Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6: 9)

He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was

saying to them in His teaching, "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow, as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road and the birds came and ate it up. "Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of

soil." "And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away." Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop." "Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased and they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear let him hear!"

As a general rule, Faye and I tend to check to see if our seed is current. In fact within the last seven days we planted seed in another ministry and less than 72 hours after sowing that seed we received over $800.00 in unexpected debt forgiveness We continuously check ourselves to make sure our hearts are lined up and linked with God's plan for our lives. We are constantly on alert to sow as the Spirit leads. Nearly ten years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to Faye’s heart telling her "Don’t eat your seed!" For days that word rolled around in her spirit. She did not totally understand, then through another minister the Lord spoke and wisdom and understanding came concerning this word. We vowed to sow a seed of $1000 into a particular ministry, and within just a few days we received an unexpected blessing of $900.00 cash. A few weeks later, a traveling evangelist visiting our church in San Antonio had a financial need and we sowed the last $75.00 from our checking account and within 24 hours we received two telephone calls about 20 minutes apart and received over $24,000.00 in debt forgiveness. My friend God is not a respecter of persons. What He does for one He will do for another. Not always in the same way, shape, form or fashion but His principles are true and His spiritual laws do work.

The Five Ways
1) You don't plant your seed at all. You keep your seed, you hoard your seed or you eat your seed. Regardless of what you do with your seed. If you don’t plant it, you will not receive a harvest. When Noah came out of the ark after the Flood, the earth was completely stripped. Yet God told him that there would always be seedtime and harvest in the earth. It looked hopeless. Yet Noah planted seed.

Friend, however hopeless things may look for you right now, God gave us a principle, a spiritual law of how to plant our seed for a harvest. One thing is certain - if you keep your seed, if you hoard your seed, or if you eat your seed and don't plant it, there will be no harvest! God has shown Faye and I that a neglected or rejected opportunity to sow our seed is a lost opportunity to receive.

2) You can plant by the "wayside." The Lord said that the birds come and eat this kind of seed, meaning the devil comes and steals it away. God is saying that you must have purpose in your seed planting. You must choose your soil wisely. You must sow your seed where God's work is really being done. That's where the good soil is.

3) You can plant on "stony ground." In other words, you can plant your seed where the soil is shallow. It will come up, but it won't last. The Lord said that when the sun gets hot, it burns up this kind of seed. If you plant without giving thought to where you are sowing your seed the result will not be much of a harvest. Target your seed. Give toward a specific need or lack.

4) You can plant your seed "among the thorns" or weeds. As the seed begins to grow, thorns will grow up and choke the life out of it. That means if you're planting for the wrong reasons - to be well thought of or to be rich and powerful for yourself only - it will destroy your seed. The Bible says that the Lord will provide seed to the sower. Are you in lack today, do you have a need today. How big does your harvest need to be. Scripture says he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. The book of Genesis speaks of seed bearing fruit after its own kind. In other words to reap squash you don’t plant watermelon seed, you plant squash seed.

5) You can plant in "good soil." Know where your seed is going. When you plant into the work of the Lord, believe God that it will be used for the salvation of souls and the healing of broken lives so the kingdom of God will increase. Then it can produce a plentiful harvest - 30, 60, or a 100-fold return!

I Don't Have Anything to Give!
Some people think they don't have anything to give to the Lord. But everybody has something they can give.

I once told a man who was facing bankruptcy that if he would give out of his need and target his seed toward his need, I felt God would deliver him from his financial strain. At the time, Faye and I had been recently blessed financially and we provided some financial assistance to this gentleman to allow him to escape from bankruptcy and the clutches of the IRS. Instead of repaying this assistance and instead of sowing, this man chose to hoard and eat his seed due to fear and greed. This brought a curse upon this man and his family and their finances. Several years later, I went to this man and realizing that he had no intention of making good his debt to us, I released him from his obligation to repay. We are told in God’s Word that we will receive either grace and mercy or judgement in the same measure as we have given out. Faye and I chose in this instance to sow grace and mercy in order to receive the same.

"But, Pastor Eric, I don't have anything to give," you might say!

"Everybody has something to give." "Think about it. Seed must be sown. If all you sow are your good intentions, how can God multiply them into a harvest that you can reap?"

Take a moment and reflect on this thought, you may well discover there is something of value that you could give to God. And when you give it, a miraculous change takes place in the natural as well as the spiritual world.

If you're wondering what kind of seed you should give, let me ask you a question: What is your need?

• A grain of corn
• A cup of cold water
• One talent
• The lost coin
• A kindness done "to the least of these"
• Five loaves and two fishes

You Can Plant in Many Ways
If you emphasize the size of the seed, you're missing the point and forgetting God's ways. How tiny are some of the seeds that He planted - like a little Babe in a manger - but how powerful and dynamic the results! Giving includes money, but it is far more than money. For every time you love, you plant a seed. Every time you give a word of encouragement, you plant a seed. Every time you pray for someone, you plant a seed. Every time you have a good thought toward someone, you plant a seed.

Have you heard this poem?

Abundance and prosperity in life means that you do what Jesus did:
- You love first.
- You give first.
- You forgive first.
- You apologize first.
- You pray for others first.
- You smile first.
- You go the second mile first.
- You take the first step.

Your seed is your source for a miracle! God will always do His part. He will raise up a harvest, a supernatural harvest. The key is whether or not you choose to sow. The choice is yours.