ARTICLES
The Law Of Prosperity - Part 2
Where Is Your Harvest Of Return?
by Jeanniene Lee
In last month's issue we learned that God has established the greatest, NOT one of the greatest, but THE GREATEST financial investment plan in history the law of prosperity. The law of prosperity consists of seedtime and harvest, sowing and reaping, tithes and offerings.

We learned that just like any law, there are regulations (conditions) which govern that law, and God's Word contains the regulations which govern the law of prosperity.

We learned that the single most important regulation which determines the success of the law of prosperity is giving of tithes and offerings on a CONSISTENT BASIS. Consistency DOES NOT mean you give when it's convenient to give, when you have an abundant supply of money to give, nor does it imply that you give when you feel like giving.

Giving of tithes and offerings is something that we are commanded to do all the time (consistently). God DID NOT establish tithing and giving of offerings for His sake BUT FOR OURS, it is God's method of increasing us financially.

Tithes and offerings ARE NOT one-and-the-same. Tithing is just that - tithing (giving the tenth/ten percent of), and giving of offerings is just that -- offering (offering a portion above the ten percent tithe).

In Malachi 3:8 God declares that BOTH giving of tithes and giving of offerings ARE NECESSARY. The tithe is the portion of your increase which ALREADY BELONGS TO GOD. It's the portion that God, in a manner-of-speaking, loaned to you which caused you to have an increase in the first place, and then when the increase comes forth, we are to simply give back to God the "loaned portion" (the tithe) which belongs to Him already.

Now, tithing and giving of offerings ARE BOTH absolutely necessary in order for the windows of heaven to be opened and blessings to be poured out that there is not room to receive (Malachi 3:10). Tithing simply opens AND keeps the windows of heaven open, but offerings are what causes the blessings to be poured out that we will not have room enough to receive.

It is when you give offerings that you are "sowing," and the principle of sowing is similar to the natural principle of sowing seed as a farmer. It's the seeds that you sow that you will receive a crop (a harvest of increase/return) from.

You may be a faithful, consistent, committed Christian in the area of tithing and giving of offerings. If you are, are you frustrated and perplexed concerning your harvest of return? Have you received that bountiful harvest of blessings declared in Malachi 3:10 that is so much that you will not even have room enough to receive it because it is so big?

We know that God IS NOT a liar. If He said that due to your faithfulness in tithing and giving of offerings (Malachi 3:8) that He would open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing so big it would overtake you in that you would not have enough room to even receive it (Malachi 3:10), HE MEANT THAT.

Numbers 23:19
19 GOD IS NOT A MAN, THAT HE SHOULD LIE; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

So, where is that bountiful harvest due you? What happened to it? Where is it and who has it?

Beloved, if you don't have it in your possession it is still out in the realm of the spirit. Your harvest is still out in God's realm (the spirit realm) where it was released from God to you.

It doesn't matter how long ago you planted seed, your harvest is yet in the spirit realm WAITING FOR YOU TO REAP IT! Unlike a natural harvest, which a farmer planted seed for, if it is not harvested or reaped during a certain time it will perish (go bad), your harvest in the spirit is IMPERISHABLE. In the natural realm, harvests are perishable, but in the spiritual realm your spiritual harvests ARE NOT perishable.

Pay very close attention to what I am about to say concerning this. Read the paragraphs to follow very carefully and digest what is being said. If you grasp this, you will not only understand a key ingredient where financial prosperity is concerned, but you will learn how to actually "take possession of" any of the promises of God which are a part of your covenant as a Christian, whether it's finances you need, healing, a miracle, or whatever.

Remember, God is a spirit (John 4:24). Whenever God releases (gives) something to us. it becomes manifest FIRST in the realm where He exists (that is. in the spirit realm).

Second Corinthians 4:18 calls the "spirit realm" the "unseen" realm. Meaning that it is not "initially" visible in the natural but eventually will become visible here, if we activate our faith.

The activation of our faith will cause the unseen to become seen. Our faith will cause what God has given unto us, which is in the realm of the spirit and is only visible through the eyes of our spirit man by faith, to be unleashed from that realm into the natural realm so that it will become seen by our physical eyes YOUR FAITH WILL CAUSE THE NATURAL TO LINE UP WITH THE SUPERNATURAL!

The supernatural (spirit realm) is God's realm. That realm is eternal. Once God releases something unto you and into that realm, it does not change, because God does not change. He is unchangeable.

Beloved, to bring it from the spirit realm (the unseen realm) into the seen (natural) realm. YOU MUST STAND GUARD OVER IT. In last month's issue, I briefly mentioned the importance of standing guard over your harvest and over the financial seed you have sown to ensure that your harvest IS NOT stolen by your enemy (the devil).

Every wise investor, from even a natural perspective, understands the importance of keeping track of the status of his investment to ensure that he is not cheated or robbed out of it in any way. This, beloved, is the area where most Christians miss it; therefore, this month's issue will concentrate on some of the other key regulations (conditions) which govern the law of prosperity.

We shall learn how to guard our harvest and how to fully reap all that belongs to us! You must stand firm for it to come out of the spirit realm into the natural realm. Even an unbelieving financial banker/ investor understands this principle. They know that if they don't sow (invest) anything, they will not have a return (a harvest) coming back. You sow nothing, you get nothing.

As mentioned earlier, and it bears repeating, your harvest of return DOES NOT come from you being a tither. your harvest comes from the seeds you sow as offerings above and beyond your tithes.

Your tithes opens the windows of heaven and keeps them open, but your offerings is what releases the abundant blessings unto you that you will not have enough room to receive. Do you get it? You MUST both tithe and give offerings and YOU MUST DO BOTH CONSISTENTLY!

It doesn't matter how long ago you planted seed, your harvest is yet in the spirit realm WAITING.

Something you must understand clearly, and must never forget where the law of prosperity is concerned, is that FIRST you must be obedient to the law of prosperity. You must be a consistent tither and giver of offerings because if you sow nothing, you get nothing.

Many Christians think that they're going to receive an abundant financial harvest by just praying for it and having everyone they know pray with them for it, but it DOES NOT work that way.

Genesis 8:22 boldly states that SEEDTIME AND HARVEST shall not cease. Did you notice that "seedtime" comes before harvesttime? In order to reap a harvest, you must plant seed, and every seed planted produces after its own kind which was planted (Genesis 1:11-12). Whatever you want as a return is what you must plant! You want money, you must plant money FOR YOU TO REAP IT!

How ever big you want your harvest of return to be is how big of an offering you sow. If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly; but, if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully (II Corinthians 9:6). You sow little, you reap little; you sow big, you reap big.

Now if you have only a little to sow in the beginning, sow that. God will take the little that you sow and will multiply it. Through God's 30, 60 and 100-fold multiplication system, you will receive more back than you sowed. Then, beloved, the size of your next seed will be more because God increased it.

You are the one who determines your harvest. Remember the offering, not the tithe, is what you receive your harvest of return from! If you want a big harvest of return, you must sow an adequate size seed as an offering to produce such.

Second Corinthians 9:7 says that as you purpose (or decide) in your heart, give (or sow that).

A farmer understands how to plant an adequate amount of seed to produce a specific size crop. If you only have in your possession, currently, a certain amount of seed, plant that. START WHERE YOU ARE! God will use what you have and will multiply and increase you!

Remember, beloved, God DID NOT establish the law of prosperity for His sake but for ours. Giving of tithes and offerings is God's established law of increase. It is God's way of increasing you and I. If we want to increase, we must adhere to the conditions He has established. He WILL NOT work for us OUTSIDE of the spiritual laws He has established, but if we obey them, He will increase us.

Where most Christians miss it is that they DO NOT stand guard over their harvest! They think that the minute they sow or give an offering that it's going to come back to them within 24 hours (one day). When it doesn't come back as quick as they think that it should, they let go of their harvest. They do not stand guard over it but releases it and in turn the enemy takes it.

Spiritual things work just like natural things do. With regards to sowing and reaping, a farmer understands that there is a certain amount of time that must occur in order for his crop to come forth.

"To EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time [or an amount of time necessary in this application] for EVERY MATTER OR PURPOSE under heaven"
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, Amplified).

Remember the moment you sowed the seed, you activated the return in the realm of the spirit; but, you must now exercise your faith and patience in order to bring it out of the spirit into the natural. All the conditions in the natural must be conducive for your harvest of return to come forth out of the spirit realm and into the natural realm.

It's likened unto a farmer's seed that is sown into the ground, although it is not seen, it is in the ground (in the soil) germinating and eventually the seed will break through the soil and become visible on the surface. After a period of time, it will produce that for which it was planted.

No farmer plants a corn seed one day and goes out the next day and has a full grown corn stalk from that seed with ears of corn on it. Beloved, it takes time for that natural seed to produce a crop. It also takes time for the seed you sowed to produce a harvest of return. Jesus' parable concerning the unconscious growth in Mark 4 confirms this principle: 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 (verses 26-28).

Don't get impatient and give up on your harvest! Take your sowing seriously, and get serious about reaping your harvest of return. Don't just throw your financial seed away by giving up on it before it produces a harvest of return.

Don't deceive yourself into accepting religious thinking that you shouldn't give and expect a return. That's stupid. If the world's farmers sowed seeds and didn't expect a crop to come forth we would not have food to eat to sustain our lives. You don't go to work everyday and put in eight hours of your time just for fun. You do it EXPECTING a check (a return) for what you have sown in your time. Do you get the revelation?

It's through your faith (your refusing to give up) and your patience (your constancy no matter what or how long it takes) that you will actually reap your harvest.

You must REFUSE TO ALLOW one single seed you've sown not to produce the harvest you sowed it for. Don't settle for anything less than your full harvest!

May the Holy Ghost bring to your remembrance every seed that you've sown that you've forgotten about and the harvest you initially sowed it for. Begin to say every time you think about that seed, "I've sown seed for that and I believe I receive my harvest of return and I fully expect my complete harvest to come forth!"

Beloved, God has also given unto us ministering spirits (angels) that are there to help us receive our harvest of return. "Are they not all ministering spirits, SENT FORTH TO MINISTER FOR THEM who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:14)?

Remember what I said earlier regarding your harvest being released to you from God FIRST into the "spirit realm?" The angels are ministering spirits that operate in the spirit realm.

As you confess and decree God's Word concerning your harvest of return, they will go forth obeying the Word (Psalm 103:20) and work with and for you to help bring your harvest into manifestation. No matter what you've sown, they are working with and for you to help you receive your harvest!

Make this your declaration EVERY SINGLE DAY:
"I've sown seed. I believe, I receive my harvest of return in Jesus' name. Now go, ministering spirits, and cause my ____ (name specifically whatever your harvest is) to come in!"

Remember, beloved, you MUST STAND GUARD OVER YOUR HARVEST if you want it to come forth. It is not automatic! You MUST NOT faint and give up, because if you do you WILL NOT reap your harvest!

Galatians 6:9
9 And let us NOT BE WEARY in well doing: for IN DUE SEASON WE SHALL REAP, if WE FAINT NOT.

Notice that Galatians 6:9 says that "we shall reap, if we faint not." Reaping your harvest of return IS NOT automatic.

Just like the parable of the unconscious growth of the seed in Mark 4:26-29, as previously discussed, although the seed sown will produce a harvest of return, the harvest must be reaped (gathered out of the field)!

Mark 4:29
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he [the one who planted the seed] putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Mark 4:29 (Amplified)
29 But when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he sends forth [the reapers] and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.

You, dear reader, are the reaper that is responsible for gathering your harvest. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 declares "there is a season, and a time to every purpose."

When the seed you have sown has produced a harvest of return that is ready to be reaped, God will begin to send you "cues or inner promptings in your spirit" concerning it being time to reap. When it is the "due season" for your harvest to be reaped you must move quickly and not waste any time "He that gathered in summer is a wise son: but he that SLEEPETH IN HARVEST is a son that causeth shame" (Proverbs 10:5).

You must couple the release of your faith with corresponding actions. Sometimes God will begin to speak to you regarding an invention, or starting a business, or submitting an idea to the ideas program at your job, or applying for a certain position within your company or for a new job. (These are just a few ways that He may speak to you.) If you act on God's promptings, oftentimes it will release your harvest of return.

Deuteronomy 8:18 says that God gives us power to get wealth. One of the definitions of the word "power" from that verse means ability. Thus, God will enable us to bring in the wealth or the prosperity that we are desiring even by bringing it forth from our own hands.

Oftentimes we are expecting someone to knock on our door with a bag full of money and say I just felt led to come to your door and give you this. Now don't get me wrong, this can happen and has happened on several occasions to various members of the Body of Christ but this IS NOT the norm.

Now also know that God will sometimes use people outright to be the source of your return as Luke 6:38 states that men shall give into your bosom.

What you must NOT DO is try to control the method of how or from whom you receive your harvest of return. Your responsibility is to REAP THE HARVEST when it comes forth!

Reaping IS NOT passive it is active! REAPING TAKES ACTION! No farmer sits on the porch and watches his harvest gather itself out of the field by cutting itself, loading itself onto the truck, driving itself into the barn and unloading itself.

Beloved, you must get up and get out there and reap (gather) your own harvest when God prompts you to the fact that it is due season and your harvest is ready to be reaped (gathered). Remember, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent TAKE IT BY FORCE (Matthew 11:12).

Some years ago I sowed an automobile into a man's life completely debt free and paid for. I even paid for the transfer of the title. Recently the Lord began to speak to me in my spirit that my seed sown of that car had produced a harvest and was ready to be harvested. I am now responsible for reaping this harvest! Just like I sowed the seed of that car by faith, I must now reap my harvest by activating my faith COUPLED WITH corresponding actions.

Every time I see an automobile like that particular one I am believing God for as the return on that seed sown, I audibly confess "Father, I thank you for my new car, debt free and paid for in Jesus' name."

Recently I added to my decree: "I've sown seed for a car. I believe, I receive my harvest of return in Jesus' name. Now go, ministering spirits, and cause my new, debt free, paid for car to come unto me!"

I've even went as far as test driving the particular type of vehicle I'm standing for. I see myself owning that car. I see myself driving it, and soon beloved I will be sitting in that very vehicle driving it and it will be new, debt free and paid for.

I WILL NOT jump ahead of God and go out and get myself in debt by buying that car on credit, I will reap the exact harvest of what I sowed into someone else's life. I sowed a car debt free and paid for and I'm expecting a car to come back to me debt free and paid for. Everything produces after its kind (Genesis 1:11-12).

What have you sown? Has your seed sown produced a harvest? If so, what are you waiting for, go out there and REAP IT!

Beloved, 1996 is our year of SUPERNATURAL INCREASE AND RESTORATION! Go get that harvest that has been supernaturally increased from the seed you sowed. Go take possession of that which has been lying dormant for years. God has restored it unto you, NOW GO REAP IT!