath
not, from
him shall be taken
even
that which
he hath.” The man who does not have a covenant
with God, the man outside
the covenants of promise as in Ephesians
2:12, is without hope and without God in the world. If you are with
out a covenant, if you do not have the Word of God function
ing and operating in your life, then even what little you do have will be taken away
by Satan.
If you are with out God in the world,
no matter what you do, somewhere
down the line Satan
will take it from you. He is a thief and a killer out to
destroy everything you have. There’s no question about it. Satan
has been around a long time and you haven’t!
He has about a 6,000-year head start. But, brother, when you get into the Word of God and get filled with the Holy Ghost, then you
have an eternal advantage
over Satan because
the Spirit of God was around long before Satan came into being! The advantage is ours when we are operating on the New Testament
because
it provides
the knowledge needed to govern Satan.
Everything comes back to the Word of God. Even people who
are born again and filled
with the Holy Spirit will be robbed
if they don’t know what the Word says about healing and
prosperity. If they don’t
know their covenant
with God, Satan will take what little they do have. Determine now to be one who will hear. Jesus has promised that more will be given
you (verse 25).
Let’s continue
now in Mark 4:26, “And he said,
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, immedi ately he putteth in the sickle, because
the harvest is come.” It doesn’t do any good to sow the seed for prosperity
and then
not reap the harvest.
It’s ignorance for man to tithe and give, then block the grace
of God by saying, “I couldn’t ask God to give
me anything.” If somebody tried to give to a person doing that, he wouldn’t allow it because of pride. There is no reality
in planting the seeds of tithing and giving
if you’re not going to
allow God to bless you through
it. You plant the seed, then har
vest the crop.
There are businessmen
who have given great sums of money but don’t know how to receive
from God. Maybe you know
how to believe God for a return but don’t know how to
receive a gift. Maybe all you know to do is work! God has men all over this world. If each one gave you a nickel,
you would have enough for the rest of your life.
There are men today being called by God into the ministry of
finance. The Word refers
to the ministries of helps and gov ernments (see 1 Corinthians 12:28).
These are men called to govern and finance and handle this aspect of ministries. There are very few men actually
in the ministry of financing God’s work with everything else in a secondary position. Most people put
their businesses first and God second.
The ministry of helps is the least developed ministry in the New Testament,
but it is a valid a ministry
as preaching the gospel.
When you want to invest money in the stock market,
for whom do you look? A stockbroker, someone who knows the stock market.
When you want to invest money into the gospel,
for whom do you look? A preacher.
Well, this is not altogether
correct. The preacher ought
to know less about the finances of the
gospel than anyone. It’s
his job to know about the Word. That’s what he’s called
to do. He gets before
God, meditates in the Word, and then ministers
to the needs of the Body of Christ.
These men called into the ministries of helps and governments are
the ones who should know how and where to invest in the gospel. This leaves the minister
free to concentrate completely on his
calling.
Mark 4:30-33 says, “Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom
of God? or with what
comparison shall
we compare it? It is like a grain of
mustard seed,
which, when it is sown in the earth,
is
less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
But when it is sown, it groweth up,
and
becometh greater than
all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so
that the fowls of the air may
lodge under
the shadow of it. And with many such parables
spake he the word unto
them.”
We have discussed the importance of keeping strife
out of your life. Let’s see how this enters into your financial
affairs. In Luke 6:27-34, Jesus is teaching
about some of these things.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth
thee on the one cheek offer also
the other;
and him that taketh away thy
cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee;
and of him that taketh
away thy
goods ask them not again.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners
also do love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners
also even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye
hope to receive,
what thank have ye? for sinners
also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
Jesus
is teaching His disciples
how to stay out of strife. This is not a Christian doctrine or creed. It is designed
to keep you connected
with the power of God, so you can live an overcom ing life. Love stops the work and the effect of strife by building
a protective shield around you. This shield, the shield of faith, keeps Satan from having access to what you do, what you think
and what you are. First John 4:8 states that God is love. As a believer,
you are born of God; therefore, you are born of love. Consequently, 1 John 5:18 says, “He that is begotten of God keep eth himself, and that wicked one
toucheth him not.” As
long as you keep yourself
from strife, then Satan can’t touch you.
What did Paul write to Timothy about strife?
In 2 Timothy
2:24-26, he said that the servant
of the Lord must not strive but minister to those that oppose him, so that God will forgive them and
they may recover
themselves from the snare of the
devil, who takes
them captive at his will. People in strife can be
taken captive
by Satan at his will!
Strife is a worldly luxury believers
cannot afford! Yet, we invite it into our own homes without realizing it. You will do and say things
at home that you wouldn’t
think of anywhere
else. Would you lie to your own family? Would you steal from them? Of course not! Then why would you allow strife in your home? This is the one place
where heaven should be mani fested. The home is the strongest
institution God built. He didn’t build a church
for Adam, He built a family!
Jesus taught in Luke 6:35-38, “But love ye your
enemies, and
do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and
your
reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest…Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and
ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto
you.” Jesus was teaching about an existence free from strife, absolute
protection from strife in all areas of life.
Then He introduced the cardinal principle of prosperity, which
is GIVE. Your giving will not work properly until you follow these other rules.
Strife is a lack of love and 1 Corinthians 13 shows what will happen without this love.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and
have not love,
I am become as sounding brass, or
a tinkling cymbal.” Your speaking in tongues will be of no use without love. You’ll just be a noisemaker!
“And though I
have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and
all knowledge; and though I have all faith,
so
that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am
noth ing.” Prophecy will do no good if you don’t operate in love. You can’t gripe, complain
and bad-mouth people, then
stand
up and say, “Thus saith the Lord….” Unless you operate in
love, your understanding
of God’s wisdom and the mysteries of redemption will be of no value.
Though you have faith to move mountains, it won’t work without love. Now you can see why strife
is Satan’s number one tool. No matter
how strongly you operate in spiritual things,
if he can get you into strife and ham per the love of God in your life, then he’s got you! He knows where to strike first!
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and
though I give my body to be burned, and
have
not love, it prof iteth
me nothing.” Without love, your giving will be of no profit at all, even if you gave your own body.
“Love suffereth long, and
is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, in not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but
rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.” LOVE NEVER
FAILS! When you operate
in love, all these things—giving, faith, spiri
tual gifts—will work for you. Praise the Lord!
Although you may not agree with someone over certain issues, find out on what you can agree with them. Love them and
pray for them; don’t criticize
and backbite. You don’t have
to associate with
someone to pray for them. You can avoid them, get the strife out of your life, and still
remain in a posi tion
to pray for them.
Now Jesus taught a way to get rid of strife. He said, “If you have
something against your brother, go to him and try to settle it.”
He didn’t say to tell everyone
else about it! He said to go directly
to that person. He gives us three opportunities
to
bridge the gap: alone, with another
brother and then before the whole church
(see Matthew 18:15-17). Jesus ended His teaching by
explaining the power of agreement,
“That if two of you
shall
agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
ask,
it shall
be done for them of my Father which is
in heaven” (Matthew
18:19). There is a way to live in the Body of Christ in a magni tude
of power which absolutely and totally
defeats Satan. You have to resist him, and your resistance will work through
this power of agreement
and the power of the love of God.
Have you ever wondered about someone
who gets turned on to God and then everything
around him falls apart? I
have seen men who looked
as thought they were doing fine until they got saved and turned on to the Word, and then problems
came from every direction. It seemed
that they were better off before
they got saved.
I thought, “Why does it seem that Satan has such an inroad
any time he wants it?” Then I realized it’s because the least discussed, least taught,
least functioned area in the Body of Christ in any denomination is the revelation of
God’s love and how to operate together without
strife. We have heard
some people preach around the fringes, “We’ve got to love
one another,” but everyone waits
on the other person to
do it.
The love of God is not a feeling.
Somehow we put compas
sion and feelings in one capsule. When the Bible says Jesus was
moved by compassion, we traditionally assume
He was
moved by a feeling of compassion. Then we wait for some kind of feeling
to move us before we do anything. So people pray
for a “burden to win souls” or a “burden to pray.” Actually,
they are praying for some sort of feeling. They want God to kick them in the pants and make them do what they know they should
do. Jesus was not moved by a feeling of compassion;
He was moved by compassion
Himself. God is love.
Love commanded, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.”
That is enough.
I heard one well known evangelist
say, “My calling is Mark 16:15-20,
the Great Commission. I didn’t get a great revelation.
I just read it, decided
to do it, and God honored it.”
Being led by God is being led by His Word. The feelings are real and they will come; but if you are waiting for the feel ing first, then you will never get anything
from God. You will always
be led by ordinary
human impulses until you begin to act on God’s Word and do it simply because
He said it.
Make up your mind to control
your vocabulary and do not let words of strife, envy and that sort of thing come out of your mouth.
God will be able to use you. Suppose God gave you
His power and anointing and then turned up the volume
inside you. If you got mad and said things you shouldn’t, you could deeply hurt a person with the words
of your mouth. The Word says don’t let corrupt
communication proceed from your mouth; be kind and tenderhearted toward
one another; minister
grace to one another; grieve not the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 4:29-32). When you make the commitment that your words will minister
grace to the hearer or else you won’t say them, then you will see the anointing of God begin to rise up within you. Your words
will begin to mean something. Then God can trust you with His power in your mouth.
This is the secret to ministry, to life,
to prosperity, to healing. Jesus
said you can have what you
say. When your words line up with God, the problems
are over.
Decide to make your conversation becoming to Jesus. If it is not becoming to Him, do not say it. If you have to talk to some body, talk to Jesus. He can do something about the situation.
Don’t
criticize until you can do better. Don’t criticize
Billy Graham until you have won millions
of souls to Jesus. Don’t
criticize Peter until you have walked on the water. Husband, don’t criticize
your wife’s cooking until you can do better. Wife, don’t criticize your husband
for watching ball games in
his undershirt
until you start looking decent in the morning. Don’t go around the house with curlers
in your hair and wear ing a 42-year-old bathrobe! Begin to look your part. The wife is the queen
and center of love in the home—act
like it. The hus band is the prophet and priest of the family, not the court
jester!
The children represent what God has done with the whole human race. They are born of love. Their parents’
love brought them into existence. When these roles in the family
are lived according to God’s Word, the power and anointing of God will dwell in your home. If you want to fix your church situation, fix your family first. If you want your nation righted, start with your own family. My wife and I are on a lifelong honeymoon.
We learned some of these things right after we
got saved and have hardly had an argument. I fought some, but she wouldn’t—so it never came off. I used to come home looking
for a fight, but the soft answer turns away wrath. We have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (see Romans 5:5).
This is life! It’s what living
is all about! The love of God.
Why don’t you make a quality
decision now and commit to this life of love, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost? Pray and ask God to forgive you of the sin of unforgiveness.
As an act
of your will, forgive those
who have wronged you.
Don’t hold
it inside you. Release
it and let God cleanse your
heart. Then make
this your confession before God:
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