It is a seed we sow!
April 2011
Dear Friend,
Society faces dark and unyielding challenges. Economic uncertainty, wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters - all daily realities in the world we live.
Yet, as believers we overcome and can receive all the blessings God has promised, despite the conditions.
God’s light is always present in equal brilliance, but it appears more evident to us when it is darkest! At the darkest hour of humanity, God gave us His Son, Jesus.
God did so that He might get a desired result!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that (intended result to follow) whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
God gave His best – His only Son. He didn’t sacrifice one of His millions of angels – He gave His best!
God gave with a purpose – to gain something in return – millions of children – us!
Dr. Oral Roberts, a well known evangelist from the 60’s onward, recalled a powerful story. He grew up on a corn farm. Dr. Roberts’ dad would instruct him to pick out the very best ears of corn from the harvest. That pile of the best and largest pieces of corn would become the seed corn for the next harvest. He wanted to plant only the very best seed. By doing so they would in turn get only the best harvest! Farmers know what they sow, they get back in harvest!
God created the principle of seed, time and harvest. When He sowed His Son, He planted His best Seed!
Jesus gave us a new way of giving. He paid the price for our sins once and for all. Now, we have zero debt left to pay….
IT IS NO LONGER A DEBT WE OWE; IT IS A SEED WE SOW!
You could give a billion dollars to the work of the Lord, but it will not pay your debt to God. That debt has been paid already in Jesus! Now, we sow like the Father, without guilt, obligation or condemnation. No one holds a noose around our neck. We give freely, and by love! We give out of the overflow of life we received in Jesus!
We simply do as we see the Father do. God did not owe a debt. He did not give His best – Jesus – because He was under any obligation. Who, or what did He owe?
God gave to gain a harvest of life – you and I!
We now give, not because we have a debt, our debt is paid in full. We give, like the Father, to gain a harvest of life! What harvest do you want? Perhaps a job, better health, or protection from trouble.
God the Father gave to reap a harvest; we give to reap a harvest. Harvest of what? LIFE! If God the Father gave for a specific harvest, who are we to do any different.
Jesus said in John 5:19 “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
We can do no better than Jesus. He did as He saw the Father do, and we now do the same.
Jesus also said in Matthew 17:20, “if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
When we face lack of harvest, and that is what the mountain here represents, our first reaction is often to look at the lack. We think about the lack, rehearse the lack, talk about the lack, sometimes to great lengths.
Jesus says, don’t start with the lack…. START WITH THE SEED!!!
Imagine a farmer needs a thousand bushels of corn. He does not start with what he doesn’t have. He starts by sowing seed in the field, because the corn he wants will grow from the seed he plants.
When we face a lack of harvest in some area of life, instead of first trying to deal with the lack, consider first planting the seed.
The seed is our self, any part of our self. What harvest do we lack? A friend? Try planting a seed of a smile, or a helping hand.
Finances are a big part of who we are. We work many hours every week. Those hours represent our life. In return we receive wages. Those finances then represent our life.
It could well be that you take some amount of money, and you give it first. Then you go to your financial lack of harvest, speak to it as Jesus instructed us to do, and expect money to be multiplied back to you.
Harvest comes! Jesus encourages us not to go weary. Jesus is Lord of the harvest!
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9
This passage talks about sowing and reaping, and yes, finances.
The entire process is not a mechanical, dry, stale ritual. Nor is it a formula for twisting God’s arm. His arm needs no twisting. God is willing!!! All our needs are supplied in Jesus; we simply make withdrawals on our pre-paid account.
You may say, “Yes, but you don’t know the lack of harvest I face. You probably couldn’t relate.” Maybe not, but we have a High Priest, Jesus, Who can. He took on Himself every lack you and I would ever face. He felt every ounce of our pain.
God has supplied all our need… not according to the riches of the government… not according to the riches of the company we work for… not according to our paycheck… but according to His riches in Jesus!
Today, when we give our seed to the Lord, and to the incredible work in Israel through Way of Peace, we do so like the Father:
1. Full of love – no obligation!
2.Purpose for harvest – see it, feel it, expect it!
3.Best seed for best harvest – give our very best seed; expect our best harvest!
Think of an apple. An apple has (two purposes).
First, it feeds the recipient who has the pleasure of eating it.
Second, it benefits the apple orchard with seeds enclosed for future harvest. Each seed contained in the apple is another harvest of apples!
Yes, the Gospel work in Israel will benefit from our seed gift even if we don’t give like the Father. However, God wants us to benefit from our seed offering also!
Let’s take our very best seed gift, lift it up together and see the harvest we believe God for.
HARVEST 1: See hundreds, if not thousands of precious souls won to Christ in Israel. See the brothers and sisters in Christ we support in Israel empowered for continued service for the Gospel in Israel. See our 10 outreach centers flourish.
HARVEST 2: See your personal harvest. Do you seek a promotion at work? Perhaps you want a nagging health problem to go away. Maybe you deeply desire a bad habit to be broken in your life. See your lack met through the harvest of life!
Heavenly harvest transforms our natural circumstances every time!
Shalom!
Nathan Thurber
P.S. Thank you for one more moment of your time. If you have not already joined Way of Peace as a pre-authorized monthly partner, would you today? For only $1 per day, $30 per month, you would provide one of our Gospel outreach centers in Israel the much needed financial backing they need to plan for most effective outreach ministry within Israel. Your support is crucial today. Thank you for saying yes. You can fill out your information on the enclosed response form, and send it back in the return envelope. I look forward to hearing from you.