Pastor Andy concludes his three week series on Kingdom Economics with this message about the giving, specifically a lifestyle of sowing and reaping. Sowing & reaping is about having a lifestyle of giving that has a direct relationship with tithing. It’s about putting seeds in the prepared ground that tithing correctly has provided for us.

Thinking like a farmer, the world of farming and agriculture gives us the best visual example of these two things working together:

• The farmer prepares the soil
• The farmer sows His seed.
• The farmer waits for the soil to do what it does
• The farmer harvests a crop
• The farmer takes the best of the crop to sow again to secure ongoing provision, not just a momentary one

This starts with correctly separating the tithe & the seed:

• The tithe and seed are two separate components working together in unison in God’s plan of caring for and prospering us
• Tithe is a tenth of our increase
• Seed is that which is given above and beyond the tithe and unlike the tithe which belongs in the storehouse, can be given wherever we feel led to give

Some examples of good soil:

• Alms – Widows, orphans and humanitarian needs. (Psalms 41:1-3, Proverbs 21:13 & 19:17, Leviticus 25:35-37, Galatians 6:2)
• Missions & missionaries
• Other ministries that inspire us to give - evangelists, and church planters
• Tithing up or forwards – giving into things we want to see a harvest in

When this is done correctly, it also empowers and resources a church to act effectively in its giving and response to needs.

The principle (law) of seed time and harvest is something God designed and instituted. It’s another principle that carries on after the cross and is a law like the law of gravity can be denied but is present to be used. It is something initiated for our benefit that man could be fruitful and multiply according to His desire for them. We see this desire expressed in the original design of Genesis firstly in Genesis 1:28 (Adam and Eve – be fruitful and multiply) then Genesis 9:1 & 7 (Noah – be fruitful and multiply). God instituted a principle (law) that was both natural and spiritual to enable multiplication called sowing and reaping. It’s a law that affects every area of our lives, not excluding finances. See Proverbs 18:24 (friendship) and Proverbs 11:25 (refreshing and encouraging).

This is a continual principle described in Genesis 8:22(ESV) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Also Galatians 6:7 (ESV) “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” and Luke 6:38 (ESV) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 

Understanding “seed kind”……….

• Every seed bears fruit after its kind Genesis 1:11 (NIV)
• Carrots make carrots, and cabbages produce cabbages
• What we sow, we reap – God puts control of our harvest into our hands
• A replacement structure of financial provision beyond being carried by Him
• What do we need more of in our lives? What do we need to sow into to make it happen?

We are making it a lifestyle, not a moment. The key verse is 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 with key points:

• We determine the amount and heart behind our sowing
• Giving should be by heart conviction, never manipulation
• God is able and willing to respond in abundance
• God supplies seed to the one who intends to sow and desires to increase the size of a person’s seed barn
• Enrichment returns in every way
• Our obedience to give results in praises given to God

Remember there are 3 stages, not 2: “seed – time- harvest”.

• Sowing involves faith and believing in the promise. It’s not about what we see or experience

Sowing and reaping are not subject to natural conditions

• Example 1: Issac sowing in famine – Genesis 26:1 & 12-14
• Example 2: A man who considers conditions – Ecclesiastes 11:4-6

Generosity is a Kingdom trait

• Proverbs 28:22 – “The stingy man and the generous man”
• Proverbs 11:24 -25 – “The one who gives increases all the more”
• Proverbs 22:9 – “Having a bountiful eye”
• Isaiah 32:8 – “A generous man devises generous things and will stand”

The relationship between us, our money, earth, and heaven

• Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven – Matthew 6:19-21
• Lazurus & The rich man – Luke 16: 19-31
• Saved but with nothing to show for your life – 1 Corinthians 3:15

The Bible clearly teaches us how we should handle our finances in a Kingdom way, but also how God leaves the choice with us. Giving, whether tithe or offering, should be done with persuasion, obedience, and faith.

So how as believers, should we handle our finances, especially during a season of financial crisis or famine?

• We see ourselves as stewards of what He has entrusted to us
• We honour Him with the tithe and return the first fruit to Him
• We live a lifestyle of sowing and reaping where we are sowing seed and enjoying harvests