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Subject: LAWS OF THE HARVEST
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festus36 13.04.15 - 12:58am
LAWS OF HARVEST: AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK FINANCIAL EXCELLENCE BY JOHN AVANZINI


LAW I YOUR SEED MUST BE PLANTED
... [There is] a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted
Ecclesiastes 3:2
The writer of Genesis quotes God as saying:
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest... shall not cease.
Genesis 8:22
Jesus reinforced this truth in John 12:24 when He said that if a grain of wheat doesn't fall into the ground (seedtime), it abides alone (never multiplies into a harvest).
This is a truth you must understand if you expect to reap the harvest God promises, be it financial or otherwise. Many Christians live their entire lives without ever understanding that giving is absolutely essential to reaping a harvest. No matter how fertile the soil, no matter how strong the seed, if the seed does not get planted, it will abide alone. It cannot multiply and become a harvest.
Please understand, unplanted seeds (natural ones) do have their uses. They can be used directly for good nutritious food, for making jewelry, feeding livestock, etc. However, not one seed used in those ways will multiply. It must fall into the earth as a result of your direct effort and will. Your seed must be planted before it can multiply! This is the same for natural seed (wheat, corn, soybeans, etc.) as with other seed finances, love, loyalty, and possessions.
Many Christians have problems with understanding this simple principle. It does not matter how great your need is. It does not matter how sincere and religious you are. God's laws of the harvest must be followed to reap the harvest.
The most popular New Testament verse dealing with receiving or reaping begins with this simple condition: something first must be given.
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.
For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:38
This same law is also true in the world system. Without making an investment, not one bank or financial institution will give you an increase.
God is far more generous than the bank. He doesn't require minimum deposits or lengthy times of deposit. However, He isn't a fool just because He is generous. God still requires a deposit to be made before an increase can be realized.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7
Your seed must be planted. Allow this first law of the harvest to sink deep into your spirit. Its benefit, along with those of the other laws, will keep you in abundance.

LAW II YOU MUST RENDER YOUR SEED USELESS
. . . Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.... John 12:24
Christians often give so that their seed gives them some personal benefit. This is not the way God wants you to give. King David was once faced with an opportunity to do this. Because the place of sacrifice was far from his home, it was necessary for David to buy sacrificial animals from a local landowner. The landowner very graciously offered to supply the animals free of charge. David quickly rejected this gift. He wisely refused to sacrifice to God that which had cost him nothing.
... Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing 2 Samuel 24:24
David knew that an offering which cost him nothing would bring him absolutely no benefits from God. Throughout the Church, I constantly meet people who seem to be ignorant of this important principle. They are giving if it doesn't cost them anything, or only if there is some secondary benefit to themselves.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:24
When He said seed must die before it can multiply, the Lord meant it must enter a stage of uselessness to its planter. It can't be sold or eaten; it must become totally useless to him.
This same thing must happen to our financial seed when it is sown into the Lord's work. It must leave our control and cease to benefit us. It must be given totally into the hands and control of those who preach the gospel.
Unfortunately, altogether too many Christians do not allow their seed to become useless to them. A common, yet sad example is parents helping children through hard financial times resulting from unemployment, divorce, etc. I often hear these people say they are giving part of their tithes and offerings to help their children. Please don't misunderstand. First Timothy 5:8 tells us to provide for our own. However, listen to this:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.... Malachi 3:10
It does not say to bring a portion of your tithe to your daughter's house that there may be food in her house. Instead, it clearly says to bring all the tithe into God's house that there may be meat in His house. Using the tithe or offering for our personal needs and obligations does not let the seed die, or multiply.
Give God that which is His and trust Him to supply the extra finances needed to meet additional expenses you face.
Another mistake I find often is that Christians neglect their obligation to tithe and give offerings now, with the rationale that they are designating a large portion of their estate to the Church when they die. They feel sure that God is pleased, and they have their money to enjoy life with now. However, a person who does this is not giving anything to God. Rather, he or she is leaving it to God. There is a difference. When money is planted regularly, it can bring forth a fruitful harvest, thereby providing more for the giver and for God.
If you desire to reap a financial harvest, you must follow God's laws of the harvest. Your seed must be planted without any secondary benefits to you.

LAW III YOU MUST PLANT WHAT YOU EXPECT TO HARVEST
... the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind.... Genesis 1:12
It has been said that the biggest fool is the one who fools himself. Believe it or not, it happens all the time. God warns us of this folly in the matter of sowing and reaping.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7
This law is set in time and eternity. It is irreversible. The seed you plant determines the kind of harvest you will reap. By some ingenious method, you might disguise an orange seed as a lemon seed and even fool yourself into believing it. However, after the seed is planted and the tree grown, it will bear oranges, not lemons, because you will reap what you sow, oranges.
I cannot stress this point strongly enough. It is not the kind of harvest you need that determines the kind of harvest you will receive. It is the kind of seed you plant that determines the kind of harvest you will reap. Don't fool yourself.
Give, and it shall be given unto you .... Luke 6:38
Notice the word it, a large and powerful word for having only two letters. Let me paraphrase. Give apples, and it (apples) will be given unto you. Give clothing, and it (clothing) will be given unto you. Give money, and it money.GIF will be given unto you. You cannot sow clothing and reap retirement income.
Don't fool yourself. If you seek a financial harvest, you must plant money seed.


LAW IV YOUR HARVEST SIZE IS ESTABLISHED WHEN YOUR SEED IS SOWN
. . . remember thisif you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.
2 Corinthians 9:6 TLB
No matter how convenient it would be, you cannot wait until the day of the harvest to decide how big a harvest you want. That was determined back when you planted the seed. There is always a season between the time of sowing and the time of harvesting. So you must decide well in advance if you want a bountiful harvest, just an adequate one, or none at all
I have made an interesting observation during my adult years. It is much easier to adjust to the problem of having more than enough than it is to adjust to the problem of having too little. Wise farmers always plant more than they might need. It is easier to deal with too much rather than too little!
As unbelievable as it sounds, I have heard Christian people say they did not need to give much to God because they did not need much to be happy. By some misguided piety, they reasoned it was spiritual not to desire more than enough. Ignorance of God's purpose brings men to this decidedly unscriptural conclusion.
Dear Christian friend, you cannot be what God is calling you to be if you have only enough. You need more than enough to be a good Christian. With only enough, you are assured of not having enough to do God's will or fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham. Remember, you are the seed of Abraham:
... if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29
What did God promise the world that you, the seed of Abraham would be?
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:23
You are meant to be a blessing. How can you be a blessing to anyone, much less all the families of the world, unless you have been blessed? In James 2:1517, we are told to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. How can you possibly feed and clothe others if you have only enough to feed and clothe yourself?
God wants abundance in your life so that you can not only meet all your own needs, but cheerfully bless and meet the needs of others. It is so much easier to be a blessing when you have both planted and harvested much.
Determine what you want to harvest now. Then begin planting the necessary amount of seed.

LAW V YOUR SEED MUST BE PLANTED IN GOOD GROUND
But other [seed] fell into good ground, and brought forth . . . some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Matthew 13:8
The story of the sower planting his seed in four different kinds of ground is well known. Seed spilled along the wayside and not covered is soon eaten by birds or other animals. Seed sown in stony ground with no depth of soil springs up, but soon withers in the heat. Seed sown among thorns or weeds will quickly be choked out. However, seed sown into good ground brings forth the miracle process of multiplication called the harvest. In harvest, there may be some hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold increase.
Just as this law operates in the agricultural world, so it operates in the world of Christian finances.
How do we identify the best ground in which to plant? I thank God for every good gospel-preaching ministry and every local church that operates today. However, we all know that not all ministries preach and teach the full gospel. By this knowledge, we can conclude that some ground is better than others.
The next four sentences are extremely important; please read them carefully. There are ministries and churches that exist to minister. On the other hand, there are also ministries and churches that minister to exist. One raises money to minister. The other ministers to raise money.
There is an unmistakable characteristic in every good-ground ministry. It will vigorously attempt to accomplish the specific purpose given it by God. How do you recognize good ground? First of all, do not be afraid to investigate, to ask questions, to inspect. A good-ground ministry will not mind answering your questions.
God has also given us an unction.
... ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 1 John 2:20

With your God-given unction, you can spiritually discern good ground. Discover the good ground and plant in it to reap the harvest God has for you.


LAW VI YOU MUST ALWAYS WAIT A PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN PLANTING AND HARVESTING
... a man should cast seed into the ground;
And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up....
Mark 4:26,27
Faith, as we know, is a key factor in seed planting. A less well known, but equally important factor, is patience. We receive God's blessings through both faith and patience.
... be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12
A certain popular scripture is usually quoted this way. Cast your bread upon the water, and it will come back to you again. While this rendition gives the essence, it leaves out one of the essentials of the verse.
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1
It will come back, but only after many days. There is a season between planting and reaping. Faith and patience help us through that season.
... ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36
Lack of patience can cancel your harvest. It can even do that in the realm of worldly finances. If you invest in a Certificate of Deposit (CD) for a specified amount of time, you are guaranteed a return at the end of that time period. However, if you withdraw early, you risk losing a major portion, if not all of the interest you were to reap.
The same is true in the supernatural realm where you have planted your seeds of money. The problem is, it's even easier to cancel your harvest from God. If you allow impatience to weaken your faith to the point you are muttering such things as God's harvest plan isn't working for me, or I don't think God is going to come through this time, you have cancelled the harvest.
In the spiritual realm, words are powerful. Words of faith or doubt can change things in your life quickly, if not immediately. I am convinced that Christians have missed some of the greatest financial harvests of all time. They simply spoke them out of existence due to impatience. In essence, they were saying, I cancel my harvest.
Keep your faith. Be patient. If you are obeying the laws of the harvest, it is on its way.

LAW VII YOU MUST MAINTAIN YOUR CROPS FOR A PROPER HARVEST
... the thorns sprung up, and choked them. Matthew 13:7
After a farmer selects his crop, decides on the amount of seed to plant, plants it and watches it sprout, he doesn't just sit back and wait for the harvest. He must still nurture and protect the crop until harvest time.
A Christian's financial harvest-to-be must be similarly maintained. In particular, three areas of crop maintenance must be attended to:
1. You must put God and a godly lifestyle first.
... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
You must allow the Kingdom of God to manifest itself in you. Seeking first the Kingdom of God is the process of actively seeking the rulership of Jesus Christ in your life. Seeking His righteousness is pressing forward toward the goal of becoming like Jesus Christ.
2. The evangelism of the world must be a priority.
... I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:23
The power to prosper is explicitly promised to those who desire to be a blessing instead of wishing only to be blessed. They will be a blessing through the gospel of Jesus Christ by sharing the gospel and meeting the needs of the hungry, the naked, and the homeless.
3. You must discern deception.
The devil has three methods of attack: he tries to tempt, accuse, or deceive. None of these ways are more powerful than his ability to deceive. His deception can be devastating! In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:22, we see that the deceitfulness of riches can cause men to become unfruitful. When your financial harvest begins, do not allow the devil to deceive you by the increase in your wealth. Do not begin to lavish it solely upon yourself. Remember these words:
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
James 4:3
Allowing yourself to be deceived by the sudden influx of wealth will turn the harvest process around. You can quickly become unfruitful.
You must maintain a clean, godly life, always moving nearer to God. Give the lion's share of your surplus to the evangelism of the world. Stay alert for Satan's deceptions, even in the smallest parts of your life, about where your bounty came from and where it should really go.

LAW VIII You MUST ALWAYS SOW TO YOUR HARVEST SIZE, NOT FROM YOUR Harvest SIZE
. . . Isaac sowed in that land [of famine], and received in the same year an hundredfold
Genesis 26:12
Something I learned from farmers may come as a big shock to you, just as it was to me. The time when a farmer must make his largest and most costly seed purchase is when he can least afford it. This purchase is necessary when he has suffered a previous crop failure. Money is tight; the urge to conserve is great. Yet the farmer must plant more than ever to make up for the shortage caused by the failed crop.
The farmer must plant more seed in more acres to make up for his shortfall. He needs to plant for his biggest harvest when his funds are the shortest.
Unfortunately, too many Christians don't know this basic law of agriculture. They sow from their past harvest. If their harvest was large, they tithe and offer larger offerings. If their harvest was small, they tithe and offer smaller offerings. They continue to sow from their harvest, rather than doing it God's way and sowing to their harvest.
There is no way to calculate how many of God's children are at the bottom of the financial barrel because they violate this most important law. I am convinced the majority of Christians gauge the size of their offerings by the size of their income, instead of by the size of income they desire in the future.
Every church I ever pastored was full of people who allowed their giving to be influenced by adverse economic circumstances. Rumors of factories closing or other economic crises would immediately cause the weekly offering to go down. The fear of insufficiency overshadowed their faith in God.
We are to give according to our desired future harvest, not from past or present shortage. The very fact that you need a greater financial harvest witnesses to the insufficiency of your past harvests. Your natural tendency will be to give according to your financial shortage. Doing this will not solve your problem; it will only prolong and intensify it.
Faith-promise giving may be the answer for you. Give what you can now, and pay the rest of your promise in regular payments. With faith-promise giving, you are obligated to give only if God supplies you. Remember this, God never fails.
If your past harvests have been sufficient for you and the work God has asked you to do, you are probably planting enough. If your harvests have been less than enough, or if you want to be able to do even more of God's work, you must plant even more than before. When you give more, you will reap more.

LAW IX YOUR EXPENSE IS ALWAYS HIGHEST AT HARVEST TIME
. . . the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. Matthew 20:1
By now you have learned there are many painstaking steps the farmer must take before he can experience a harvest. He must plant his seed. He must plant in the good ground. He must care for his crops as they grow. As costly as all these steps may be, they are not the most expensive steps he will have to take.
On the day the crop is ripe, the farmer must hire laborers to reap the harvest. Hiring workers incurs his most substantial cost.
In my experience, the same thing is true with financial harvests. While it may not be so readily identifiable as having to hire laborers, there is one additional expense before we can gather our financial harvest. We must expect to give a special, harvest-release offering just as we sense our financial harvest is fully ripe and ready to be reaped.
If you have been sowing regularly and have not yet received your harvest, ask God if this special, harvest-release offering is the key that will bring it forth. Then put this principle to work right now. Write a substantial offering check, and send it to a good-ground ministry to break loose your harvest.


LAW X A PART OF YOUR HARVEST IS FOR SOWING AGAIN
. . . God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on, good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest. 2 Corinthians 9:10 TLB
A true farmer always saves some seed from each harvest to replant.
Some years ago, I delivered several strong sermons instructing my congregation to put God to the test by planting a substantial financial seed into the ministry. I asked that they report back to me with the results.
I was amazed at how quickly almost everyone received a great financial harvest. The church was astir with testimonies. I was elated. People had learned an important lesson and had received substantial material benefits besides. After a few months, I began questioning people individually to see how they were progressing with subsequent sowing and reaping. I was devastated! I found that only about one out of ten had replanted any seed from their harvest.
The most important part of each and every harvest is not the part you eat, but the part you faithfully plant again. The miracle of the perpetual financial harvest depends on your ability to plant a portion of each harvest back into the gospel.
You can harvest over and over again as long as you plant from each harvest. Yes, you can harvest until Jesus returns if you will not grow weary in well doing, and sow again from each new harvest.

LAW XI A PART OF THE HARVEST IS FOR YOU TO KEEP
... who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? ... 1 Corinthians 9:7
There are those who teach that Christians are not to have any material possessions, or limited possessions at best. The predominant mentality throughout the Church is that God wants His children to be poor. This idea has left the Church at the edge of bankruptcy, and most church members barely able to survive.
The Bible teaches us of Kingdom stewardship. This is the teaching that God's children are to have all sufficiency to meet all their needs and desires. It doesn't stop there. It goes on to teach that we will have an abundant surplus to give generously into every God-ordained endeavor.
God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more, so that there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others. 2 Corinthians 9:8 TLB
Throughout the Bible God invites us to eat our fill from the abundance of every harvest He brings forth from our seed. Please do not draw back from enjoying your portion of the harvest because of the misunderstanding of others. If you give in accordance with the laws of the harvest and live a life consistent with God's Word, you will reap a harvest. A substantial portion is for your enjoyment.


LAW XII YOUR HARVEST IS A MIRACLE
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6
No factory or laboratory has ever manufactured a seed that can reproduce itself into a harvest. Only God can make seed that multiplies. Each and every seed is a miracle capsule that with proper planting and care will reproduce itself.
Always remember that when a harvest occurs, be it agricultural or financial, a miracle has taken place. Harvest always necessitates the intervention of God. There can be no harvest without Him. He is the giver of life.
You must diligently seek after and acknowledge the Lord's participation in every harvest. Without God's intervention, it may be impossible for you to reap a harvest. Seek His help, and command your seed to come forth in Jesus' name. Let your faith be strong.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire [your harvest], when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
You must shield your faith from doubt. You must speak only words of victory concerning your financial harvest, not defeat. Petition God in prayer for an abundant harvest. Your Heavenly Father will hear. He will act. His miracle, your harvest, will bless you. *


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