Introduction:
Whatever you give to God and others is a seed and that is what determines what you will get later in life. Some seeds germinate and yield fruits after a few days or months while others may take several years and even decades. Sow good quality seeds in large amounts and expect God to multiply them to give you a great harvest.
God speaks to you about seed when you pray for your needs.
The Holy Spirit will prompt you to give something so that God can have a reason to manifest some blessings in your life. During the time of preparation for Refreshing Manna Ministry 11th anniversary, I was exercising faith in God for a lot of funds for personal needs and getting the building project up to a certain level. As I kept praying, the major thing that was in my heart was to give to a certain man of God. I called my husband to tell him the strange thought in my heart at such a critical time when we needed a lot of fund. He did not just tell me to go ahead, he told me to add to the intended amount. The recipient was surprised and God met all my personal and ministry needs before the anniversary. No matter how much you confess the word of God to supply all your needs according to his riches in glory, if you don’t sow, you cannot reap. The next time you are praying for a need and you perceive in your heart to meet another persons’ need, go ahead and meet that need first, God would want you to sort out that need as a prerequisite to meeting your own need. You may not reap immediately but don’t give up.
Level of harvests depend on the amount of seed sown
In Luke 6:38, Jesus said ‘Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you’
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
2 Cor. 9:6 ‘But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully
If you decide to increase the amount you give, then God will also increase your harvest. It is amazing that many Christians offer little part of their money to God and others consistently and expect him to bless them abundantly. In 2 Chronicles1:6&7, Solomon had made great sacrifices to the Lord at Gibeon where God’s tabernacle was located; God was moved into action and asked him what he wanted and that led to his great wealth. You sow into your invisible account by giving to God and his people and the level of your harvest is based on the amount of your seed.
In John 12:24, Jesus Said “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. Anyone who doesn’t sow but eats all the things that God gives him has signed up for poverty. It is just like a farmer who eats or sells all his seeds during harvest, he will have nothing left to sow and therefore nothing to reap. You may not understand how giving away what you have will multiply it but it’s just the same way you cannot explain how a grain of corn grows and become a plant that has several cobs of corn later. Just obey what the word of God says, give a part of anything God gives you out.
Pay your tithes promptly
Tithe means ten percent of all your profit or income. Tithe is a transaction between you and God that makes you fulfil your role in the covenant of wealth. If you bring ten percent of all your increase, then God will make sure that the windows of heaven are open on you and pour out such a blessing that you will not have enough space to keep the products of the blessing. Tithes create the right climate of blessing for you. God told his people in Mal 3:10 and I believe he is still telling his people today because he does not change:
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour you out such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
The tithe of God’s children makes it easy to meet the basic needs of the church. Food in God’s house mentioned in the verse above includes salary of workers, building, maintenance of structures and other things that need to be done in God’s house. When you give your tithes and expect God to open the windows of heaven and fulfil his promise of blessing, you activate heaven’s economy; and you should never lack basic needs in your own house as long as other conditions are also fulfilled.
The promise of obtaining a blessing follows only those who pay their tithes. It’s alarming that many Christians don’t pay their tithes and expect God to bless them. I have been paying tithes since I was 12 years old and I give God all the glory that I have never spent it and God has been blessing me. If you want God’s blessing to be activated in your life, then you should pay your tithes promptly. God desires that we put him first in everything we do; therefore you should pay your tithe before you spend from your income at all. Notice that in the passage above God says, the windows of heaven will be opened to pour out a blessing, not blessings and yet there will not be room enough to receive it. That means the singular blessing will multiply and yield several benefits so much that you will not have enough space to keep your goods. When you pay your tithes, don’t just expect material things or money alone, expect intangible blessings that can lead to greatness and unearned sources of income.
Did you observe that blessing of paying tithe is beyond getting material things? It includes protection, preservation and prevention of wastages? When you pay your tithes, God keeps you from harm, sickness and even keeps your products or services from getting spoilt or wasted. Some people earn a lot and have little or nothing to show for it, but a Christian who pays his tithes, initially may not earn as much as others but later have many businesses, properties and stocks that are yielding dividends.
God frowns at people who don’t pay their tithes and give other offerings to him. In fact, in Malachi 3: 9, He says ‘ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me…’ You can only steal something that doesn’t belong to you; therefore if God says you have robbed him by not paying your tithes: that means ten percent of your income is not yours. It belongs to God, therefore don’t keep or use it! If you do, you give the devil a chance to rob you and keep you in debt or low financial status. Moreover, if you have observed, the word ‘pay’ is used for tithes while ‘give’ is used for ‘offering’. You can only give something that belongs to you; you pay up your debt. Tithe is a debt, pay it promptly.
You don’t need to wonder if tithe was under the law or whether it is still necessary to practice it today. In Genesis 14:20, Abraham paid tithe of his own volition to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God before the law was given to Moses. The law just made tithe mandatory for the Israelites. We as the new Israelites who have the Holy Spirit inside us should do things joyfully not because it is mandatory. If you believe that you are blessed with faithful Abraham, you will do what he did and expect Jesus Christ who is the high priest after the order of Melchizedek but greater than him to bless you.
The things God desired in the Old Testament, he still desires now even though the method of getting people to do them has changed. Malachi 3:6 says ‘For I am the LORD, I change not…..’ In 1 Samuel 8:14-17, God himself told the Israelites through Samuel that whoever will be appointed as their king would take the best part of their fields, vineyards , olive orchards and give them to his servants; he will take the tenth of their grain and vineyards and flocks. Samuel made the Israelites to realize that whoever will be set as king over them will live like a king indeed. He will be above every other person and have the power to collect a tithe of their income and even properties. If an earthly king would collect tithes of the sheep of the people of God, definitely the people shouldn’t give anything less to God himself, the King of kings.
In the same way, the people paid tithes of their properties; we pay taxes to the government in our days. We even pay it before we get the remaining money and many times, some governments my not use judiciously to meet public needs. Why then is it difficult for Christians to pay their tithes to God. God is real and he doesn’t change.
Give good quality offerings apart from your tithes
Don’t pay tithes alone and believe that you have sown. You may not reap bountiful harvest because the tithe belongs to God and just guarantees basic needs and basic sources of wealth. The level of your offerings will determine how much you can reap. Don’t take part of your tithe and use it like offering. Don’t use your tithe in a way that someone will thank you for it, it does not belong to you, and it belongs to God. Pay it to God’s house quietly. Take all the opportunities you have to give offerings to God as serious events and expect a bountiful harvest from them.
Remember that apart from giving regular offering in church, God expects you to sow into the work of God like building project, lives of your parents, spiritual leaders, siblings and others around you especially the poor. Be interested in solving people’s problems, you will surely be blessed. It may not be the recipient of your help who will repay you but God will surely do. Whatever a man sows, that he will reap (Ephe.6:8).
Make sure you sow in places and lives that you are sure truly in God’s will.
Don’t be discouraged by challenging situations; remember that farmers sow in dry season when the seeds are scarce. And make sure you offer your gifts in righteousness and honour. One way to do that is to ensure you are not living in sin and you offer it with honour and rejoicing.
Conclusion: The amount and quality of your seed in relation to what you possess really matter in determining the level of your harvest and hence your future. What kinds of offerings do you give to God and others now? Remember that is a determinant of your harvest in the future.