The Seeds of Blessings

The Economy of the Tithe
The Seeds of Blessing
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With all that’s going on in our society and in the world, so often our confidence is shaken because our confidence is in this world’s system. But as Christians, we should not have our confidence in the world’s system. There is nothing wrong with investing in the world’s system, but let your confidence be in God’s system.

First Timothy 617 says we are not to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God which gives us richly all things to enjoy. It is God’s desire to richly bestow upon us the goods of this world so we can truly enjoy them, but the key is not to put our trust in uncertain riches.

When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, he turned and walked away sorrowful for he had great possessions. One of the other four gospels said that he went away having great possessions, and Jesus said, “No, the great possessions had him.” He said, “How difficult is it for those who trust in uncertain riches to enter into the kingdom of God.” I go one step further. How difficult is it for Christians who have their trust in uncertain riches to really enjoy the goodness of God and the greatness of God? To be born again is one thing, but to tap into God’s blessings is another and that’s what comes by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. (See Matthew 6:33.)

There is a difference between blessings and miracles. Miracles are wonderful, but God has a better way of life for a Christian than seeking miracles day after day. Yet, so many Christians run from service to service and church to church seeking after miracles, when God would rather us move into a better lifestyle of living in the blessings of the Lord.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3

These spiritual blessings spill over into our natural life because every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. (See James 1:17.) Do you realize that everything you have came from the Lord Jesus Christ? There is not a thing you can claim as your own because you came into this world naked. The Bible says you’ll leave naked and what you have in the meantime is what you’ve been made stewards over: God’s kingdom, God’s wealth, and God’s possessions for God owns everything.

First of all, a miracle comes in a crisis, and a blessing is designed to keep us out of a crisis. Wouldn’t it be great to move into an area of your Christian life where there are very few crises left any more? It’s not fun to live in crisis. Although we can look back on those crisis times and thank God that He came through for us, it’s better not to live in crisis. If you are living in crisis today there is a better life and it’s called the blessings of God.

Next, miracles come in small amounts just enough to carry us through, but blessings come in abundance with so much left over that we can give it into the lives of others. A miracle is just enough for you, but blessings are enough for you and for you to give into the lives of others.

Finally, a miracle can even come in a time of unbelief, but blessings demand responsibility, obedience, and faith.

There are two instances in the Old and New Testaments where God performed a miracle, and there was no faith present. Before God poured out the manna and the quail on the children of Israel He said, “I have heard their murmurings, and because of that I’m going to give them bread in the morning and quail in the afternoon.” Even though they were murmuring, God went ahead and met their need.

When Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples were not operating in faith. In fact, Jesus upbraided them because of their unbelief and said, “Oh, ye of little faith.” He calmed the storm because they needed it. Because there was a pressure situation, God came through.
As parents, how often have you come through for your children even though they were afraid at the time and they were just crying out for help? You helped them, but your desire is to bless them, to move into a lifestyle of blessings for your children. God is the same way with us.

Even though miracles can come in unbelief, this is not God’s best. If you’re in need of a miracle don’t shift over into unbelief and think you’ll get it faster. That is not what God wants. If you’re in need of a miracle, God would rather you trust Him. He will come through with a miracle, but God wants you to move beyond miracles because miracles are designed by God so you’ll trust Him and believe Him. But oftentimes, even before the trust is there, God will perform a miracle to help you get into the area of believing Him and trusting in Him. The purpose of signs and wonders and miracles is to get us to put our faith in the Lord. How often does the Bible talk about Jesus preaching to the multitudes and the next phrase says, “…and the people believed on Him.”? Or how often did Jesus perform miracles, signs, and wonders, and the next verse says, “…and many believed in Him.”? The purpose of miracles is the same as the purpose of the preaching of the Word of God — to get us to trust in the Lord.

Many of you can say, “I came to Jesus because I heard preaching.” Many of you also can say, “I came to Jesus because I saw a miracle”. Either one was designed to bring you into a place of putting your faith and trust in God. It’s God’s design that when we move into a lifestyle of blessings that we come to Him in faith with responsibility, obedience, and trust.

A miracle counteracts natural law, but blessings cooperate with natural law. God would rather us cooperate with the natural laws He has placed in this earth so He can truly bless us. God would rather not drop money on our dresser every morning; He prefers we get a job. But how many times have you been without a job and there was a knock at the front door, or there was mail that came with some money in it? Weren’t you glad for that? That was wonderful, but that’s not God’s best! He actually counteracted natural law through that miracle, but God would prefer working through the work of your hands which means you get a job so He can bless you and bless you abundantly.

In a miracle, God works for you; in blessings, God works with you.

Miracles are temporary, but blessings are eternal. As an example, Peter walked on the water once. Jesus walked on the water twice. Jesus turned water into wine once. He turned loaves and fishes into plenty and multiplied them twice and the Red Sea parted once. The Jordan River backed up once. We find these miracles in the Word of God that often dominate so much of our preaching, but God wants us to move into a lifestyle of blessings. Miracles seem to be glamorous and blessings don’t seem to be that glamorous. Miracles seem to be spectacular, but blessings don’t seem to be so spectacular. But God simply wants you to get to a place in your life to where He doesn’t have to come through with these spectacular acts day after day. God wants to work with you consistently so you can be used to bless other people’s lives. Blessings are eternal because the blessing can be passed on to our children.

The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Proverbs 10:22

Blessing, singular, is an it. It’s not things. Blessing, singular, is the favor of the Lord. We could say it this way: The favor of the Lord, the grace of God, it makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. The blessing brings blessings. The blessing brings healing. The blessing brings finances. The blessing brings peace into your life. There are many blessings that God wants to bring into your life, but it starts with the anointing of God. It starts with the presence of God, and this is what we can pass on to our children.

In Genesis 27, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. He didn’t give them so many things; he passed the ability to get things onto them which was the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is like a magnet; it just draws things into your life. God’s desire is for us to pass that anointing on. The most important thing is not to walk out of a church service with a healing in your body. The most important thing is to walk out with the anointing on your life. It will draw more healing into your life. It will draw more blessings into your life. It will draw more of God’s favor toward you.

Luke 2:52 says Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Wouldn’t you like that anointing to keep increasing in your life? As favor increases in your life, the blessing increases. Before I die I want to be walking in more of the favor of God than I have ever walked in before. That’s why we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto us. But sometimes, as Christians, we become thing-minded instead of God-minded, and when we become thing-minded we’re in line for a miracle. God would rather you be in line for a blessing so your concentration can be on blessing other people. This is what God’s desire is to truly fulfill the things of God.

In Genesis 48 and Genesis 49, Jacob blessed his twelve sons. He also blessed his grandsons, Joseph’s sons, and passed that blessing on to them. That blessing and favor brought many other blessings into their lives and today, Israel still stands, as far as the world’s economy is concerned, as one of the richest nations. Throughout the earth, God has blessed the Jewish people because the blessing from Jacob was on them. God wants that same type of blessing to be upon the body of Christ even in greater amounts because God wants to bless us in every way.

The blessings that God brings to us are irreversible. In Numbers 22, we find the story of Balaam who has been hired by Balak to curse the children of Israel. But what Balak didn’t know is that you cannot curse what God has blessed. You can bring curses into your life by turning against God’s plan, but you cannot curse what God has blessed overall. For years people have tried to curse the Church but it will never work.

Balaam knew this and he told Balak, “I can’t curse what God has blessed.”

Balak, the king, said, “Well, how about if I give you a few million dollars?”

Balaam thought, You know, maybe I can try this. His head was turned by the money, and so he tried to curse the children of Israel.

And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
Numbers 22:18

Balaam knew he could not change God by prophesying against His people or by Balak offering him money. However, knowing this, he did go ahead and try it, but in the next chapter spoke the truth about God to Balak.

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?

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed: and I cannot reverse it.
Number 22:19-20

Here’s the good news: When God sets forth blessing in this earth, you cannot reverse it. You can go against it and reverse it in your own life, but you can’t stop the blessing of God. How many of you know the moment that you repent the blessing’s been there all the time? Remember that song, He Was There All The Time? You may turn against the blessing of God and go in the opposite direction, but the blessing is there all the time. Once you stop and repent for your goofiness, the blessing is there. Once you repent of your sin, the blessing is there. Once you ask God to forgive you, the blessing has always been there. You just get yourself lined up with the Word of God and the blessing has always been there. God’s desire is for us to walk in the blessing of the Lord, and he says it cannot be reversed. Once you’re walking in the plan of God, nothing on this earth can change the blessing coming into your life. There may be times of temporary slowdown, but it’s going to keep on coming and keep on coming. I don’t need to check on where my 401K is. I don’t need to check where my IRA is. Although I do, that’s not the main thing I look for. The main thing I check is: Is my heart right with God? Am I trusting in Him? How’s my worship life? Is there any unforgiveness between me and God or me and someone else? If the answer is ‘no’ and I’m clean before Him, then the blessing will keep on coming, Hell, high water, government changes, Afghanistan — it doesn’t matter what comes into this earth — nothing can stop the blessing of God. Hallelujah!

This king tried three times to pay Balaam millions of dollars to curse the children of Israel. Balaam went to a mountaintop where he could see all the children of Israel. He looked down at this giant valley and saw some two to three million children of Israel and tried to curse them. But every time he opened his mouth to curse them, a blessing came out. He opened up his mouth and blessings just poured out of his mouth. He came down from the first mountain, went back to the king, and said, “It won’t work.”

The king tried to up the ante and said, “Here I’ll give you more money.”

So he thought, Okay, I’ll go to another mountain. Maybe God won’t know that I’ve switched mountains. So he stood on another mountain and prophesied again and guess what happened? All that came out of his mouth was blessing instead of cursing. Blessing poured out of his mouth. He came down, went to the king, and said, “It won’t work.”

The third time the king paid him more money. He went up to another mountain, tried it again, and this time he quit fighting God. Some of the finest Scriptures we have on the future of Israel come from the mouth of a backslidden preacher trying to curse the nation of Israel. But the only way God could get through to him was talk through his donkey.

What makes a blessing? You might be thinking, I understand that I need to be walking in blessing, but what is it that makes a blessing so much better than a miracle? Why is one so much better than the other?

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good
Genesis 1:11-12

That is a lot of words to simply say God made trees and grass. Why did it go into all this detail that it had seed within itself so it can keep on bearing? Why did God put all that in there to let us know about the difference between a miracle and a blessing?

When God made the first apple tree, that was a miracle. There were no seeds to make it from. He simply spoke it into existence and a miracle happened. But God put seed inside of it because if God didn’t put seed inside of it, when the tree died, He would have to make another tree and then He’d have to make another tree and then He’d have to make another tree, and then when those trees died, He would have to make more trees. The first tree was the miracle. When He put seeds inside of it, it became a blessing. It had the ability to keep on blessing day after day after day, and God could sit in heaven and rest on the seventh day not thinking, When am I going to have to make another tree? He didn’t have to make another tree. He could rest on the seventh day on that Sabbath because everything in the earth was made to perpetuate itself. That’s the difference between a blessing and a miracle.

Have you seen seedless watermelons in the store? They are wonderful to eat, but what a useless fruit. I don’t like spitting out all those seeds, but if you were in need of food and someone brought a watermelon to your front door and you opened it up and there were no seeds inside of it, you would have enough for about three or four meals. That’s it, and it’s over; but when someone brings you a watermelon filled with seeds, you have the ability to plant those seeds and have watermelons from now on. The difference between a miracle and a blessing is blessings have seeds in it to keep on producing. One watermelon can produce millions of watermelons. They can keep on producing and producing and pretty soon from one watermelon you could feed the earth with watermelons. That’s sending out a blessing. That’s why God wants you to move into this area of blessing in your life because a blessing is filled with seeds.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Genesis 1:20-22

When God blessed them, they had the ability to reproduce. He put whales in the water and birds in the air, and He said every one of them will be able to reproduce after their own kind. But they couldn’t produce after their own kind until God blessed them. We can operate in miracles in our life, but it doesn’t do any good for the future until one day the blessing of God falls on that miracle and it has the ability to keep on producing. There have been times I’ve had people drop off food at our front door. There have been times when miracles have happened in our life, but thank God for the blessings of God that just keep on producing day after day after day, and when God blessed those animals, suddenly they had the ability to reproduce.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26-28

In these cases we find that God blessed the animals and God blessed man, and notice what happened when he blessed him. God told them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. When a blessing enters in it has the ability to reproduce itself over and over and over again. That’s why God wants us to move into a lifestyle of blessing. That’s why I’ve told you that the very entry level of getting into the blessing of God when it comes to finances is the tithe, for God said give Me the tithe, test Me says the Lord, see if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out more of a blessing than you can contain. (See Malachi 3:10.)

When you give the tithe, the seed that continues to produce enters into your life. Wouldn’t you like finances filled with seeds? That’s exactly what happens when you begin to tithe to God. That’s that entry level.

I look at it this way: Every time I get that paycheck week after week a miracle just entered into my life, but what am I going to do with this miracle? I want this miracle to be blessing so I’m going to take part of it and sow it into God’s kingdom where the seeds will start to infiltrate my life and from one watermelon I can have millions. From one tithe, I can begin to be blessed and blessed and blessed and actually come to a place in my life where, like God, I can enter into the rest of God and not wonder where my needs are going to come from, where the food is going to come from, where the clothes are going to come from, where the finances are going to come from, where the homes are going to come from, or where the cars are going to come from. I can concentrate on which missionary I want to support, which work do I want to give to, which area of the kingdom I want to put it into. Why? Because I don’t even have to think about finances any more. The seeds just keep on reproducing and reproducing and reproducing. Oh, glory to God!

Genesis 1:22 says, And God blessed them saying….

Genesis 1:28 says, And God blessed them saying….

Here’s how we put seeds into our miracles: We speak seeds into them. God calls those things which be not as though they were. When you get your paycheck, quit talking about what you have; start talking about what you’re going to have. Speak blessings over that paycheck.

Instead of looking at that paycheck saying, “Well, this amount will go here and this amount will go there…every week it’s the same thing! Every paycheck is the same thing! I just barely have enough.”

When you give your tithe, speak over that tithe and say, “Tithe, you are the beginning of blessing for me and out of this paycheck you’re going to be seeds for generations to come. You’re going to multiply and replenish yourself and bring blessings into my life. It’s going to come to me from the north, the south, the east, and the west, for this blessing in my life is going to multiply many times over.”

God took what he had and spoke blessings into it. When are you going to start speaking blessings into what you have? Look at your paycheck and speak blessings over it. When you get that paycheck, say, “Paycheck, I lay my hands on you. You are blessed in Jesus’ name. I speak blessings into your life.”

Instead of looking at your body and believing what the doctors say, why don’t you speak blessings into your life? Start declaring that you will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord. There is nothing wrong with looking at the facts. Jesus looked at facts. But there’s a difference between the facts and the truth. The truth is God’s Word. The facts will never change the truth, but the truth will change the facts. The fact is you did get that much money. The fact is the check is that amount, but when you start to speak into it, you see seeds inside. You no longer see one watermelon; you see hundreds of thousands of watermelons. You no longer see one apple; you see seeds inside that apple. Suddenly, you see that check and by speaking to that check, seeds are made inside of it and it’s going to start multiplying. All God asked you to do is speak to it and then be obedient to His Word. Sow the tithe. Give to the Lord and expect those seeds that you have just planted to start coming into your life many times over, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

Seeds are planted within something by the spoken word. Notice how the blessing was handed on by Isaac to Jacob and Esau, and how the blessing was handed on by Jacob to his twelve sons and his two grandsons. He spoke to them. Oh, the power of words. We find that Abram learned this early in his life and Abram learned to call those things which be not as though they were. (See Romans 4:17.) Notice what happened when God spoke a blessing into his life and what happened when Abram agreed to the blessing — seeds were planted in him that caused a child to come later. Even at one hundred years old with a wife that was over ninety years old, they had a child. Sure, it defied nature. It was against everything that was around them, but that child they had was more than a miracle. Their son, Isaac, was a blessing that caused more and more to come because through Isaac shall all the earth be blessed. Blessings have come from Abram because he learned to call those things which be not as though they were.

God has already spoken blessing over your life. God has already spoken blessing over your paycheck. God has spoken blessing over every area of your life. He’s waiting on you to say the same thing and to agree with Him. Even though I speak it, the power doesn’t come from me; the power comes from God. He’s waiting on a vehicle to open up their mouth so He can use the words of their mouth to bless.

If you are having financial trouble, quit calling those things which be as though they are. Call those things which be not as though they were. Quit looking at the facts and declaring the facts. Look at the facts and declare the truth and begin to watch God bless and multiply many times over.

Quit saying, “My paycheck won’t go far enough.”

Quit saying, “My tithes never seem to produce.”

Quit saying, “I’ll never get ahead in life.”

Start looking at those things and declaring the blessing of the Lord over them, and watch them come to pass. With the words of your mouth you can start blessing your paycheck, start blessing your tithes, start blessing your job, start blessing your body, and start blessing your circumstances, and then watch them begin to produce.

I want you to make a commitment from your heart. Perhaps you’ve seen that the failure in your life is because you have not been speaking God’s Word over your circumstances. You have seen your paycheck and said the same thing over it for years and years and years, and even though you have tithed you haven’t put any faith with it. You haven’t even declared over your tithes as you have given them that it’s going to be a great blessing in your life. Starting with your next paycheck, I want you to dedicate it to God by speaking blessing into it. I want you to say, “When I speak, seeds of blessings are formed inside of my paycheck, and then as I tithe, I speak God’s blessing over my tithe. That’s what’s going to cause it to start producing in my life and I, like God, am going to rest in the promises of God knowing that what I have spoken will come to pass.”

When God spoke to the animal kingdom, He could rest. When God spoke to man and woman, He could rest because they had the ability to keep on producing. When God spoke to the vegetables and fruits, they had seeds within themselves that kept on producing and that’s what God wants you to be. He wants to be God over your life and God over your circumstances to where everything around you just keeps on producing for the kingdom of God with so much left over you can become a blessing in other people’s lives.

Instead of just seeing money in your hand, start seeing seeds in your hand, speaking life into your finances, into the doctor’s report, into your circumstances and situations, into your job, and into your children, and passing the blessing on for generations to come. Miracles are temporary, but blessings are eternal.

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out The Economy of the Tithe and his book, Unlimited Partnership: God and the Businessman, at the BYM Store.