The Seeds of Abundance

Jesus taught the crowd a lot of things in the form of stories. He said things when he taught like, “Listen to this! Once upon a time a farmer went out to scatter seeds. It turned out that as he tossed the seeds, some of them fell alongside of the road, and a flock of birds came along and ate them. Some of the seeds fell upon rocky ground, but there wasn’t a lot of soil. And bam! The seeds sprouted because there wasn’t a lot of soil, but when the sun came out, it got hot. The plants withered and died because there wasn’t enough soil to set down roots. Some of the seeds fell among thorny bushes. The seeds sprouted but the plants never produced any fruit because they were choked to death by the thorn bushes. Some of the seeds fell on good soil and produced fruit. They grew so much that there seemed to be many more plants than the number of seeds that were sown.” Then he said, “Anyone with ears, listen!”

When Jesus and the Twelve found themselves alone, they asked him about the stories.

Then Jesus said to them, “None of you understand this one story? How then is it possible that any of you will understand any story? The farmer scatters the Word. Here’s what the seeds that fell along the side of the road signify: the farmer spreads the Word to anyone who will listen. And bam! Satan comes along and takes the Word that has been scattered from them. Here’s what the seeds that were scattered upon the rocky ground signify: these people hear the Word, and bam! They happily accept it, but they don’t have any roots and their joy is only temporary. Hard times arise and they are picked on and threatened because of the Word, and bam! They lose their ability to trust in it. The seeds that were scattered among the thorny bushes are like those who hear the Word, but the worries of life and the lies of wealth, as well as the desire not to lose what they have, come along and choke the Word from them and they become fruitless. The seeds that are scattered on good soil represents those who hear the Word and accept it. What they produce seems to be much more than their abilities suggest is possible!”

~As Mark Tells It
The New Peace Treaty: A New Translation of the New Testament

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As soon as the Word is shared, there seem to be four responses. Some people just reject it, some accept it but don't keep it for long, some lose their focus and let other things get in the way, and some take it and use it to produce an abundance.

This Word can be any "Word" that is found in the Bible. I know that may sound like an odd thing to say, so let me say it like this:

Jesus is the Word. I always like theologian Karl Barth who said that the Bible is the "Word of God" because it is where we encounter Jesus Christ who IS THE WORD of God. So in this case, the sower is anyone who preaches Jesus Christ. Some people are just going to reject Jesus no matter what. They are the road. They are hard and they let nothing penetrate them. And Jesus says that Satan comes along and takes away the seed because over time cracks may form and the seed may fall into a crack and take root. Others are happy to accept the Gospel and happy to accept Jesus. But, as I well know on Facebook, there are a lot of people who attack people for no other reason than they believe in God or Jesus. Some people expect that if they believe in Jesus, their lives will suddenly be a certain way, and when that does not immediately happen, and when they are being picked on for their faith, they abandon it. They do not always consciously abandon it as in "That's it! I'm done!" but they stop growing and the faith within them withers over time and it dies. Some people are happy to receive Jesus but cannot accept that He is LORD over their circumstances. They worry about material things, and if those material things do not arrive, they get angry and resentful and abandon spiritual things because they feel their material wants and needs are lacking. Then there are those who accept Jesus and what He says and they let their lives be transformed just as an empty field is transformed by an abundance of growth.

But this "Word" could be a word of healing, a word of knowledge, a word of prosperity, a word of prophecy, and the people who reject, or wither, or who are choked may be people within the Church. 

For instance, I can preach the "Word" that I have learned from Jesus in the Bible, from others in the Bible, and from my own experience with God and my own spiritual exercises. This "Word" can be summed up in a simple concept that "FAITH, GRATITUDE, AND GENEROSITY PRODUCES ABUNDANT PROSPERITY (in every sense of the word -- not just money, but not excluding money). 

When I talk about what I have come to refer as Apostolic Prosperity, some people resist it. They just close off to the possibility that it may be true. It is not that they listen and find it lacking. They just decide it is wrong. The seed of this "Word" cannot penetrate their attitudes and the devil comes along and takes it away so they do not stumble upon it later. Some people are like "Awesome!" and they accept it, but when their lives do not change with a snap of their finger, and when others tell them that they are crazy for accepting it, they stop accepting it, and what little they have accepted fades. Some people are like "Awesome!" They sincerely try to focus their minds and change how they speak and make the effort. But no matter how many times they speak about having abundance, they worry about their bank accounts and talk about how much they don't have. No matter how many times they claim healing, they turn around and start talking about pain and symptoms and how they are still sick. And their words choke THE WORD.

But there are those who accept it. They are like "Awesome!" and people tell them they are crazy. They are like "Awesome!" but there are no immediate results. They are like "Awesome!" but they still have empty bank accounts and their bodies still hurt. But they decide that faith means not being ruled by their circumstances, but instead, they rule their circumstances with their faith. They believe the Word no matter what, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how broke and broken they may feel and appear. They decide that God wants them to be prosperous in every sense of the word, and they decide to accept that Word no matter what, no matter how they feel, no matter how the circumstances of their lives try to tell them differently. The accept the Word of Faith, Gratitude, and Generosity and over time the flow of abundance begins to work in their lives, and suddenly after the passing of time, their lives are filled with abundance and health and prosperity. 

This is what I believe, and this is what I like to share with others. I am committed to being fertile soil. In the name of Jesus I am fertile soil and the Word of God is planted in me and with faith in that Word, along with Gratitude and Generosity, the Word is producing in me and in my life a bountiful harvest of abundance and prosperity and BLESSING. 

And I know that there are four responses to what I just said...

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