I know I said we would continue from the point we stopped at with February's Issue, but over the course of study, something jumped out of the word at me that I have never seen and it is proof of what we taught about.
This came to me as I was reading in Genesis Chapter 7. and has to do with paying of tithes. It has to do with the windows of heaven that open and pouring you out a blessing you cannot contain. First, let me remind you of what it says in Malachi.
Notice the words - prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Zero in on the words windows, (plural, meaning more than one), of heaven.
Now, I would like you to turn to Chapter 7 and verse 11. This verse is talking about Noah in the flood, Genesis 7:11. Notice the words, and the windows (plural, meaning more than one), of heaven were opened. Now, the Lord showed me these windows of heaven in Genesis 7:11 are the same windows that will open and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. In both Genesis and Malachi, the windows bring both blessing and cursing. In Genesis 7, the windows opened and rained on the earth and the obedient in the ark were saved from death, but the disobedient were killed by the flood. In Malachi 3:10, the windows of heaven are opened and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Those who are obedient to God's word receive a blessing and those who are disobedient receive a curse in their finances. They rob God according to Malachi 3:8.
Now that was a sidestep blessing. What I want you to see is that in Genesis 7:11 these windows poured out water on the earth, to where there was not room enough to receive it and it became a flood that destroyed the wicked, (the disobedient) but saved the (righteous, obedient). In Malachi 3:10, the same windows are opened and pouring out a blessing that there is not room enough to receive it, (a flood). Do you see this?
A flood, the same flood that filled the earth with waters to destroy the wicked is the same windows and flood that is blessing you. Let's look again at the windows of heaven in Genesis (same windows in Malachi).
Notice they did not change the size of windows, but the same ones God is using to pour out a blessing for your obedience of paying your tithe.
Now, we can pick up where we left off in February.
Why 30, 60, OR 100?
Because not all ground is good ground. Not all seed is watered, and taken care of properly. Not all ground was prepared properly, removing obstacles that stand in the way of reaping a harvest. If you want the 100 fold return, then the ground must be prepared properly, getting rid of obstacles, washing and weeding, etc.
What good is it if a sower prepares the ground, plants it, and does nothing else to it? He will get 30 or 60 fold, depending upon the care. But the person who receives 100 fold took care of his field and kept it watered and free of debris. As you read Malachi 3:4-8, we see explanation of each of these, of how some fell by the wayside, how some were planted on ground not properly prepared. This represents the 30 and 60 fold return.
How is your ground? Is it prepared properly and have the proper nutrients? Has your seed been planted in good soil, watered and properly cared for, removing obstacles as a seed sprouts and starts growing? I keep repeating myself in this because we need to understand why we don't receive our harvest. Now the fields you plant in produces the harvest. How?
a: by faith believing with you on your return
b: by helping you in the time of trouble
c: by teaching you how to prepare your soil, so your plants can get their roots deep enough to tap into the source of supply.
I would like you to hear this scripture from Mark 4 from a different translation. This is from the Message translation. Pay attention and it will help us. (He) Jesus, went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat. Using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water's edge, He taught by using many stories.
Jesus began by saying "Listen, what do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some feel in the ground. It sprouted quickly but did not put down toots, so when the sun came up it withered quickly. Some fell in the weeds, and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams."
We have talked in the past about preparation of the soil, getting rid of obstacles that choke the seed. We touched slightly about roots and what they do. As we read this passage of scripture from any translation, it brings out the same thing. When the seed falls on ground, shallow ground, or in the weeds it is choked. Why? Because there is no root.
You see each plant, tree, grass, etc, has roots. Those roots are for different reasons.
1: for support of the plant. The larger the plant, the bigger and deeper the root.
2: source of life. The bigger the plant, the deeper it goes for support from the source.
Roots reach the source of life. Without this source, the seed will die. I had a young apple tree die on me a couple of years ago, and could not understand how it went from a good looking, healthy tree, into a dead, dried up tree, in a period of a couple of months, so I went out and up the tree up, found the root was eaten by a ground mole. The mole took the source of life from the tree.
You as a person in Christ, must do the same thing. You must plant your roots in the source of life. Jesus Christ (The Word). Another thing I want you to notice is, that as the tree grows, so does the root. It, the root, gets fatter and longer and goes deeper into the earth for more source of life. Now there is another reason for this larger root, as the tree grows, it needs more support. It needs a big anchor so when the winds (circumstances) blow, it won't topple over. It will hold it's ground. The same way in the spiritual. The deeper you have your root into the source, the better you will stand what comes against you.
I want to point something else out. A farmer does not sell all of his harvest. He plants some of it back and reaps another harvest. This is how the law of sowing and reaping comes into play. You sow, you reap, you sow, you reap. Another thing, the farmer sells the larger portion of what he harvests because whether it is a large or a small field, the harvest is always larger than the seed sown. Note: Your ground produces your harvest, but the harvest produces the seed to be planted. A good planter should never have to purchase the seed to be planted. If he is wise, his harvest will product the seed.
How to decide where good ground is. You can do this backwards. Look at the harvest. Is there much fruit? If a place or minister or ministry has a lot of fruit, then the ground the fruit bearer is in must be good ground. In short, I would look for ground producing a lot of fruit and plant my seed there.
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