The Missionary - Bruce Olsson

A remarkable story of a teenage missionary 48 years ago who left his family and friends in Minnosota at the age of 19 to go on a journey into uncharted jungle in South America. The missionary...Bruce Olsson

Spiritual Dangers When We Are Blessed - Article

Short articles written over a few decades, addressing the need of that hour.

Spiritual Dangers When We Are Blessed - Zac Poonen

When the blessing of the Lord comes upon our life and labours, we face many dangers.

Spiritual Pride

The first of all dangers is spiritual pride. Whenever God blesses us, Satan will tempt us to compare our spiritual growth and ministry with that of others. God opposes every proud person - believer or unbeliever. So we are safe only if we keep our face in the dust before God always.

Pride will make us lose the grace of God, even if we do not lose our gifts. We may still have a ministry, but the grace and anointing of God will be absent from our lives. When Lucifer sinned, he lost his anointing, but he did not lose his supernatural gifts. He has those gifts even today. This should be a warning to anyone who glories in his gifts or ministry. Immature believers (who cannot distinguish between grace and gifts) may flatter us and tell us that the "anointing of God" is still upon us, even when "Ichabod" ("the glory has departed") is written all over our life and ministry (1 Sam.4:21). The danger is that gradually the voice of those flatterers can replace the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

There is actually only one infallible mark of God's blessing on our lives - that we become increasingly Christlike - for that is what He predestined us for (Rom.8:29). God did not predestine us to go to heaven or to have a great ministry. He predestined us to be like Jesus.

We must not confuse oratory with the anointing. An anointed ministry will always draw people to a deeper devotion to Jesus, to a greater brokenness, and to a greater hatred for sin. Oratory, on the other hand, will only draw people to admire us and to be more attached to us. Many politicians are great orators and they can hold audiences spellbound for hours and stir them emotionally. But they draw people to themselves. Orators are proud, whereas anointed preachers are humble.

Unwillingness to Receive Correction

A second danger is an unwillingness to be corrected. When God blesses our ministry, it is easy to begin to think that we can never be wrong. We cannot then be corrected even by older brothers. We will justify ourselves in the face of every correction.

When Judas Iscariot was corrected by the Lord, he was offended and went out and betrayed the Lord immediately (Compare John 12:4-8 with Matt.26:10 and14). Thus he destroyed himself. Peter however humbled himself, even when Jesus called him "Satan". Thus he saved himself.

The Holy Spirit always shows us the glory of Jesus. And when we see that glory, we will see our own need and our lack immediately. If we are godly, we will then judge ourselves. The promise of Scripture is that "if we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be judged by God" (1 Cor.11:31). The following verse goes on to say that if we do not judge ourselves rightly, then God Himself will be compelled to judge us - by disciplining us. But He disciplines us only in order to save us from being "condemned along with the world" (1 Cor.11:32).

Exalting Ourselves

When God blesses us, it is easy for us to exalt ourselves over others. We can gradually build up a "fan-club" of those who admire us - especially among the youth - just like the filmstars do.

Solomon's son, King Rehoboam sought popularity with the young people in his land and did not listen to the counsel of his elders. This was what led to the division of Israel.

This is how many divisions come in to Christendom too. Divisions and splits are produced by strong, uncrucified people who exalt themselves at times when God is blessing His work.

Consider two examples from the book of Acts.
Ephesus saw one of the greatest revivals and some of the most amazing miracles mentioned in Acts (Acts 19:11-20). But three years later, Paul warned the elders there that a split was looming ahead of them (Acts 20:30). Paul warned those elders that after he left Ephesus, some of them would "draw away disciples after them". They would seek their own name and ministry, and split the church, without being concerned about how their actions would dishonour the Lord's Name and would "give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme"
(2 Samuel 12:14).

Look at another instance: Just after Paul and Barnabas had an immensely successful ministry, they broke up (Acts 15:39). They separated from each other over the issue of John Mark. But this time God produced something good out of the split. He used it to produce two teams of workers (one led by Paul and the other led by Barnabas) instead of just one - and thus the work of evangelism was furthered even more!! John Mark also became a useful servant of the Lord later, writing the gospel of Mark.

Why was God able to produce something good out of this latter split? There was a reason. It was because, unlike the Ephesian elders, Barnabas conducted himself in a spiritual way. Barnabas did not split any church. Neither did he drag away any believers after himself. He did not interfere in Paul's sphere of work but went away to a totally new area and worked with John Mark there (Acts 15:39b). Barnabas was a godly man who was more concerned about the Lord's Name than his own ministry, and so he conducted himself as a true disciple of Jesus. Thus God could bless this latter split. But men like Barnabas are rare to find in Christendom.

1 Corinthians 11:19 tells us that "there must be factions (divisions) among you, in order that those who are approved may become evident among you." God uses divisions to expose the ungodly and to remove the weeds (the proud and the haughty) from His garden, the church.

Many milleniums ago, a "split" took place in heaven itself. That was how God cleansed heaven. He allowed the chief angel Lucifer to drag away with him, all the other angels who were even slightly proud and rebellious (Rev.12:4 with Isa.14:12-15). Thus heaven was cleansed. That work of cleansing continues even today in the church, wherever God is at work.

The Lord says, "I will remove from your midst your proud exulting ones, and I will leave among you a humble, lowly people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord." (Zeph.3:12). The remnant left in the church will have one characteristic: "They will do no wrong and tell no lies" (verse 13). Only then will the Lord find delight in the church and "exult over it with joy" (verse 17)

Note one characteristic of those who leave the presence of the Lord: They begin to tell lies. They start by telling small lies but gradually become "liars who have seared their own conscience" (1 Tim.4:2). In contrast, one mark of those who follow the Lord will be this: They will cleanse themselves of all lying (Rev.14:4,5).

Good And Bad Examples

God has given us many good and bad examples in the Scriptures, in this connection. A wise man will learn from all of them.

Abraham never grabbed the good land, when there was a conflict between his servants and Lot's servants. He allowed Lot to choose first. Lot immediately grabbed the better land (Gen.13:10), but suffered greatly as a result. Abraham gave up his rights. So God gave Abraham all the land. "The meek will inherit the earth".

Jacob unfortunately, never followed his grandfather's example. He kept on grabbing things - the birthright from his brother Esau, the blessing from his father Isaac, the daughters and flock of his uncle Laban etc., It was only when he stopped grabbing those earthly things and grabbed on to God, that he finally became Israel (Gen.32:26)..

David followed Abraham's example and never grabbed the kingdom from Saul, even though God had anointed David as king. God tested David for many years, on this very point. But not once would David grab the kingdom. He waited for God to give it to Him. And God gave it to him, at the right time.

Absalom however was different. He was jealous of his father David's popularity and worked shrewdly and cleverly behind his back and "stole away the hearts of the men of Israel" from his father (2 Sam.15:16). Then he drove his father out and became king. But God brought his kingdom to a quick end.

Our ministry must be God-given - not something that we have grabbed for ourselves. "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven" (John 3:27). What we grab for ourselves can never be from God.

It is very easy to understand all this. It is also easy to preach it to others. But if we don't live by these principles, then we will be disqualified, even if we do understand it and preach it (1 Cor.9:27). Jesus said, "If you know these things, you will still be blessed, only if you do them" (John 13:17).

Jesus never schemed or grabbed. He never flattered people to earn their support. He never compelled people to join His group. His attitude at all times was, "All that the Father gives me SHALL come to Me" (John 6:37). He did not have a lust to disciple large numbers, or to have many people in his "church". He was satisfied with the few whom the Father had given him. All of us too should be satisfied with "those whom the Father gives us".

Jesus drew people. He never dragged them or grabbed them. He said, "If I am lifted up, I will draw men to Myself" (Jn.12:32). We too are called to lift up the crucified Christ and thus to draw people to Him. But only a crucified man can lift up a crucified Christ properly. A man whose hands are nailed to the cross cannot grab or drag anyone!! He can only draw!! The problem in Christendom today is that uncrucified people are trying to lift up a crucified Christ.

May the Lord help us to keep our faces in the dust and to learn His ways.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear

© Copyright - Zac Poonen

This article has been copyrighted to prevent misuse. It should not be reprinted or translated without written permission from the author. Permission is however given for this article to be downloaded and printed , provided it is for FREE distribution, provided NO ALTERATIONS are made, provided the AUTHOR'S NAME AND ADDRESS are mentioned and provided this COPYRIGHT notice ["Copyright by Zac Poonen"] is included in each printout.

© 2009 Christian Fellowship Church, Bangalore, India. All Rights Reserved.

Having it all is not enough

Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

A wonderful testimony of SingaporeTV artiste, Jacelyn Tay.

Jacelyn Tay entered the 4th bi-annual Star Search Competition organised by MediaCorp while in her freshman year at National University of Singapore in 1995, and won the female category of the competition and the top prize of an acting contract. Her big break came when she played He Xiangu in the Singapore TV series "Legends of the Eight Immortals" in 1998. Thereafter she acted in various roles ranging from girl-in-next-door, to a member of a hotel staff to a psychiatrist. Tay's screen performances in period dramas were so well-received that she won the coveted award of Taiwan's Most Popular MediaCorp Female Artiste in Star Awards 1999. She also performed theme songs and intermediary songs for several drama serials and released a compilation album with Mediacorp Music.

When it seemed that her success had no bounds, a twist of fate took away almost all that she had worked for. She was forced to declare bankruptcy after owing $300,000 to a stockbroking firm. This event tarnished her image and made many sponsors shy away from her. Instead of letting this get the better of her, she worked hard to put her finances back in order. she then went on to produce a magazine show, write 2 books an hosted a health and beauty show entitled A New You in 2005.

In 2006, she became the founder & current chief executive of The Health Club, a medical spa that holds the vision of restoring the body's natural ability to heal itself and bringing health to greater heights. She is presently studying to become a nutritionist.

You were rising in your career when you
became a Christian. What led you to
consider Jesus Christ?

Before I knew God, I only believed in myself. I believed that all gods were the same. Handling pressure was basically part and parcel of life.

I am a very strong person. I thought I didn't need God and I could survive very well. A lot of people think that somebody becomes a Christian because he is weak or has problems. In my case I found God when everything was going well. My career was fine. My relationships were fine, but there was still an emptiness in my heart which I didn't understand. I was actually pretty lost when I had everything.

At that time I was actually a staunch Buddhist. I had my 'Fai Ming' (a Dharma name acquired during a Buddhist refuge ceremony, traditionally given by a high ranking Buddhist monk.) and the black and yellow-coloured robes. I was 'baptised' into Buddhism. I even prayed in the Japanese temple. I also believed in Feng Shui.

You would think I had no need for all that since I was doing well. But as a celebrity, you depend on so called luck. When you have fame, you have money, but you are also afraid of losing what fame you have. How do get fame? Hard work alone is not enough. It's by luck. You are dependent on luck, so you pray to all the gods, in the hope of becoming popular and famous.

"...I found God when everything was going well...... but there was still an emptiness in my heart which I didn't understand. I was actually pretty lost when I had everything."

In January 2006. I was injured during a Renci Charity show. I took that opportunity to speak up for the performers. We should not have to do dangerous stunts to get the funds or donations. There are better ways to raise funds.

As I was recovering at home I received a letter from a lady, who wrote that she had a dream of me. She said she was not a fan, but on her 57th birthday, she dreamt of me. In her dream, her husband tapped her on the shoulder during the altar call in church and asked her to pray for the person in front of her. Since she didn't know who that person was, she was a bit shy. After she woke up.. It was about 3 am. She felt very guilty that she hadn't prayed, so she asked God to reveal who the person was and what to pray for. When she went back to sleep she saw my face! She began praying for me and continued to do so until the day that she wrote the letter. But to me, she sounded like another preacher and I threw the letter away.

After that, I kept meeting people telling me about God. The first one was my friend Ricky. I asked him, "So, you are a Christian? But why? Why do you believe that there is only one Almighty God? He explained to me and somehow I could understand it; I could accept it as logical. From then on, God brought many people to me. Everyday I would meet people telling me about God.

It also happened that the father of the chiropractor who treated me was a retired Bishop worshipping at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, which is my church now. I wanted to go there to challenge him. I wrote a long list of questions and told my chiropractor, "I am going to ask your father questions and see whether he can answer me." I went to church not looking for God. I am quite stubborn. When everybody was standing up, and instead, remained seated and disrespectful. I took the Bible from the pew and it opened to Revelation chapter 12 about the woman and the dragon. I suddenly realized I had dreamt about that before, even though I had never read the Bible. How could it be?

In my dream, Revelation chapter 112 was actually in three parts. I dreamt of the first part one night, and two weeks later the second part,, then three weeks later the third part. that is not normal! In my dream I was chased by the dragon. As I read Revelation 12, I realized the scenario was similar to my dream. It was impossible. There must be God. How could I have dreamt of something in the Bible that I had never read before? That was 19th February 2006.

That night the retired Bishop led a prayer, saying, "If you decide to receive the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus Christ, then you should say these words."

In my heart I said, "Okay, I don't want to decide now." But after I went back home, I thought about it and was convinced there must be a God. So I said the sinner's prayer.



What is the biggest change in your life since you became a Christian?

The biggest change is that God is above everything. So, in my life, God is the most important. God is more important than my mother, and even my future husband or anybody else, anything on earth. God is number one. This is my choice. I choose to commit and be faithful to God because He is really faithful to me. He has been really good to me. Good as in, I have gone through rough patches, but it always turns out to be good. Those rough patches are for me to learn. When something bad happens I know it is another test. It is to sharpen my character. So I don't see bad things as bad things any more. Before I knew God, I was actually very lost. You don't know why you are here. You do everything and everything is meaningless. but since I came to know God, I know why I am here and I know everything is meaningful. Even when I just bump into somebody, I know it is not by coincidence. It must be God's arrangement. So, I am always looking forward to each new day.

"God is number one. This is my choice. I choose to commit and be faithful to God because He is really faithful to me."

How did you overcome the objections you have to face over your conversion?

My mum is now a Christian. But I wanted to get baptised in April, which was two months after I receive Christ, she objected. Everyday she would call me, cry and threaten me, saying that I was not filial, that I was deserting her, since I was not going to pray to her after she died. She didn't want me to get baptised, and forced me to speak to a monk, saying, "You must speak to Shifu(Master). If you want to be a Christian, that 's fine, but you cannot be baptised."

I replied, "If you want me to speak to Shifu, I shall. But if he cannot answer some of my questions, then I'll go ahead and get baptised."

The monk called me and said, "Christianity is actually something lower than Buddhism." He believes in the wheel of reincarnation. The six levels of the wheel of reincarnation are: hell, all the lost souls, the animals, human, deity and the Buddha. You have to work hard for millions of years. For instance, if you are a pig, then in the next life you become a human, and then in the next life you become something else.

I replied, "Okay, as Buddhist, I have to work very hard. I have to do good so that I can earn the points in my report card, hoping that my next life i may be able to become a Buddha. And then as a Buddha, I have to work some more because I want to go to the world of nothingness' - Nirvana. If that is the case, who decides what I have done so wrong? Who decides my first life? What did I do to come into this world? Where do I come from?" He answered, "From the world of nothingness." But if I come from nothing, which is the ideal state, what wrong did I do to fall into this wheel of reincarnation? He could not answer me. So, everything is meaningless. I came from nothingness and I have to work so hard to go back to the world og nothingness. Because he couldn't answer me, he told my mum to let me become a Christian.

The night before I got Baptised, my mum was still crying and threatening me. Although the monk had said "Let her go", I think she was controlled by some satanic force. She was like two totally different persons. My mum has never been an aggressive person but during that period she was not being herself. It's a little strange. My sister who has been a Christian for the past 20 years advised, :"Don't listen to the devil, just go ahead. It will be fine." So I went ahead. After I was baptised, she became normal again.

How did undergoing the financial troubles strenghten you as a person? What helps you face the inevitable ups and downs of being an entrepreneur?

I have gone from 'plus' to 'zero' to 'minus'. When I was a 'plus', I experienced the life of a 'plus'; I was 19 and had more than 100 thousand dollars. Suddenly I was popular. And then after that, I became a 'minus'. I owed people money. And I realised I could still survive as a 'minus'. So, what else was there that I couldn't do? What actually strengthen me was that I didn't think was anything that was impossible, as long as you are positive.

But that philosophy was before I became a Christian. That is why I told you I didn't believe in anybody else but myself, my own strength. Now when I think about it, I thank God. By my strength., I actually climbed from 'minus' to 'plus' but I was still lost. Everything was still meaningless without God. I used to say, "If you have money, if you don't have money, it's still the same. You don't know why you are here and where you are going."


How do you face challenges in the marketplace, for example, deciding on what type of products to sell as the competition involved in it?

When I first thought of opening the health club, it was supposed to be just a slimming centre. My father died a sudden death in 2004. But two weeks before his death I had a dream that he was going to die. I told my mum and so she prayed and got him to drink burnt talismans, but he still died. The death certificate stated that he had died of heart disease. That prognosis is so general and I couldn't understand it. I started to study more about heart disease, wanting to know why my father had died so suddenly.

I met a Chinese physician when I was in the process of opening a slimming centre. He was actually treating a lot of stroke patients and those with cholesterol problems. I found out that actually heart disease can be prevented and there are good Chinese herbs that can help. I wanted to help people to have healthier bodies and help those who are very depressed about their figures. They needed some counselling. So I decided to incorporate this into a health club.

When I started the health club I wasn't a Christian yet. After I became a Christian I changed my plans because God gave me new direction. In the marketplace, everybody just wants to make a sale. It is not easy to train the staff to sell something that people need and not sell things that people don't need. It is still a challenge now. Whenever there are new staff members, we have to retrain them.

The way I do business, I am not answerable to people, but I am answerable to God. I always tell my staff that if they don't care for their customers, if after selling them something they just say 'bye', then God will not bless them. That is something that they probably don't understand right now. They don't care if God will not bless them, but they care whether I will fire them!

What advice do you have for people considering becoming entrepreneurs?

From a business point of view, I could give you alot of answers but because I presume I am talking to Christians, I would tell you to do whatever God palns for you to do. Some people do business and succeed, but some people fail because God never intended for them to be entrepreneurs. For some people it is clear that God planned for them to be entrepreneurs. I have no answer to that. Only God knows. He will provide all the resources for whatever He wants us to do. Just to give an example of myself, I am not a doctor. I am not yet a nutritionist. I don't even have a degree but I have opened a clinic with two physicians, two dieticians, two Chinese medicine physicians, a microscopist and several therapists. God provided all these people. How do I get all the herbs? you know our herbs are not all Chinese herbs. We have other herbs from elsewhere. God enabled me to meet the right persons, so that I could find out which herbs cures what. I have faith that it will just happen. If God asks me one day to close the Health Club down, I will close it. I just want to do what God wants me to do.

The Great Commission - Article

The Great Commission: starting where you are in your life mission
by Rick Warren

You're welcome to take this article - written to church members - and adapt it to your own needs.

"You don’t have to go very far to find your Samaria. It’s right next door."

Everybody’s life mission is unique, and only you can fulfill your life mission. The moment you become a believer, the moment you step across the line and give your life to Jesus Christ, God has an assignment for you.

Many of the parts of your life mission are unique, but there is one part of your life mission that we all have in common.

It’s this: God wants you to tell other people about what’s happened to you. He wants you to share your testimony, your lifestyle, and your witness.

In other words, He wants you to share the Good News. The Bible says it like this in Acts 20: "The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to tell people the good news about God’s grace."

Once I become a Christian, a major part of my life mission is to invite people into God’s family.

Jesus said in John 20:21 - "As the Father has sent Me, so am I sending you.”

What has He sent us to do?

The Bible tells us in Acts 1:8 - "You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, in Samaria and in every part of the world.”

This is a very, very important verse: it not only tells us what we’re supposed to do; it tells us where we’re supposed to do it.

First, it says, "You will be My witnesses.”

Have you ever watched a courtroom trial? You know what a witness is - a witness is somebody who shares from personal experience. "I saw this ... I heard that … I watched that ….”

Witnessing does not mean you have to be a theological expert. It doesn't mean you have to be pastor or preacher. It simply means you share what God is doing in your life.

Besides, people expect pastors to talk about Jesus. But when your pastor talks about Jesus Christ, some people think, “Well, he's just the paid professional. He's the paid salesman. Of course, he's going to talk about God.”

On the other hand, when you talk about what God’s done in your life, you are demonstrating that you're the satisfied customer! Who has more credibility—a paid salesman or the satisfied customer?

You are the authority on your life. Nobody else can share your witness. If you don’t do it, that part of your life message will never be heard on this earth.

And that’s a tragedy. If you don’t say it, nobody else is going to say it for you. We are to witness and share what God has done in our lives and what’s happened to us since we became believers.

Where are we to do it? We’re told to take the message to four places:

“In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in every part of the world.”

What does that mean? Am I supposed to get on a plane and go over to Jerusalem to share my faith?

No. Remember when the disciples were hearing these words from Jesus, where were they? They were in Jerusalem.

Here’s the point. Start where you are.

What’s your Jerusalem? It’s your family, your friends, and your co-workers. That’s your Jerusalem. You start with the people closest to you. You don’t have to go somewhere else first. You start with the people in your own sphere of reference.

Then it says you go to Judea. Judea was like the county. What is your Judea? At Saddleback, we live in Orange County, with 2.5 million people.

And may of them still need to hear the Good News, and, no doubt, there are many in your Judea who also need to hear the Good News.

Then Jesus says you’re to go to Samaria. That’s like the county next door. But the Samaritans were culturally and ethnically different from the disciples. The third place you take the message is to people of a different culture, language, ethnic group than you.

Do you know anybody who speaks a different language than you do? Since I live in Southern California, I can tell you that there are 187 different languages spoken within driving distance of my church!

My point is - you don’t have to go very far to find your Samaria. It’s right next door. Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant? There’s your Samaria!

Then Jesus says go to “the ends of the world.” For hundreds and hundreds of years, Christians couldn’t obey that part - literally - because the ability to travel was extremely limited. In fact, for many years the human race didn’t even know the world was round.

But today, there are many opportunities for believers to go on a short-term trips that lead them to the “ends of the world”.

Our goal at Saddleback is to encourage every member to have at least one overseas experience.

So that’s the mission. Start with your Jerusalem. Move on to Judea. Then to Samaria - and then to the ends of the world. While you’re there, share the Good News. Invite others into God’s family!

God's Word - The Seed Of His Blessing - Article

God's Word - The Seed Of His Blessing
By Andrew Wommack

A true revelation of God’s Word is the single most important element of a victorious Christian life.

The Word of God often refers to itself as a seed. There are a total of forty-four verses in the New Testament where the Greek word “sperma” was translated “seed.” This is the same word from which we derive our English word “sperm.”

To conceive and give birth to the miracles you need, you must first plant God’s Word like a seed in your heart. Conception cannot take place without first planting the seed. There has only been one virgin birth, and the birth of you’re miracle won’t be the second.

I constantly meet Christians who pray and believe for God’s intervention in their lives, but remain frustrated with the results. It’s because they are missing the seeds of conception; they just don’t know God’s Word.

In Mark 4, the Lord taught three parables which illustrate that the Word is to the kingdom of God what a natural seed is to a harvest. The first of these parables, the story of the sower, is the key to unlocking all the Word of God (Mark 4:13). If we don’t understand these truths, Jesus said we won’t understand any of His other parables.

There are many life-changing truths in these parables, but one fact must be understood to get the full benefit of this teaching. The Lord used the comparison of His Word to a law of nature that is unchangeable, not an institution of man.

Here’s what I mean. You can cheat or manipulate nearly all systems that men have created. The legal system can be beaten, letting the guilty go free. Our educational system can be beaten, passing students who haven’t really learned the material. But you can’t change seedtime and harvest.

What if a farmer waited until he saw his neighbors reaping their crops before he sowed for his crop? Regardless of how sincere he was, or the justification for not sowing his seed at the proper time, he would not reap a crop overnight. The law of seedtime and harvest cannot be violated.

This is why our Lord chose to compare the way His Word works to a seed. There is a germination process of the Word of God in your life that takes time and can’t be avoided. In the second parable of

Mark 4, Jesus said in verses 26-29,

“So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

The seed is the Word of God (verse 14), and the ground is our hearts (verse 15). Our hearts were created by God to bring forth fruit when His Word is planted in them. Just as a seed has to remain in the ground over time to germinate, so the Word of God has to abide in us.

Jesus said in John 15:7,

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

What would happen if you planted a seed in your garden and then dug it up each morning to see if anything was happening? It would die and never produce fruit. You have to have faith that the seed is doing what God created it to do.

Some people put God’s Word in their hearts for a day or two, but if they don’t see fruit almost immediately, they dig up the seed through their words and actions and wonder why it didn’t work. You have to leave it in the ground over time. Then, there are also different stages of growth.

Mark 4:28 says,

“First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”

Many people are impatient, wanting to bypass the growth cycle and get the full ear right now. I’ve actually had to tell people that what they were believing God for was not going to happen, not because the vision wasn’t good, but because they were expecting a complete ear of corn immediately.

For example, one of our Charis Bible College students came to me who had never held a job, had been in a mental hospital, and had lived on welfare his whole life. When he heard the teaching on prosperity and vision, he started dreaming big. He had a plan to buy and renovate an old hotel. The total cost would be over four million dollars.

It really was a grand plan. I complimented him for the fact that he was dreaming and told him to keep dreaming big. Then I told him that it might work for someone but it wouldn’t work for him. Why? Because this person had never believed for a dime before. There has to be “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”

You may think that’s not so. It’s possible that he could have won the lottery or the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes. It’s possible, but that wouldn’t have been God. God’s kingdom operates on laws, like the laws that govern the fruit-bearing process of a seed. God will not give you the full ear of corn if you haven’t seen the first blade.

That’s the way God’s kingdom works. And this is precisely the reason most people don’t see God’s best come to pass in their lives. They think that since God loves them, He will just grant their request regardless of whether they put the miracle of the seed to work or not.

Look at what happened after Jesus taught His disciples these principles of the seed.

Mark 4:35 says,

“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.”

In a sense, Jesus was giving them a test. On the same day that He taught them the principles of God’s Word as a seed, He gave them a seed. He said, “Let us pass over unto the other side.” He didn’t say, “Let us go halfway across and drown.” The disciples had a seed from the lips of the Creator that gave them authority over the creation.

What happened? A two-hour trip turned into a fight for the disciples’ lives. Instead of using the seed the Lord had given them, they did all they knew to do in the natural and then got put out with the Lord.

They said in verse 38,

“Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

This wasn’t a cabin cruiser. Jesus was in an open boat full of water (verse 37) sloshing all around Him. He was well aware of their plight and yet was trying to sleep. They wanted Him to pick up a bucket and bail or row or do something.

How did Jesus respond? Did He apologize and say, “I’m sorry guys. I was really tired”? No!

Instead He said, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” (verse 40).

Jesus was telling them that they should have stilled the storm. If they would have operated in faith instead of fear, that’s exactly what they could have done.

The Lord did His job by giving them the seed of His Word. Their job was to take the seed and make it work. Instead, they doubted Jesus’ love for them and thought He wasn’t pulling His weight. Likewise, we often complain to the Lord, “Don’t You love me? Why aren’t You healing me or prospering me, etc.?”

God has done His part; He has given us the Word. For example, the Lord doesn’t give us money directly. Deuteronomy 8:18 says that the Lord gives us the power to get wealth. The power is in His promises, His Word. As we plant those promises in our hearts, the truth of His Word germinates and prosperity comes.

Healing operates the same way. There are numerous scriptures that get the point across that God’s Word is health to all our flesh. Here’s two:

“For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Prov. 4:22).

“He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Ps. 107:20).

Yes, a person can get healed without planting God’s Word in their heart. It comes through the prayers of others with the gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9), but it is not God’s best. We should never be too proud to ask for help, but the proper way to get healed is to take God’s promises of healing and plant them in our hearts until they release their life-giving power into our physical bodies.

This law of seedtime and harvest operates in every area of our lives. If we will plant God’s Word in our hearts, then allow the seed to germinate and the plant to grow to maturity, we will reap the fruit of a harvest. That is God’s best!

I cannot tell you strongly enough how important it is that you know God’s Word and that you plant the seed of His Word in your heart long before you need the fruit of the harvest. It could mean the difference between prosperity and poverty, or even life and death. I believe this is so important that it’s the very first class I teach to new students at CBC every year.

My teaching series A Sure Foundation will help you understand the power and importance of God’s Word in your life. It will help you go beyond the “touchy-feely,” emotion-based thinking that many mistake for faith. It’s not about what you feel; it’s about what has been planted in your heart and come to full fruit. It’s the foundation to receiving the promises of God.

So, make this year your personal Year of the Bible and build a sure foundation in your own life. It will be the best decision you have ever made.