Sermon Setup

• Upward faith = Forward action
  • The more you believe something, the more you will act on it. 
  • Words are not the truest definer of belief, action is. 
  • Examples:
    • The more you believe Crypto Currency is going to explode, you will invest.
    • The more you believe interest rates will drop, you will hold out to borrow. 
    • The more you believe a hurricane is coming, you will board up your windows. 
  • If you become convinced in the power of seed and harvest, you will SOW
• Let’s become convinced on the principle of sowing and reaping
  • Luke 6:38 (NLT) — 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
  • Proverbs 11:24–25 (NLT) — 24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
  • 2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (NLT) — 6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
  • Galatians 6:7 (NLT) — 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

SO. It’s a FACT... What you sow you will reap

Five principles of the generous seed:

1. Principle of Sacrifice - Seed sown determines harvest grown  
   1. 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NLT) — 6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
   2. Flower pot/garden/farm
   3. If you put a few seeds in the ground, you’ll get a few pieces of harvest, but if you sow a lot into the ground, you’ll reap a large harvest. 
   4. Jesus doesn’t measure our seed by it’s quantity, but by it’s sacrifice
      1. Widow of Zarephath
      2. Widow at the temple
   5. Sowing lots of seed is not only for wealthy people, it’s for EVERY person. 
   6. SO.. YOUR HARVEST IS DEPENDANT ON YOU! 
2. Principle of Cycle - Interrupt the sowing cycle at your peril
   1. Take a deep breath - Breathing is a cycle
   2. The economy is a cycle
   3. From highschool - Water cycles, when disrupted, create deserts. 
   4. Matthew 6:14–15 (NLT) — 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
3. Principle of Stewardship - Fruit is for eating, but seed is for sowing 
   1. Seedless grapes, satsumas
   2. “You cannot sow what you eat.”
   3. Throughout your life, you will be given fruit, but fruit contains seed. Don’t eat the seed. 
   4. STEWARDSHIP + SOWING
   5. You consume your need, but you give your surplus
   6. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NLT) — 2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.
   7. 2 Corinthians 8:11–12 (NLT) — 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
4. Principle of Soil - Your soil will determine your harvest 
   1. If you sow your time into certain outreaches, your harvest will be from that soil. 
   2. We sowed into Africa, our harvest was 700,000 new christians.
   3. We sowed into a Mentorship program, our harvest is over 1000 students this year.
   4. We sowed into New Orleans, our harvest is a church on Canal Street. 
   5. There are two layers of soil
      1. Natural soil - Your harvest will be from the soil to which you sow
      2. Eternal soil - Your harvest will come from God because He is the soil. 
      3. Proverbs 19:17 (NLT) — 17 If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD— and he will repay you!
   6. Some incredibly rich soil
      1. The poor - The early church had a fixation with helping the poor
      2. The suffering believers - When you’ve done to the least of these “my brothers and sisters”
      3. The Kingdom’s expansion
5. Principle of Source - God is the source of both seed and harvest
   1. When you are a father, you know what it means to be a source. My kids are not the source of anything!
   2. 2 Corinthians 9:10 (NLT) — 10 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.
   3. Here is the truth, God is providing you with seed right now! You have seed in your hand.
   4. God is the source of good harvests - Issac sowed during famine and reaped 100 times. 

Closing

• Principle of Sacrifice
• Principle of Cycle
• Principle of Stewardship
• Principle of Soil
• Principle of Source
• Kingdom Builders offering coming is an opportunity to sow seed - Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is seed and what is fruit. 
• Ask God to help you be a generous sower.