John chapter 12 describes how seedtime and harvest works.
"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" (v. 24).
God is the author of seedtime and harvest. Seedtime and harvest is not something related to money; it is the method by which everything works. Everything in the earth is the result of seedtime and harvest.
You are the result of seedtime and harvest. Your father carried you in his body. You were a seed swimming in the body of your father, and you were planted in the fertile ground of your mother. After nine months, you came forth and were born. Now you are here today planting seeds and producing a harvest.
Everything in the earth works this way. That is why abortion is wrong. It violates the principle of seedtime and harvest. It goes against the laws God set in motion in the earth in Genesis chapter eight.
Since God wanted His children back, what did He have to do? He had to follow the laws He set up for the whole universe. He had to operate the law of seedtime and harvest. He had to sow His best seed to get the full harvest He wanted. He started out with the seed of the spoken word and ended up with the Living Seed, Jesus.
How You Can Bear Much Fruit
Jesus said, "Except the corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone" (John 12:24). You can take a seed and put it somewhere, but it won't become anything more unless it is planted. This is true in every area of your life.
The Bible says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you..." (Luke 6:38). If you want love, you have to give love. You have to give your best love in order to get back a lot of love. You have to help someone else have joy so that joy can come to you. If you want a financial harvest, you have to give money.
God had a need: to get you and me back. And God gave out of His need. You are important in the eyes of God. You are the most important thing in the universe to God. When you curse another man, you are cursing God's creation. It is wrong; it is sin. It violates God's system.
Let's continue reading in John chapter 12 regarding seedtime and harvest.
"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).
Jesus said, "He that loves his life shall lose it." If you love your life so much that you try to hold onto it, you will lose it. Selfishness is nothing but fear of not getting what you want. Fear produces selfishness. You hold on to your love because you're afraid that if you love somebody else, you're going to get hurt and it's not going to come back to you.
You hold on to forgiveness and won't forgive a person, because you are concerned that forgiveness won't be offered to you in the same way. You hold on to your money, thinking, I have to keep what I have so I won't lose it. But it doesn't work like that. Whatever you hold onto, you will lose.
God's entire system is about loving others. It's about giving to others; it produces a cycle. With God, everything is connected to something else. Whether you like it or not, you are connected to black folks, white folks, yellow folks, and red folks. Now Satan does everything he can to interrupt God's system, to cut us off. He tries to get us out of the flow of giving in every area of our lives.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Whatever goes around comes around"? Remember, as a man sows, he will also reap (Gal. 6:7). As a man gives in a good measure, it will come back to him in a good measure, "pressed down, shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38). That's the way it works.
There is a negative side to this system as well. If you give hate, you will get hate. If you give fear, then fear is coming back to you.
Jesus says, "He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25). In order to win in life, you must be willing to give your life in this earth to Jesus. If you just focus on this life and forget about God and what He wants you to do on the earth, you will do what you want. You will eat, drink, and be merry. But God said that if you want the big prize (and the big prize is that you never die—you live eternally), you must plant your life and receive from the One who planted His life first—Jesus.
It isn't a waste when you give into the Kingdom of God. It's not a waste when you serve in the Kingdom of God. It's not a waste of your time if you go to church two, three, or four times a week. You are giving your life and sowing toward a prize. And billions of years from now while others are in hell in eternal death, you will be in the very Presence of God.
Let God Honor You
Let's continue reading in John chapter 12.
"If any man serve me [Jesus], let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour" (John 12:26).
Having the Father honor you is the greatest thing that could ever happen to you. When God honors you, He exalts you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). When God honors you, He calls you to win in every way. He makes your enemies to be at peace with you (Prov. 16:7). He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies (Ps. 23:5).
When you are someone who serves God, the Lord becomes your Shepherd, and you have no wants. He makes you to rest in blessed, green, prosperous pastures. He leads you beside water that is crystal clear when everybody else is in drought (Ps. 23:2).
Life Under the S-o-n
Let's look briefly at the 23rd Psalm (vv. 1-6):
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for everI tell you, Psalm 23 is not about Heaven. Psalm 23 is about earth under the S-o-n! This is what we have through Jesus—this is ours as a result of the Seed.
Look at verse three: "He restoreth my soul...." When Adam sinned, his soul was destroyed. The first thing that came out of his mouth was, "I'm afraid" (Gen. 3:10). But when you serve God, fear is no longer a part of your consciousness. Worry and doubt can't stay. You're free. What peace you have because you serve Him!
Verse four says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with...." I like that word "through," because it means you go in on one side, but you come out on the other! In other words, you don't camp in the valley—you go through it!
You might be in the valley now, but you can confidently say, "Watch me, devil, I'm going through the valley of the shadow of death. And while I'm going, I will fear no evil because the Lord is with me. His rod and His staff comfort me. And He prepares for me a table of blessings right in the face of my enemies." (You know Psalm 23 isn't talking about Heaven, because we won't have any enemies in Heaven.)
Psalm 23:5 says, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." God is spreading out a table to those who will receive the free gift of Jesus. It's a table of healing, a table of right-standing, a table of prosperity, a table of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost! (Rom. 14:17).
That table is a table of love, a table of strength, a table of never being bound again and of knowing that you're a winner. It's a table of anointing—of yoke-destroying, burden-removing power!
Friend, God has a table in front of you. So get a helping of healing! Whatever you need, it's there on—the table!
Psalm 23:6 says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." But in order to receive all of this, you must give up your life. Jesus gave up His life, and He expects you to do the same, except He wants you to give up your life to Him. Give up your life and receive the blessings of God!
Excerpt permission granted by Word of Faith Publishing