DATE: 23 June 2002
SPEAKER: Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
TITLE: Making your land yield its increase.
TEXT: Deuteronomy 1:6-8
The promise that God made to Abraham, He fulfilled to his descendants many generations later. But first, God revealed to them the principle of stewardship.
God wants to transfer your own inheritance to you, but first, you must become a steward. Nothing that you own really belongs to you. Genesis 2:8,15; Leviticus 26:3-6; Psalm 85:10-12.
Notice that God put Adam in the garden not just to live there. He also had the responsibility to tend and keep the garden.
God does not want to give you the land so that you can live there. God wants you to make your land yield its increase. How? By tending and keeping it. The word "tend'' or "cultivate" comes from the Hebrew word "Abad" which means to compel to labour or work; to cause to serve. And the word "keep" is the Hebrew word "Shumur" which means to protect, hedge about, to guard, to watch over, to retain in ownership.
When God gives you your portion of earth, He expects you to compel what He has given to you to work for you. This is God's ordained pattern of making you fruitful. Everything that God gives you in life falls into two categories - your bread and your seed Isaiah 55:10,11; 2 Corinthians 9:10.
Your bread is what you eat. It is for your own consumption - for your immediate benefit. Your seed on the other hand is what God gives you to create wealth in your life. You have a constant responsibility to recognise the difference between both.
For forty years God fed the children of Israel with "manna". "Manna" meant, "What is it?" So everyday for forty years they received supply and provision - and did not even have a clue what it was, where it came from or how it was made? But this was not God's ultimate for them. So the day they entered the Promised Land, the provision of manna ceased - Joshua 5:12. Now if they were going to eat, they had to learn how to make the land yield its increase.
They had to compel the land to work for them. In this new way of life called the Promised Land, the people had to learn how to be productive. They had to learn how to sow their seed. In the wilderness, they had developed the consumer mentality - a characteristics of nomads. But now God wanted them to become producers. As a consumer the best you will have is "just enough". But as a producer, you can create unlimited Resources.
Look around you today and ask yourself; "How can I begin to make my land work for me? How can I compel it to yield its increase?" One of the ways to do that is to consider starting your own business. As long as you are depending on your salary as your only source of sustenance, you will be limited. There are very few people in life who became millionaires by earning a salary.
God desires for you to prosper. In fact His word promises that you will prosper. But just because God desires or promises, it does not mean it will come to pass. You have a part to play.
Notice that in Genesis 2:8 it was God who planted the gardens. Yet it was Adam's responsibility to cultivate it. And until that time God's command for the earth to bring forth could not be fulfilled. Genesis 1:11,12; 2:4-6,15.
Is it possible that God has spoken some things over your life and is now waiting for your intervention - for you to do your part. In order for Adam to be sustained, God gave him food. But in order for him to be fruitful and multiply, God gave him seed Genesis 1:28-30.
Notice that God did not give seed to animals. No wonder Jesus said they neither sow nor reap - Matthew 6:26 Look in your life right now - you have been able to identify your bread, but can you recognise your seed? Your seed is anything in your life that has the potential to multiply. Your seed is any tool that God has given you to create wealth.
If you land must yield its increase, you must put your seed in it. Look around you - look in your home, you have worked for the things you have. Its now time to make those things work for you.
Everything you have in life is either an asset or a liability. What's the difference?
Your assets are the things you own. Your liabilities are the things you owe.
If it will cost you more to own something than not to own it - it is a liability.
If you have something and it is working for you, it is an asset. But if you are still working for it, it is a liability.
If you understand this simple concept, you will think twice before you acquire anything. Also, you will understand when to dispose of some items. Something may have been an asset five years ago, but it is now a liability.
You can take this principle beyond tangible things and apply them to intangibles - habits, attitudes, mentalities, relationships etc. They can all be assets or liabilities.
Your responsibility in life is to increase your assets and reduce your liabilities. Why?
Your assets are the things in your life that give you more choices; and on the other hand, your liabilities are the things in your life that take away your choices. You are only as powerful as the choices you have.
You net worth in life is the sum total of your assets and liabilities. You cannot determine your value in life simply based on what you own - you must deduct what you owe.
Your needs are your liabilities, your seeds are your assets. People who have more needs than seeds have a negative balance. People who have more seeds than needs have a positive balance.
When you apply your need to your land, it amounts to a decrease. When you apply your seed to your land it yields an increase. No wonder the message of the ground is - "Don't bring me your need, bring me your seed".
Incidentally this is also the message of the world… and of God's kingdom - Mark 4 26-29.
So ask yourself: "What are my assets? What seed have I got today?, What can I take to my ground so that it can yield its increase for me?"
A lot of people are of the opinion that the only way to earn money is to toil and sweat and labour and put their nose to the grindstone. That is the result of the curse - Genesis 3:17-19.
It is possible to make a lot of money doing what you enjoy doing.
"One of the reasons many of us don't recognise our gifts as gifts is because they seem so natural to us. The concept that we must earn a living by the sweat of our brow, and/or put our nose to the grindstone, contributes to our overlooking the fact that our destiny can actually involve doing what we love to do, or that comes easily to us. When people say, "Oh, you are so good at this or that," we automatically dismiss what may be a profound perception on their part.
The famous Santa Fe artist and woodcarver Ben Ortega was a farmer who, as a hobby, used to carve wooden saints. One day the community held a fund raising craft fair, and he donated one of his hobby carvings of St. Francis. So many people ordered the piece that he had to quit farming and take up carving full time to meet the demand. He found his mission in life by giving what he loved away-doing something that came easily to him.
Wally Amos of "Famous Amos Cookies" fame found the same route-baking cookies for friends as thank you's, and ending up with so many orders that he had to start a company to meet the demand. Neither of these men sat down and thought-I will be a woodcarver or I will be a cookie baker. They simply shared their gifts, and the path opened up before them.
We have all been given many gifts. But it is our responsibility to use and multiply them. It is also our responsibility to expect fair wages for the gifts we use in our work." - Laurie Beth Jones - The Path.
The following story was taken off the pack of a famous South African biscuit.
"It all began in the year 1939 in the tiny Klein Karoo town of Molteno. The effect of the Great Depression had brought many communities to its knees.
It was at this time that Ouma Greyvensteyn and her friends attended a church meeting where ways in which to help mission work were discussed. Like in the Gospel, the women were given half-a-crown each to use their talents.
Then it came to her - using just one half-crown, the time-honoured family recipe and her home cooking talents, she baked her rusks to sheer perfection, which she then sold to the visiting farmer's wives in the community. Within days, orders were pouring in for Ouma's delicious rusks. So today we are proud of our heritage-
From the humble beginnings of a half-crown, Ouma's unique and time honoured family recipe, and her bakind talents, have provided Ouma with her reputation as South Africa's most famous baker.
This unique, crunchy snack is a true South African icon, which is sought after in many countries around the world. The ideal treat, they can be served any time of the day, morning, noon or night, and are delicious with coffee or tea".
There is a gift within you that can translate into wealth. It is now your responsibility to recognise it.
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW
God wants to transfer your own inheritance to you, but first, you must become a steward. Nothing that you own really belongs to you. Genesis 2:8,15; Leviticus 26:3-6; Psalm 85:10-12.
Notice that God put Adam in the garden not just to live there. He also had the responsibility to tend and keep the garden.
God does not want to give you the land so that you can live there. God wants you to make your land yield its increase. How? By tending and keeping it. The word "tend'' or "cultivate" comes from the Hebrew word "Abad" which means to compel to labour or work; to cause to serve. And the word "keep" is the Hebrew word "Shumur" which means to protect, hedge about, to guard, to watch over, to retain in ownership.
When God gives you your portion of earth, He expects you to compel what He has given to you to work for you. This is God's ordained pattern of making you fruitful. Everything that God gives you in life falls into two categories - your bread and your seed Isaiah 55:10,11; 2 Corinthians 9:10.
Your bread is what you eat. It is for your own consumption - for your immediate benefit. Your seed on the other hand is what God gives you to create wealth in your life. You have a constant responsibility to recognise the difference between both.
For forty years God fed the children of Israel with "manna". "Manna" meant, "What is it?" So everyday for forty years they received supply and provision - and did not even have a clue what it was, where it came from or how it was made? But this was not God's ultimate for them. So the day they entered the Promised Land, the provision of manna ceased - Joshua 5:12. Now if they were going to eat, they had to learn how to make the land yield its increase.
They had to compel the land to work for them. In this new way of life called the Promised Land, the people had to learn how to be productive. They had to learn how to sow their seed. In the wilderness, they had developed the consumer mentality - a characteristics of nomads. But now God wanted them to become producers. As a consumer the best you will have is "just enough". But as a producer, you can create unlimited Resources.
Look around you today and ask yourself; "How can I begin to make my land work for me? How can I compel it to yield its increase?" One of the ways to do that is to consider starting your own business. As long as you are depending on your salary as your only source of sustenance, you will be limited. There are very few people in life who became millionaires by earning a salary.
God desires for you to prosper. In fact His word promises that you will prosper. But just because God desires or promises, it does not mean it will come to pass. You have a part to play.
Notice that in Genesis 2:8 it was God who planted the gardens. Yet it was Adam's responsibility to cultivate it. And until that time God's command for the earth to bring forth could not be fulfilled. Genesis 1:11,12; 2:4-6,15.
Is it possible that God has spoken some things over your life and is now waiting for your intervention - for you to do your part. In order for Adam to be sustained, God gave him food. But in order for him to be fruitful and multiply, God gave him seed Genesis 1:28-30.
Notice that God did not give seed to animals. No wonder Jesus said they neither sow nor reap - Matthew 6:26 Look in your life right now - you have been able to identify your bread, but can you recognise your seed? Your seed is anything in your life that has the potential to multiply. Your seed is any tool that God has given you to create wealth.
If you land must yield its increase, you must put your seed in it. Look around you - look in your home, you have worked for the things you have. Its now time to make those things work for you.
Everything you have in life is either an asset or a liability. What's the difference?
Your assets are the things you own. Your liabilities are the things you owe.
If it will cost you more to own something than not to own it - it is a liability.
If you have something and it is working for you, it is an asset. But if you are still working for it, it is a liability.
If you understand this simple concept, you will think twice before you acquire anything. Also, you will understand when to dispose of some items. Something may have been an asset five years ago, but it is now a liability.
You can take this principle beyond tangible things and apply them to intangibles - habits, attitudes, mentalities, relationships etc. They can all be assets or liabilities.
Your responsibility in life is to increase your assets and reduce your liabilities. Why?
Your assets are the things in your life that give you more choices; and on the other hand, your liabilities are the things in your life that take away your choices. You are only as powerful as the choices you have.
You net worth in life is the sum total of your assets and liabilities. You cannot determine your value in life simply based on what you own - you must deduct what you owe.
Your needs are your liabilities, your seeds are your assets. People who have more needs than seeds have a negative balance. People who have more seeds than needs have a positive balance.
When you apply your need to your land, it amounts to a decrease. When you apply your seed to your land it yields an increase. No wonder the message of the ground is - "Don't bring me your need, bring me your seed".
Incidentally this is also the message of the world… and of God's kingdom - Mark 4 26-29.
So ask yourself: "What are my assets? What seed have I got today?, What can I take to my ground so that it can yield its increase for me?"
A lot of people are of the opinion that the only way to earn money is to toil and sweat and labour and put their nose to the grindstone. That is the result of the curse - Genesis 3:17-19.
It is possible to make a lot of money doing what you enjoy doing.
"One of the reasons many of us don't recognise our gifts as gifts is because they seem so natural to us. The concept that we must earn a living by the sweat of our brow, and/or put our nose to the grindstone, contributes to our overlooking the fact that our destiny can actually involve doing what we love to do, or that comes easily to us. When people say, "Oh, you are so good at this or that," we automatically dismiss what may be a profound perception on their part.
The famous Santa Fe artist and woodcarver Ben Ortega was a farmer who, as a hobby, used to carve wooden saints. One day the community held a fund raising craft fair, and he donated one of his hobby carvings of St. Francis. So many people ordered the piece that he had to quit farming and take up carving full time to meet the demand. He found his mission in life by giving what he loved away-doing something that came easily to him.
Wally Amos of "Famous Amos Cookies" fame found the same route-baking cookies for friends as thank you's, and ending up with so many orders that he had to start a company to meet the demand. Neither of these men sat down and thought-I will be a woodcarver or I will be a cookie baker. They simply shared their gifts, and the path opened up before them.
We have all been given many gifts. But it is our responsibility to use and multiply them. It is also our responsibility to expect fair wages for the gifts we use in our work." - Laurie Beth Jones - The Path.
The following story was taken off the pack of a famous South African biscuit.
"It all began in the year 1939 in the tiny Klein Karoo town of Molteno. The effect of the Great Depression had brought many communities to its knees.
It was at this time that Ouma Greyvensteyn and her friends attended a church meeting where ways in which to help mission work were discussed. Like in the Gospel, the women were given half-a-crown each to use their talents.
Then it came to her - using just one half-crown, the time-honoured family recipe and her home cooking talents, she baked her rusks to sheer perfection, which she then sold to the visiting farmer's wives in the community. Within days, orders were pouring in for Ouma's delicious rusks. So today we are proud of our heritage-
From the humble beginnings of a half-crown, Ouma's unique and time honoured family recipe, and her bakind talents, have provided Ouma with her reputation as South Africa's most famous baker.
This unique, crunchy snack is a true South African icon, which is sought after in many countries around the world. The ideal treat, they can be served any time of the day, morning, noon or night, and are delicious with coffee or tea".
There is a gift within you that can translate into wealth. It is now your responsibility to recognise it.
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW
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