Win the Day #10 | Seed the Clouds – C Side
We’ve been talking about seeding the clouds with prayer; Using Elijah as a model.
There are lots of ways to seed the clouds. Take proactive measures today that will produce desired outcomes tomorrow.
- Proactive living
- Reactive living
You cannot break the laws of sowing and reaping. It will make or break you.
We are all free to choose to do whatever we want… We are not free of facing the consequences of our choices.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.
Ecclesiastes 11:2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
Ecclesiastes 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.
- Keep Giving Out – It Will Keep Coming Back
Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days
The law of sowing and reaping is the law that governs all of life.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap
2 Corinthians 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return
Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
The law of seedtime & harvest will always remain. It’s the law of sowing & reaping. It’s God’s idea.
It’s as certain as:
- Cold & heat
- Summer & winter
- Day & night
Sowing & reaping is the way everything works. When you get on the right side of sowing & reaping, you are given an incredible ability to create your future.
All the potential of your future lies in the way you handle the seeds of today. God has given us the capacity to create our future.
Seeds of today create the harvest of tomorrow.
The way to shape your future is to be mindful of the seed you sow today.
If you want tomatoes in your future, plant tomato seed!
If you want cucumbers, plant cucumber seed!
We can’t plant tomatoes and wish for cucumbers.
Sow love, reap love.
Sow friendship, reap friendship.
Want a great relationship with God? Sow into it.
Want great health? Sow into your health.
Want greater finances? Give greater finances.
This is an unerring law of life! There may be storms or freezes that interrupt harvest on occasion, like seasons of Covid 19, but over the long run of life, year after year. Covid season may change things, but it will not change the law of sowing and reaping.
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
God was so futuristic in His outlook:
- God always looking ahead
- He has the future in mind in the now
He put the potential for every other plant in the first plant. God puts within our hand the potential for everything in our life. The seed for tomorrow is in our hand today.
- What we give out
- How we give out
- Determines our lives
Give friendliness
Give mercy, grace
Give people space
Give opportunity
Give money…
We create our lives by what we give! We create the level of our future by the level of our giving today. The value of our lives is found in what we give, not in what we have. What we have in our hand today is our seed for creating our future.
We have the capacity to create our future by what we give today. We have the capacity to create the level of our future by what we sow today.
- Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Ecclesiastes 11:2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth
Get 7 or 8 things going… Meaning, take several angles.
- Keep trying new things
- New angles
- New approaches
I used to think a great prayer life would make a great church…I realized it takes more than that.
It takes a great:
- Children’s ministry
- Youth ministry
- Great worship & music
- Rock Groups
- Community involvement
- Leadership development
- Finances
- Facilities
- Attention to detail for guests
- Coordination and communication for staff
To succeed in life, we have to realize there are many layers, and many hats to wear. Don’t be a one-dimensional person.
Mom is a beautiful thing, but don’t let it swallow your identity.
Pastor is a beautiful thing, but I don’t let it define my whole identity.
Don’t get defined by only one thing…
Don’t let one “hat” run all of your life
Wherever you are, be fully there:
- When your Mom hat is on, be there
- When your Rock Group leader hat is on, be there
- When your work hat is on, be there
Get 7 or 8 things going! Don’t bet the house on one deal.
- Multiple sources of income
- Try different creative methods at work
- Different types of investments
A bunch of singles is better than always trying for a home run
- When the clouds are full – the rain will fall
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
At the fullness of time, your day will come.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.
Due: 2398g idios – one’s own, distinct (1)
Time: 2540g kairos – time, season (62)
God has appointed a distinct time for your harvest. Don’t be distracted by others reaping their harvest.
Don’t ask ‘Why not me?’. Rejoice in their harvest. God has appointed your day.
- Don’t lose heart
- Don’t grow weary
- Don’t miss your opportunities
- God is not mocked
Your day is appointed by God. We want our harvest… this afternoon.
We live in a microwave society. We order our hamburger and get upset if it isn’t in our hand 30 seconds after we ordered.
Keep doing the things you know to do.
You can’t do what you don’t know.
Do what you know to do.
It will produce something.
When you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do.
- Pray
- Read the Word
- Love on people
- Worship God
- Be on time
- Do your best with every task given you
- Keep showing up for your life
The cloud will get full, the rain will fall!