Jn. 12:24 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
Jesus spoke of His own death, burial, resurrection and the fruit of the church which was the result of His laying down His life. This is the same process that God uses in our lives - death to self, resurrected to new life in Christ, and receiving the power of Holy Spirit in order to bear His fruit and expand His kingdom. Many do not bear “maximum fruit” because they have maintained control over their own lives, refusing to die spiritually. The simple kingdom principles of reproduction – every seed produces after its own kind (Gen.1:11); dominion – man having governorship in the earth Gen. 1:26); and seedtime and harvest – multiplication of seed sown (Gen. 8:22) apply to every aspect of our lives, and eventually determines our destiny.
One key to success, after coming to understand basic kingdom principles, is to be able to identify our own “grain of wheat” – the seed we need to plant in order to reap our harvest. Many are holding on to their seed – their divine resource – instead of planting and permitting it to determine their future.
I believe a misunderstanding exists about Mk. 4:30-32 – “... To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” I know there’s much preaching about mustard seed faith (Matt. 17:20), but is it really about the size of the seed or the potential which is contained within the seed? Whatever seed Holy Spirit urges you to sow has enormous potential for future harvest in your life – large or small! The seed is the faith container that God uses to cause your destiny to manifest.
Throughout scripture, you can see this principle in operation. One of the best examples is in 2 Kings 4 where a widow of a prophet became indebted to creditors who were going to take her sons as payment. She approached Elisha who asked her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”She determined that she had nothing valuable enough to provide a solution to her dilemma; however, she did have a small jar of oil. The prophet knew instinctively that her small jar of oil was her seed that contained potential to solve her problems. Just as the widow, we often don’t know God’s processes, or can’t imagine that the little we have is the seed to bring about our solution. Often the prophetic gift is the tool Holy Spirit uses to help identify seed to be sown to reap harvests in your life. Too many reject God’s wisdom because they don’t like the person it came from, or they believe God should just rain down solutions on them. This violates the very principles that God Himself set in order on earth. Believe it or not, “IF” is one of the biggest words in scripture! “IF” we; then HE – most of the covenant promises of God are conditional on our correct responses to Him.
After identifying our “seed”, we must discover where to plant it! The widow finally knew the seed that she possessed, but did not realize its potential or how to release it. Again, the prophet, through divine revelation told her what to do. 2 Kings 4:3-4 – “Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors – empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” The widow and her sons fully obeyed the prophet’s instructions and received her solution – enough oil to sell and pay off her debt and more to live on.
The widow faced some obstacles in seeing her miracle come to pass that we must also take into account as well.
1. The first obstacle was the critical opinion of others. Imagine those boys going to all their neighbors asking for their empty vessels. “Well now, what are you going to do with all those jars? What do you have that we don’t? We all know what kind of trouble you’re in, just how will all these vessels solve that? You don’t have anything to put in them anyway!” Real or imagined, these opinions intimidate many and cause them to forsake the revealed plan of God. How does one answer the questions, when no logical answer exists?
2. The next challenge was the failure of the past. The prophet’s instructions were to - “Shut the door behind you and your sons…” “Shutting the door behind you” speaks of removing any hindrances from doing God’s will. This includes the critical opinion of others, past experiences, hurts, failures, successes, other good ideas, anything that would prevent you from obeying God! Paul knew the danger of allowing the past to endanger the future. Rom. 8:38-39 – “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Most believers know this scripture well, yet how many have really noticed what it does not say? Paul wrote that the present and future couldn’t separate us from God’s love – he did not mention the past. When we allow the past to influence our lives, Satan can use it to distort God’s love for us. The prophet’s instructions to “Shut the door behind you” is awesome advice for all of us to shut out the past and not allow the past to control our future.
3. Pride was another potential obstacle for the widow and us as well. The widow’s solution required her to ask for help. Had she refused to ask because of her pride she would have missed her miracle. Pride can be our biggest stumbling block when it comes to seeing our miracle manifested.
Another aspect of this principle that bears our attention is what determined the measure of the widow’s miracle. Whose decision determined the measure of oil the widow received? Was it Elisha who determined the amount, or did the LORD put any limitation on the amount of oil that could be made available to the widow? Who determined the amount of blessing? It was the widow herself who determined the volume of oil she would receive by the number of vessels she and her sons procured to pour oil into. Heaven isn’t stingy and God’s resources never run dry. We determine our amount of blessing through the seed we sow – simple yet profound.
Preparation always precedes blessing. Preparation also determines the degree of success or blessing one receives. The release of heaven’s abundance is determined by our response right here on earth. Ps. 78:41-43 – “Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.” This could easily be said of many of us today that we limit God through our unbelief and disobedience.
I don’t believe that it’s any mystery that the widow’s only “seed” was oil. Oil is a type of the anointing of Holy Spirit. That means nothing to unbelievers, but it holds the key to all we have in Christ. Too often we are tempted to disregard our most valuable asset because it seems too small or insignificant. All too often we just don’t “feel” any anointing, or the presence of God in our lives, particularly in crisis situations. Our job, like the widow is to obey and pour out the oil into empty vessels. God specializes in supernaturally multiplying our “seed”. 1 Cor. 1:27-29 says that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. Those things that are foolish, weak, base, despised- things that do not exist- these are the things God uses to glorify Himself.
The time has come to unlock your potential and step into your destiny in Christ. God hides His power and ability in small places, which are in every life. Our challenge is to recognize the “seed” He has placed in our lives and plant it so that His potential can be unlocked and realized.
Here’s a question for you to consider: “What is in your hand” (Ex. 4:2)? Do you have a rod – a jar of oil - a few loaves and fishes - a jawbone – a little meal and oil - a sling and five smooth stones? Maybe all you have is a shout! Maybe you have a dream, a vision, song, or even a button! Whatever it is ask the Lord to help you identify your “seed” and provide your plan for releasing His miracle for your life. Amen.
Jesus spoke of His own death, burial, resurrection and the fruit of the church which was the result of His laying down His life. This is the same process that God uses in our lives - death to self, resurrected to new life in Christ, and receiving the power of Holy Spirit in order to bear His fruit and expand His kingdom. Many do not bear “maximum fruit” because they have maintained control over their own lives, refusing to die spiritually. The simple kingdom principles of reproduction – every seed produces after its own kind (Gen.1:11); dominion – man having governorship in the earth Gen. 1:26); and seedtime and harvest – multiplication of seed sown (Gen. 8:22) apply to every aspect of our lives, and eventually determines our destiny.
One key to success, after coming to understand basic kingdom principles, is to be able to identify our own “grain of wheat” – the seed we need to plant in order to reap our harvest. Many are holding on to their seed – their divine resource – instead of planting and permitting it to determine their future.
I believe a misunderstanding exists about Mk. 4:30-32 – “... To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” I know there’s much preaching about mustard seed faith (Matt. 17:20), but is it really about the size of the seed or the potential which is contained within the seed? Whatever seed Holy Spirit urges you to sow has enormous potential for future harvest in your life – large or small! The seed is the faith container that God uses to cause your destiny to manifest.
Throughout scripture, you can see this principle in operation. One of the best examples is in 2 Kings 4 where a widow of a prophet became indebted to creditors who were going to take her sons as payment. She approached Elisha who asked her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”She determined that she had nothing valuable enough to provide a solution to her dilemma; however, she did have a small jar of oil. The prophet knew instinctively that her small jar of oil was her seed that contained potential to solve her problems. Just as the widow, we often don’t know God’s processes, or can’t imagine that the little we have is the seed to bring about our solution. Often the prophetic gift is the tool Holy Spirit uses to help identify seed to be sown to reap harvests in your life. Too many reject God’s wisdom because they don’t like the person it came from, or they believe God should just rain down solutions on them. This violates the very principles that God Himself set in order on earth. Believe it or not, “IF” is one of the biggest words in scripture! “IF” we; then HE – most of the covenant promises of God are conditional on our correct responses to Him.
After identifying our “seed”, we must discover where to plant it! The widow finally knew the seed that she possessed, but did not realize its potential or how to release it. Again, the prophet, through divine revelation told her what to do. 2 Kings 4:3-4 – “Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors – empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” The widow and her sons fully obeyed the prophet’s instructions and received her solution – enough oil to sell and pay off her debt and more to live on.
The widow faced some obstacles in seeing her miracle come to pass that we must also take into account as well.
1. The first obstacle was the critical opinion of others. Imagine those boys going to all their neighbors asking for their empty vessels. “Well now, what are you going to do with all those jars? What do you have that we don’t? We all know what kind of trouble you’re in, just how will all these vessels solve that? You don’t have anything to put in them anyway!” Real or imagined, these opinions intimidate many and cause them to forsake the revealed plan of God. How does one answer the questions, when no logical answer exists?
2. The next challenge was the failure of the past. The prophet’s instructions were to - “Shut the door behind you and your sons…” “Shutting the door behind you” speaks of removing any hindrances from doing God’s will. This includes the critical opinion of others, past experiences, hurts, failures, successes, other good ideas, anything that would prevent you from obeying God! Paul knew the danger of allowing the past to endanger the future. Rom. 8:38-39 – “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Most believers know this scripture well, yet how many have really noticed what it does not say? Paul wrote that the present and future couldn’t separate us from God’s love – he did not mention the past. When we allow the past to influence our lives, Satan can use it to distort God’s love for us. The prophet’s instructions to “Shut the door behind you” is awesome advice for all of us to shut out the past and not allow the past to control our future.
3. Pride was another potential obstacle for the widow and us as well. The widow’s solution required her to ask for help. Had she refused to ask because of her pride she would have missed her miracle. Pride can be our biggest stumbling block when it comes to seeing our miracle manifested.
Another aspect of this principle that bears our attention is what determined the measure of the widow’s miracle. Whose decision determined the measure of oil the widow received? Was it Elisha who determined the amount, or did the LORD put any limitation on the amount of oil that could be made available to the widow? Who determined the amount of blessing? It was the widow herself who determined the volume of oil she would receive by the number of vessels she and her sons procured to pour oil into. Heaven isn’t stingy and God’s resources never run dry. We determine our amount of blessing through the seed we sow – simple yet profound.
Preparation always precedes blessing. Preparation also determines the degree of success or blessing one receives. The release of heaven’s abundance is determined by our response right here on earth. Ps. 78:41-43 – “Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.” This could easily be said of many of us today that we limit God through our unbelief and disobedience.
I don’t believe that it’s any mystery that the widow’s only “seed” was oil. Oil is a type of the anointing of Holy Spirit. That means nothing to unbelievers, but it holds the key to all we have in Christ. Too often we are tempted to disregard our most valuable asset because it seems too small or insignificant. All too often we just don’t “feel” any anointing, or the presence of God in our lives, particularly in crisis situations. Our job, like the widow is to obey and pour out the oil into empty vessels. God specializes in supernaturally multiplying our “seed”. 1 Cor. 1:27-29 says that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. Those things that are foolish, weak, base, despised- things that do not exist- these are the things God uses to glorify Himself.
The time has come to unlock your potential and step into your destiny in Christ. God hides His power and ability in small places, which are in every life. Our challenge is to recognize the “seed” He has placed in our lives and plant it so that His potential can be unlocked and realized.
Here’s a question for you to consider: “What is in your hand” (Ex. 4:2)? Do you have a rod – a jar of oil - a few loaves and fishes - a jawbone – a little meal and oil - a sling and five smooth stones? Maybe all you have is a shout! Maybe you have a dream, a vision, song, or even a button! Whatever it is ask the Lord to help you identify your “seed” and provide your plan for releasing His miracle for your life. Amen.