Sowing & Reaping: Manipulation or Principle?

We hear these words so often. If we want to reap, then we have to sow. Give your seed, plant a seed, take out your wallets. Why is money the first thing we think of when somebody mentions sowing and reaping? I was saddened the other day whilst visiting a church that was having a healing meeting. Before the service one of the young pastors got up to take the offering. He proceeded to say something that I have heard so many people say. It went along the lines of “Do you need healing? Do you need a miracle? Now is your chance to financially sow into the Kingdom so you can receive it. You have to sow to receive. If you need healing, then sow now. God can’t bless nothing, you have to give Him some seed first.” If we would just make more famers the pastors, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Then they usually turn to the story in 1 Kings 17 about the widow and her son who were about to die when Elijah came and asked her to make him something to eat. She then makes a little flour cake with her last flour and oil and gives it to the man of God. And they go on to tell how the flour and oil lasted and never became empty until the drought was over. What did she sow? Flour and oil. What did she reap? Flour and oil. She didn’t sow oil and reaped some camels. She didn’t sow flour and reaped a new house. She gave what she had and God multiplied it. That is how it has worked since the start of the principle or reproducing.

Gen 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. (NKJV)

This is the first mention in the Bible about seeds and fruit. But something modern people miss is this: ACCORDING TO ITS KIND. If you plant an apple seed, you get an apple tree. If you plant corn you get corn. Seed reproduces after its own kind. If you plant human seed, you get a human. That is farming and biology basics. The widow sowed oil and got oil. Same thing happened to Elisha and the other widow in 2 Kings 4. She only had a little oil and gave it to the prophet. She reaped more oil.

The little boy sowed his 2 fish and 5 loaves. What did he get? More fish and bread. Enough to feed thousands.  So if my seed is money, what is my fruit? Healing? No! What you sow is what you will reap. If you sow money, you reap money. You need to realize that money is only a representation of worth. If you so money, you are really sowing worth so you will reap worth. You might sow cash but your harvest might not be in cash form, it might be that better job or a lower mortgage interest rate. Your worth increased. But you can’t sow money and reap healing. And if the only reason you are giving is to get more back, you are missing the heart of worship. If you want to give money as an act of worship, then you should give whether you get back or not. God will always increase what you give, but that should not be your motivation for giving. Worship means to kiss the hand, like a dog licking its masters hand. Worship does not mean to be stroked by the hand you kiss. If you are doing one thing to get another, you are trying to earn it and you have placed yourself back under law.

Acts 8:18-21 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. (NKJV)

Peter was so angry at the thought of money buying a blessing that he was willing to condemn a person to death. That should be a wake-up call to some pastors… So to end off, if you want to reap healing, you need to sow healing. So how do you sow healing? You pray for somebody else’s healing. Or you can tell them about God’s will for healing and then pray for them. Then you have sown the Word and healing. Double whammy! Also remember that God sowed His Son to reap sons. You are a son of God, after the kind of Jesus. As He is, so are you in this world! (1 John 4:17)

Grace to you all!

Cornel

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