Genesis 26:12. “Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the LORD blessed and favored him.”

Prosperity is a state of being prosperous or a state of abundance, wealth and riches. It is a word often used to represent plenty, and affluence. This may not be the subject of my discuss in this article, but rather my focus will be on the factors or the processes that guarantees any man the experience of abundance and prosperity. By way of introduction I would like to introduce you to the subject of sowing and the dynamics of sowing. This is what we would focus on in this piece. You may want to ask; what is sowing? Sowing means to plant a seed by either scattering it on or putting it in the earth. And this process is determined by seasons.

There is always a season for sowing and a season for reaping; but in our contemporary world, more attention is given to reaping more than it is given to sowing. Wisdom demands that the desire to reap must never precede the discipline to sow. Why did I say that? Because of the requirements that sowing demands, nobody wishes for that process, but everyone desires the experience of reaping. If your present experience is not what you admire or wish for, you can change it by sowing.

Jim Rohn buttressing this fact once said; “If you don’t like what you are reaping, you had better change what you have been sowing.” What does this mean? It means you change your seed to change your experience. But most importantly don’t just have the seed, sow the seed. Another word for sowing is planting and can be used interchangeably. What does it mean? It means to set or place in a particular position. It also means to put a seed or plant in the ground so that it can grow. So, sowing is a groundwork, positioning process, an act of preparation for future readiness.

It is said that if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail; but I also wish to put it this way; if you fail to plant or sow, you have actually sowed what cannot be reaped. So, planting is an action via understanding that connect today's decisions and activities with tomorrow's results. There is a season for sowing and a season for reaping. It is wisdom and discernment that will help you to know and distinguish one from the another. Isaac sowed in the land and reaped more than he had sown. This is the principle that defines prosperity and fruitfulness.  

We will come back to that Scripture in the course of our discuss, I want to build a background from Genesis 1:26a, it says; “Then God said; let us make man in our image and according to our likeness; let them have dominion.” Let me begin this article by pointing out something very fundamental. Man is not the idea of a man; meaning he is not a product of nature, neither did he metamorphose from the family of ape as a result of evolution. He is not the idea of an angel, neither is he an idea of the Seraphim, he is an idea conceived, crafted and executed by God in union with the trinity to be a god on the earth taking responsibility for the creations of God. “And God put the man in the garden to tend and keep it.” So, God who is the creator of man sits in the congregation of the mighty and judges among the gods-Referring to man. David said have I not said that yea are gods and children of the most-high. (Psalm 82:6) So, man was created by God to be a god on the earth.  

The Bible says we are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.  (Ephesians 2:10) So, man by the virtue of his make-up, authority and placement, is the dominant and major force on the earth. Meaning that His creation by the creator was intentional, purposeful, decisive and collaborative. So, man did not suddenly appear in a particular geographical location, territory or land scape. Bible says God planted a garden eastward in Eden and put the man whom He had formed. Just as you could carry a seed and take it to any garden and plant. It could be the east, west or south or even the north. The seed may never be conscious of its movement until it is sown or planted. So, also was the idea of man. God looks at the man just as a farmer looks at the seed.

Just as the fruit and leaves of a tree could be seen as potentials inherent in a seed, if that seed is not planted or sown the tree, the fruits and the leaves in that seed would not be a reality. So also, it is with man. The Bible making us to understand in John 1 verse 1, it says in the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. Man was hidden or resident in God until he was sown, sowing makes the word to become flesh, sowing makes the seed bring out what is resident on the inside of it. Did you notice that the Scripture always refer the man to be trees of righteousness with the aim of bearing fruits of righteousness? What becomes a tree will always start out as a seed. We could also see God referred to the children of the woman as seeds in Genesis 3 verse 15. Please follow me patiently, I am building a background into the concept of kingdom fruitfulness and prosperity.

The concept of prosperity and multiplication can never be complete without talking about the concept of seed and sowing and the dynamics of it. So, man who was deliberately fashioned by God to dominate this realm that God has given him is meant to be fruitful and to multiply on the face of the earth. Verse 28 of chapter 1 of Genesis says; “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that ^[h]moves on the earth.” This verse began by saying; then God blessed them; I want us to see the basic Scripture we read from the beginning; It says “Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the LORD blessed and favored him.”

So, prosperity does not begin with sowing as a farmer, it does not begin with having a seed, it begins with having a seed and sowing a seed that is blessed and favored by God. How did I know this? Verse 29 says; “And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed.” What was the indication that God had blessed the man? It is because He gave Him a seed. Now see the progression; God deliberately used the word “see” I have given you. God who is a Spirit gives but you don’t receive with your hands, you receive by sight; through the eyes of faith. So, the sowing that leads to prosperity is sowing the seed given to you by revelation. That is the seed that is blessed and favored and it has the capacity to yield a hundred-fold. This makes me to realize that God’s blessings come in form of a seed if it is going to be transgenerational.

Now a very profound word was used in Genesis 1 verse 26, it says; “let them have dominion” this talks about access and permission. If you will have dominion it is because you have been given access to see. To see what? To see the seed that has been given to sow, and the place where it should be sown. Remember we began by saying man was made in the image and likeness of God and operates in the capacity of God, to have dominion on the earth. But what explains that dominion is his ability to be fruitful or prosperous and his prosperity is in the garden God has planted him. There is no dominion without a seed, and there is no seed if you cannot see.

So, God’s expectation for man is to be fruitful and multiply, but how was He going to make it a possibility and a reality in man? It is going to be by giving the man a seed. There is no fruitfulness and multiplication without a seed. And the seed received by the virtue of sight is expected to be sowed.  Haven had this background; we have realized that man created in the image and likeness of God must be blessed with a seed and it is not enough to be blessed but to sow the seed that has been blessed. How do you know the seed is blessed? It is because you received it by sight not with hands. This is the foundation of prosperous living. So, what is the Holy Spirit saying to us at this point? We have stepped into the season of sowing. If indeed you have been blessed and have been given a blessed seed, then God is opening a window and a season of sowing to us. Eccl 11:4. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” “He that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”

It is only a thief that reaps where he did not sow and also attempts to reap what He did not sow. The right order is that whoever sows is legitimately entitled to reap whatever he/she has sown. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7, “do not be deceived God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man sows, that will He reap.” It is a law and a principle binding on every man under the sun. Again, we could see in Genesis chapter 8 verse 22 the Bible recorded that there was a law that was instituted and established by God, it says; “as long as the earth remain, seed time and harvest shall not cease.” What gives you the experience of harvest is what you do with your seed time. It is called sowing. This law is so potent that you can choose to sow a seed called ‘something’ or a seed called ‘nothing’ in the sowing time. When the time to reap comes and you reap nothing, it is because you sowed a seed called nothing.

So, whatever you do on the earth it means that you are either sowing or you are reaping.  Sowing is the same as giving, and reaping is the same as receiving. It means that whatsoever you sow or give will be given to you in a great measure. This means that harvest and receiving is usually greater than what is being given or sown. If this is so, care must be given to what we sow, how we sow and where we sow.

I have come to realize that everything on the earth has the capacity to give also meaning that it has the capacity to receive seed as well. But not all things have the capacity to give, or yield what has been sown. Take for example a fertile soil and a soil that is not fertile. They both have the capacity to receive seeds but they will not yield the same result. It’s the same thing as saying they both don’t have the same capacity to give much more than it has been sown. But that is not the normal condition. In a normal setting what has been sown is meant or should be much more when it is time to reap. What does this explain to us? The ability and capacity to yield a bountiful harvest does not just reside with the seed, the soil also has the responsibility to give the seed an enabling environment to thrive and to prosper.

Going back to the basic text in Genesis 26:12, It says “Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the LORD blessed and favored him.” And as a result of this; verse 13 says; The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.

Ralph Ransom once said; “Before the reward; there must be labour. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy.” Psalm 126 verse 5-6. “Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” So, if Isaac reaped in joy, rejoicing and bringing sheaves with him, it then means that the posture he took while he was sowing was the posture of tears and pain. This is why sowing requires discipline.

A quote by Gary Ryan Blair puts discipline and sowing in this light; Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure. So, what fuels the confidence that there would be a bountiful harvest is faith, and the excitement ahead in the coming months and years. So, the joy in reaping is stronger than the pain of sowing. The Bible speaking about Jesus, it says who for the joy that was set before Him He despised the shame and endured the cross. Except there is no joy or excitement or hope that is set ahead of you, that sight will compel you to sow irrespective of whatever it will cost you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

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