A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – August 16, 2019
Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 9:10)
As Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee, there were a great number of people who had been following Him and they gathered together to hear Him speak (Mark 4:1-20). He got into a boat and pushed away from the shore. Facing thousands of people, He began to speak. He told the story of a man who went out to sow seed. Some of the seed fell by the wayside, some fell on stony ground, and some fell among thorns. None of these seeds produced a worthy crop. But other seed that was sown fell on good ground and produced up to a hundredfold. Jesus concluded by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (v.9).
As soon as Jesus got alone with His disciples, they questioned Him about this story concerning the seed, because they obviously didn’t understand what He was talking about. Jesus told them that to the multitudes what He said would just be a parable or a story. He went on to say that those who were on the inside could understand the mystery of the kingdom of God. Then focusing on His disciples, He told them that this parable was the key to all the parables. Then He began to reveal the mystery. He said, “The sower sows the word” (v.14), and He said the soil was the hearts of men. Jesus didn’t say that the sower sowed money, time, or things. Jesus said, “The sower sows the word.”
How do we sow the Word into the hearts of men? Just before Jesus ascended, He gave His followers a command. He told them to go and make disciples and to teach them everything that they had been taught by Him (Matthew 28:19-20). In other words, take the Word to the world and place it in the hearts of men.
Years ago there was a nation who had developed a powerful bomb. However, they were not a threat to any of the surrounding nations because they had no missile or delivery system. In the same way, the seed (the Word) is powerful and can turn a nation upside down. But unless man can deliver the Word to the hearts of men, it is of no effect.
The Word (seed) is supplied in abundance by God. There is no shortage of Word. When you give financially, you are actually sowing into the delivery system. The money you give into ministries is not “the seed.” Remember, the seed is the Word of God. But your money enables churches, ministries, and organizations to deliver the seed to the soil (hearts of people) where it will explode upon impact and change their lives forever.
When you give into ministries, it is extremely important that you give where the finances are converted into Word and taken to the world. Only then is the Word sown into good soil. So the next time you plan your giving, place your financial seed into a ministry that has a heart for teaching the Word to the world. The seed (the Word) is always good, but the harvest (thirty, sixty, hundredfold) depends upon where it is sown. The delivery system is extremely important!
The Word of God is always pure, anointed, full of life, and does not change. The variable is where it is sown, and that is determined by the delivery system.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
