THE TOIL IS OVER!

 "The Power of a Seed"

By Pastor Michael Olawore

New Wine Church, London

Sunday 17^th July 2011

Foundation Scripture: Luke 5: 1 - 8

Over the past few weeks we have been unfolding the meaning of the prophetic word ‘The Toil is Over’ which has been declared over this house. By way of reminder, “I declare that everything that represents famine, hunger and struggle in your life has expired – the toil is over!” We have drawn heavily from the account of Peter and his encounter with Jesus which led to the miraculous catch of fish as recounted in Luke 5: 1-8 and in the same way that Jesus visited Peter and turned his life around, God will visit your circumstances. He has promised not to leave nor forsake you and it is my prayer that God will visit your life today and your life will not remain the same. The bible tells us that in the presence of the Lord there is ‘fullness of joy’ - abundance! And at His right hand there are pleasures ever more, not just for a season but forever - this is your portion!

We have looked at the major lessons to be extracted from Peter’s encounter with Jesus in Luke 5, namely his positive attitude, his recognition of the power of a seed, his dominion over his thoughts and his decision to stand on the word. Last week, we looked in detail at the power of a positive attitude and agreed that in order to maintain your identity and maximise who you are, certain thinking and behavioural patterns are essential, in particular agreeing with what God says you are. We looked at the life of Caleb who saw possibility and opportunity where others saw certain defeat and agreed that a winning attitude involves an ability to see the end from the beginning and although it may be difficult, it is possible and further, the tendency to think positively and see opportunity in the midst of challenges. A winning attitude also involves confidence and conviction about the future and a determination to finish well. In concluding our examination of winning attitudes we agreed that the habit of feeding on the word of God and an attitude of thankfulness were essential.

Today we are going to look in detail at the power of a seed. The concept of a seed, which is established in the book of Genesis and runs throughout scripture, is of fundamental importance of God. In Genesis 1 we see that God created plants and trees that bear fruit in which was a seed; He placed the seed inside the fruit in order to ensure perpetuation. Your life is a seed. In fact, everything relating to life is about seed. An understanding of the power of seed is so integral to life that a failure to grasp its importance will mean that you will have an incomplete picture of a significant proportion of what your life is about and therefore I would encourage you to open your mind to gain a thorough understanding of this key concept which will change your life.

God’s creation contained within it the power to reproduce after its own kind. God placed in plants and trees everything required to replicate and reproduce; the power of perpetuation. From the account in Genesis, we see that God extrapolated this concept and applied it to mankind which can be seen in Genesis 3: 15 where God spoke to the serpent of the enmity between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman, which also makes clear that the enemy will always be around. However, the prophecy ‘He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel’ is all the assurance that we need that victory belongs to us. Similarly, in God’s promise to Abraham later on in Genesis that his descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, the concept of seed appears also and in Galatians 3: 29, we understand that we, in belonging to Christ, are the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.

In order to deepen our understanding, let’s look together at some truths about seed:

1. Seed carries within it the ability to self-perpetuate and therefore is central to life itself. It has been said that a single grain of corn, if planted, has the potential to produce between 3-6 cobs or 2, 522 seeds which if planted would produce something in the region of 6,000,000 seeds – such is the power of perpetuation in a seed.
2. A seed is nothing unless it is planted. In John 12:24 Jesus said ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.’ The true potential of a seed is only released when planted.
3. Seed carries the DNA of its source. The potential of a seed is directly related to the source from which it is derived.
4. Everything that a seed requires to become what it can be is already embedded within it.
5. A harvest is always more than the seed that gives rise to it.
6. Every seed has within it a message, an assignment and an instruction.
7. Every seed carries within it the next generation. The future of the seed is within it.

There is no-one who does not have a seed. God decided your future but He gave you the seed with which to attain it. Never underestimate the power of a seed. It is the vehicle to your destiny and is what has been bestowed upon you to take hold of your future; there is nothing else that you need to reach your destination. Again, I must stress that I am not talking specifically about money but everything that God has endowed you with. This can be your car, your house, your giftings and abilities, prayer and intercession and your ability to encourage others – all are seeds

Nothing more is needed to make a seed a tree; everything required is already within it. Similarly with you; everything you need to become what you are destined to be is within you. The problem with many of us is our tendency to underrate or minimise what we are carrying and conclude that we have nothing. The widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17 concluded that she had nothing, overlooking that the handful of flour and a little oil, was the seed that would propel her out of a future of poverty and certain death and into prosperity. We tend to make the same mistake, forgetting that what we need to move to the next level has already been placed in our hands and that our responsibility is to locate and utilise it.

Proverbs 20:5 says ‘Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.’ It takes understanding to draw out what is within us. Rather than ignoring the bents and giftings we have, we need understanding to identify what is within us. For this reason I can say with certainty that there is no-one who is not rich. We have a tendency to consider riches in the context of finances but riches are much more than that. Money is one aspect of riches but riches are not limited to money. God has blessed us with ‘every spiritual blessing’ (Ephesians 1: 3) and we have been given ‘all things that pertain to life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1:3)

In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus gave an analogy of the Kingdom of God being like a seed from which we can observe certain dynamics of a seed. Again, to deepen our understanding, let’s look closely at these together:

• A seed must be sown – it will remain a seed unless and until it is sown.‘The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground’
• ‘And should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, him himself does not know how.’ -The growth of a seed is beyond our comprehension. Many of us occupy our minds with wondering how a seed can become a harvest. This need not be our focus.
• ‘For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head after that the full grain in the head’ – A seed grows in stages, we can expect a graduated growth.
• A seed must be allowed to reach maturity.‘But when the grain ripens’
• ‘Immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest is come’ – We are responsible for the process of harvesting.

There can be no harvest without a seed. Many of us earnestly desire a harvest but have no seed in the ground. From this parable we see that the seed left the farmers hand only temporarily. It did not disappear and the separation was only temporary as once the grain had ripened, he put in the sickle for harvest. The immediacy of harvesting once the grain ripened speaks of expectation. You have a responsibility to expect to harvest. Ephesians 6:8 says ‘knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord.’ With this in mind, if you apply this truth, it is clear for example, that there is no point crying over a lack of love and affection in your marriage when it is in your hand to sow love and affection. Similarly encouragement, friendship, indeed any area of your life - what you sow you will reap.

I want to look at three primary kinds of seed that are at your disposal:

The word of God: Although many people expect/desire the word of God to work like magic, the bible makes clear that the word of God is a seed (Luke 8:4-11). It requires good ground in order for it to bring forth maximum yield and therefore you must make sure that your heart is filled with faith and expectation in order for the seed of the word to take root, germinate and bring forth a harvest. God’s word is alive. 1 Peter 1: 23 states that the word of God lives and abides forever and is incorruptible. You are born again by the word of God and you carry the DNA of the word within you. For this reason, you can be all that the word of God says you can be. The word cannot fail and therefore you cannot fail. A seed has life within it and this is so with the word of God. You have to deliberately sow or plant the word of God inside you on a daily basis for it to prosper. A seed cannot grow sitting on a shelf gathering dust. With your mouth you can speak the counsel of God over your life, your family and your business and you must refuse to stop until you see the manifestation of what you have been declaring.

The seed of your resources: Your harvest of tomorrow depends on the seed that you sow today. If you do not like what you are seeing today then you need to change the seed that you are sowing. In speaking of resources here, these can be tangible and intangible. When God formed mankind and breathed the breath of life in him, He empowered us to prosper and therefore you carry within you giftings, abilities and talents that are the solutions to the questions and problems of life and until you discover, develop and deploy these, you will not know true fulfilment. You are not here by accident but you are destined to make a difference. You have within you that which will impact this generation and there is nothing that you do not have within you that you need to fulfil the mandate of God for your life.

Psalm 145:4 says ‘One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.’ From this it is clear that future generations will praise God for the solutions that you carry. There is something within you that must be planted; there is something within you that the next generation needs. Whether by way of prayer, intercession, encouragement, giving or service, there is something that you have within you that someone else needs.

Never permit the circumstances that you are facing stop you from sowing. The enemy wants to force you to eat your seed but you must resist this. God desires you to enjoy a harvest but you must plant your seed in order to do so.

Your life as God’s seed: Galatians 3: 26-29 makes clear that ‘you are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus’ and are therefore as seeds of Abraham, ‘heirs according to the promise’ It is important to understand that you are a seed constructed by God and therefore indestructible and destined to prevail over your circumstances.

When the enemy thought he had destroyed Jesus he buried him but he failed to recognise that Jesus was not buried, but planted and because he was planted, there was hope that he would arise. Of course we know that on the third day Jesus did just that and from this we can understand that regardless of the circumstances that we face, there is a third day. The enemy wants to bury you with challenges and afflictions but you must understand that you are never buried, just planted. You are the seed of God and carry the DNA of your source and therefore, what the source can do, you can do. Many of you have faced challenges that had the potential to overwhelm and destroy you, but as you are created to look and function like God and the life of God is within you, you are indestructible.

Although when a seed is in the ground it is a lonely, dark and dirty experience and it may appear that you have been buried, this is not the end. God’s plan is working. Had Satan understood God’s plan ‘they would not have crucified the Lord of glory’ similarly, if the enemy understood that the affliction that he is throwing at you is refining you and building you up as a formidable force in which God’s glory is revealed, he would desist. Be encouraged therefore that irrespective of what Satan throws in your direction, there is always a third day in God and you are coming back! There is nothing that he can bring your way that can determine your end – you are coming back!
I challenge you therefore to activate the power of the seed that is inside you and determine that the circumstances of life will not mark your end. Boldly declare you will not be buried under situations and circumstances but out of the dirt and out of the dark you will rise again; first the blade, then the head, then the full grain, stronger and more unstoppable than ever before!