Bountiful Harvest (A Bumper Crop)

A crap means. I've heard it a man. Well, bumper crop. I looked it up and it says it's an unusually large Harvest. That's what it means and it's used mainly in an agricultural setting. So you have an abundant Harvest. So guess what? What's the title of our topic today? Bountiful Harvest living from shortage to.

Surplus. Hallelujah. Okay. Can show up the presentation Church? We're not in school actually. So I got this from, you know, just playing with. What can we show? Lord today, make it more interesting for the people. So Bountiful Harvest. Are you interested what it's about? But let's look at this from

From the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Genesis 26. Verses 12 to 13 & Enmark, 428. Genesis 2612. 13th says then. Isaac sowed in the land and reap in the same here. A hundred fold. And the Lord blessed him. The band began to prosper and continued, prospering. And became very prosperous, prosperous words. All in one sentence. Can you imagine the kind of prosperity? That means, Amen. And the other one says in Mark 4 verse 8, but the other seed fell on the ground and yielded a crop that sprang up increased and produced Some 34, some 60 and some 100. Amen, versus are so powerful because they're connected and it's good that we have one from the Old Testament, and the New Testament that's showing is connected with Harvest. There is a very clear connection between sowing and harvesting. Now, it's interesting that In this passage Genesis 26, it started with actually, the first line was it says, they're the man there was a famine in the land.

There was a famine in the land. So, You've is a famine in the land. What is normally a reaction when there's a shortage? What is normally our reaction? How do we proceed with whatever we have? We tried to keep it, right? And we try to conserve it. We tried to save it. Because who knows what's going to happen? Who knows, how long the famine or the shortage will last? So, you know, I'm going to keep it. I'm going to protect it. I'm going to keep it away. But Isaac did something quite different actually the opposite. What he did? He planted he sowed in the time of famine.

Isn't that interesting? That he would do the opposite of what the natural man would do.

He was an Act of Faith. Because he need, he knew the kind of God he was serving in you and that God will protect him and take care of him. It was an Act of Faith. He did not wait until the famine was over. North The shortage was over. He did not wait for that. He planted anyway.

Wow, that's amazing. I do know he reaped a hundredfold the same year.

And then the Lord said, I'm sorry and it said the Lord blessed him. But it's interesting that the Lord bless him not before but after Right. He said he's sold then he harvested 100-fold and in the Lord blessed him. It wasn't the opposite. It wasn't like the Lord bless him and then he planted and then he harvested That's normally how we would think. Lord bless me. And then when we get the Blessed thing we start to plan or 2. So, The Lord blessed him because he sold at a time of famine. Hats with the blessing of the Lord means. It was an Act of Faith. and this is important because sometimes weekend only, so when things are going well, We think we need to have enough money enough. Resources enough savings enough confidence enough certainty. Before we can start sewing. Isaac story tells us something different. sometimes the very seasoned that looks unproductive can become the season in which God will demonstrate his power to provide, It's exactly that season where he will show up. And show to us that? Yeah, I can take care of you even in the shortage, even in this famine, even in this difficulty, but you need to start sewing first. Do you get a church? We need to start planting first in spite of the situation. I remember when I was a newborn Christian, And the church that I was going to, then they wanted to do a to get a church van. And they came to me and said, would you like to take part in raising funds for the church for the charge of an isotope? I just joined, you know, I don't believe I'm not really into that. But in my mind I was like, asking me. I'm just, you know, I'm just doing the church. Is this about money? You know how people think, like, it's all about money to church. So I I spoke to the sister that invited me.

And she said, Oh no, just just, just do it because you will be blessed since it's a lot of money. Just trust God. So I was going to be then I wanted to be obedient and I gave into the money gave into the the fun. I totally got the van. A really nice van for the church and may God ride. But I'm still here. And then many months later that after that my my father came from the Philippines and I wanted to I had to run down car and I wanted to just treat him because I know he's going to drive for me. I said can I get a new car? But you know what? God blessed me with a brand. New Mercedes car. Praise God. And then I said, wow, Lord how did this happen?

And God reminded me. Well, didn't you? So in the church van, didn't you give even though your heart was grumbling because you didn't understand what you gave anyway? I realized, wow. That is amazing, Lord. So I sewed and I harvested much more than I expected. Hallelujah. Okay, let's get back on track. Alright, so what's the first ingredient in Harvest? The first ingredient in a harvest is The song War. Okay, the sore that has to be a storm. There's a harvest that's going to happen. Who's this hour?

Okay, I didn't see all the hottest. Who is this song? Amen, we are. We are, we are the farm because God has entrusted to each one of us. Something that can be planted something. It doesn't have to be big. That's enough to be small. God has entrusted to us something. And you know, what a farmer doesn't plant with an expectation that all is going to plan is going to die. There is an expectation of harvest whenever you plant, your always think he's going to bloom. This is going to produce. This is going to be a lot. The expectation that the seed will eventually produce something Isn't that our expectation, those who are gardening or planting Julia.

So if you want butterfly, where you expected to bloom in the right season, isn't it? You plant vegetables. You're going to get your Tomatoes, red beans, whatever. A harvest of vegetables. There is an expectation attached to planting

the same way when we still to God's kingdom, there should be an expectation of a harvest

So what does this mean? How do we? So what are we sewing for all practical purposes? Sewing means giving we sewing to church resort to other people's lives. We saw into our families, our communities, we saw what we saw everywhere and sometimes what we're doing, We don't even realize we're sowing because it seems so ordinary. It seems so normal. I have to be a grand gesture a spectacular, you know, display of something. We are sewing every day and we encourage someone and we pray for someone, we give our time, we help someone who needs help. We get financially, you know, money is a very important seed. Write the Bible says that there are two Rivals Garden honey. So it's very, very important seed in our hands.

Okay, so All these things become seed in our hands. And the important thing is the sore has to actually plant. you have to actually release the seed from your hands and put it in the ground because the seed in your hand is bad, You will never produce a harvest if you leave it in your hands, you need to plant it. So that there will be a harvest at the right season. There has to be a moment when the farmer releases that seed, and put it in the ground. And that is where faith comes in. Because once the seed leaves, your hand goes into the ground, you cannot see it anymore. Let's see what's happening in the seat underneath the ground that part belongs to God. Whatever you planted, it's gone. But it's working behind the scenes down where you're planted. It. God is at work. Amen. Hallelujah. So we've got the next we need. The seed, the next ingredient is the seed itself. And one of the most important things we need to remember is God is the one who supplies the seed. 2nd Corinthians. 9:10 says, now he who supplies he got supplies the seed to the sower.

And bread and for food will also Supply and increase the store of seed and will enlarge the Harvest of your righteousness.

God provides the seed to the store to ask. You don't have to look for the CD already giving his already giving it to us. And this is important because we can easily look at ourselves as the one. Was providing to see that it comes from us that it comes from our abilities or capacity. John 3:27, says, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. Whatever we have. Whatever we received, they didn't come from us, Came From Heaven, he came from God. Everything we have ultimately comes from God, our money, our time, our gifts, our talents, everything that we have, and we need to recognize that God has already placed that in your hands. Of course, we need to work hard as we need to be responsible. Of course, we need to do a lot of the things. These are all good things, but we shouldn't look at them as that. Those things came from us. All these things came from God and he asked us to be faithful with what is already. Given everything that is given to us, we need to be faithful. We need to mind what the seed, the cedar in her head need to Planted. All right, so we have the seed. We have the solar, that's us. What else do we need? Hey man. The soil. We need the soil now, the seed, needs to go into a good soil, where you plant your seed, makes a big difference.

It makes a difference when you plant. You cannot plan in a rocky ground, organ of the Bible, speaks of a rocky ground, some seeds, fell on day. The Pastime among thorns and the seed, some seed fell into good ground and those are the ones that bear much fruit. So the seed was capable of producing a harvest, but it needs. Good soil. This is something we need to think about in our own lives. Where are we planting our seeds? Where are we invest in our time? Where are we putting our money? Our resources are not unlimited. So we need to be thoughtful about where we saw them. There is only one investment that will never be wasted. I work in the financial services I know about investment but there is one investment where you could never lose where your money will never be where your money will be wasted or whatever you do for the kingdom. 1st Corinthians 15:58, says, whatever we do for the Lord is never wasted. Amen. This is a Heavenly investment that returns over a hundred fold. Over. you know, we watched the the The conference at the conference that the meeting on faith driven entrepreneurs, right? And one thing that we we, we took away from that was that we are called. We are called to live to give And we must raise our standard of giving, not our standard of living.

Amen. We always think I got to do better. I got, you know, I got to climb up the ladder, always thinking of raising our standard of living but actually we are cold during our standard of giving Herman. We must plan our seeds in good soil.

All right. What else do we need for a Bountiful Harvest? We've got the seeds. We've got the soil, a good soil. What else do we need? That's what that's again.

Starts with s were in The X mode where they have the seeds and we have the soil, the sun. We need to sign a man. You're catching up guys. Thank you. Lord, for the sun gives us energy and life because that's what it needs to grow without sunlight. Plants. Cannot survive. Even in places where there are no, there's no natural sunlight, you know, they put artificial light, that's what they put.

Psalm 84 verse 11 for the Lord, God is a sun and shield. The Lord, bestows favor and honor. John 8 verse 12 says, I am the light of the world, Jesus, the Same whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Amen.

There is a part where we are called to play. We plant the seeds, we water a tree nursery. But we cannot make it grow by our own strength. Hey man, we cannot tell.

You know that be ready? Bear fruit. A bountiful know, that's part belongs to God, the growth, the increase in the Harvest are ultimately in God's hands. And this is such an important reminder, because sometimes we can be so focused on our own work, right? That we actually think we're responsible for our increase, that we actually think that because of our hard work, because of our intelligence, our abilities, our responsibilities. Do, you know how responsible we are? We are actually producing the increase. It is, God provides the increase. He takes what we have planted and causes it to produce a man. So we do our part and God brings the increase. Just as the sun provides with a plant needs to grow. God provides what is necessary for two seed to grow? The seed is in our hands. But got, but the increase is in God's hands. Amen.

so when does solar plants, the seed in the seed, goes into a good soil and the soil has enough Sun Guess what happens?

You get that. It starts with an ass again.

So you get a bumper crop. What's the opposite of the shortest? He was there was a famine but he planted. There's a surplus. Wonderful well done students.

Hey man. So you've just crossed over from shortage to Surplus because God will give you the Surplus. And this is the principal of multiplication. The Harvest is greater than the seed that was originally planted.

Oh, okay. I thought you're not showing it cuz I cannot see it from the monitor. Alright, so we experienced a surplus whenever we plant and whenever it goes to good soil, the Harvest is greater than the seed that was originally planted Luke 6:38. I don't know if it's there.

It says, give and it will be given to you how much good measure good measure pressed down shaken together and running over more than you can hold. Wow, that's a lot more than you can hold.

So when we so we are trusting him with what happens next. The return may be Financial or any other form it could be restoration of relationship salvation opportunity to to be blessed in many ways.

Transformation. Is it? Something we can have by him in?

I just want to come back to Isaac when he started with the famine. We just because this is particularly relevant to us. God blessed him. And the Bible says that he continue to prosper, even then. So what did shows is that God is not limited by the conditions around us, and did not prevent God from blessing. Isaac did not prevent God form X. You know, we know about the story of the five loaves of bread and the fish how God multiplied it. So he is not concerned with the condition. He is concerned about how what we do with the seed that he has given to us. Are we sewing in or are we keeping it?

One time we visited Julius allotment. And she said my plants are dying their sole of their close to the ground. They haven't been watered. It's been hot very recently so we helped her with water during the whole a lot man. It's a big one. The water comes our big. He was Heavy. We were there for a few hours watching each one and she said wow there's a changed their all no kind of Lift it up, is that the word for plans? So we wanted to hold a lot man, every watering cans.

By the end of it, we sat down and had tea.

Did a little bit of conversation, talking about it. And then we want, we we went back to the allotment and then we picked, we picked the fruit of the they were lying there, right? Tomatoes, be garlic, all of them and, you know, game away with the Harvest.

We have tomatoes biggus Dickus. We had beat, I've never seen so many beans. Are you know why? Why we came away with the Harvest because we sold in her garden. We would have never gotten that if we didn't go. And planted and this is what we get. And that's just a tiny thing, you know? But God can show you whenever you're so there's an expectation of harvest in whatever form. What are the steps to a Bountiful Harvest?

Do we have the last page? So, In times of shortage, what do we do?

The last one.

So don't worry about the condition where your in just gets so annoying, you know, even though the conditions are not, right? So anyway, actually the best time to solve this when you need a lot or when you need something, that's the best time to plant a man. We are all called to. So God already gives us the seed, it's in our hands. Whatever is in your head, that is not looking for a seat. That is not in her hand. Whatever is in your hand is a seed I meant the soil. It is very important to Choose Wisely where we so make sure it's a good soil. That it will sustain the seed. Once it's planted, don't waste your seed to things that will not make it productive. Always be connected to God, who gives the increase and a bumper crop? Harvest is what we're going to expect once we start showing a mess. So what is the remember that Harvest begins with a seed? And the seed that God has placed in our hands may not look like much today, but it will be in a few the right season. Don't hold back the seat release. It release the sea. Don't hold it back. If you don't, you will never see a harvest and when the Harvest comes, remember that, the seed belongs to God the soil belongs to God, the Son and the Surplus comes from him. And this is why the Harvest also belongs to him a man in Jesus name.