Abundance Begins as a Seed | Sunday, July 24, 2022
2 Corinthians 9:6-12
We reap as we sow based on our revelation and as we have purposed in our hearts. God supplies seed to the one who sows the seed.
Developing an Abundance Mentality
1 – Small seeds create big trees
- Abundance begins as a seed
- Matthew 13:31-32; the mustard seed is smaller than the others but is larger when it is full grown and birds nest in it’s branches
- Big trees come from small seeds; in the kingdom of God, God starts with small to create big
- The small seed of today creates the big tree of tomorrow
- For both good and bad – small things can create big things
- If we learn to do small things well, a big thing accumulates
- Playing catch up won’t work (you can’t eat 7 apples in a day)
- Read your Bible every day, pray every day; small seeds that grow into a tree
- God starts small. Act small. Think big.
2 – The way you do anything is the way you do everything
- Luke 16:10-12; if you are faithful in small – you will be faithful in big (the opposite is also true)
- Three areas of faithfulness that lead to success in life:
- 1. Faithful in small things,
- 2. Faithful in finances to get true riches,
- 3. Faithful in that which belongs to another
- If God can get it through you, he’ll get it to you
- If we support someone else’s things, God can give us our own; eventually we realize none of it is our thing; leadership is simply a stewardship from God
- Dependable people are always dependable people; happy people are always finding reasons to be happy; neat people are always neat (and the opposite is often also true)
3 – Don’t despise your small seed
- Zechariah 4:10 “Don’t despise the day of small beginnings’”
- How we handle the small thing in our hand today determines how it will grow in our future
- Don’t despise the seed of your dream, or small opportunity
- Start with the small seed in your hand
The tree of tomorrow looks like a seed in your hand today
- Responsibility and opportunity are often confused; taking responsibility actually leads to opportunity
- Being responsible with the seed in your hand leads to opportunity; big starts with small
- Matthew 17:20 “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
- Exercise small faith to move mountains; small moves mountains; small faithfulness, integrity, acts of kindness, diligence
4 – The purpose of a full grown tree is to provide branches for others to nest in
- God is a God who blesses; he causes us to flourish
- Maturity is concerned about the well being of others
- Why do you exist? What are the reasons God would bless you? Why are you in this church? What do you contribute?
- The goal is eventually to grow up enough to be a tree that has branches that others can nest in
- The way we handle the seed of today determines the outcomes of tomorrow
Some seed-handling thoughts:
1 – Wisely utilize the seed of time
2 – Preserve the seed of ideas
3 – Don’t eat the seed meant to be sown
4 – Develop the seed of talent
5 – Don’t overlook the seeds of opportunity
6 – Begin to look for the seed (of abundance) in your life
How big you begin is not the issue.
It’s how you handle the seeds of your beginnings.
Facilitating Discussion
- Have you taken an honest account of how you are sowing seeds in your life?
- What areas of your life could you reevaluate and plant the seeds you have in hand even better than you have been doing?