SOW WELL.

Sow well.

When we get “words” from the Lord, they are rhema; fresh spoken words that align with the logos or written word. I recently heard Bill Johnson say, they come with the power to perform what is spoken.

The question is what do we do with them? My usual assumption is that they are for the immediate present moment and are materializing as I receive them. This is true in the realm of the Spirit. They are a present reality even before I see them. I have learned that I need to see them now as if they already are a present reality. That is truly what faith looks like.

This may sound like a way around when I don’t see them or justification of not seeing them or like making excuses for God not doing what He said quite yet.

It’s a timing thing. Time seems to always hang us up. We hear and we expect to see or start seeing what we heard and when we don’t we either doubt what we heard as being genuinely from God or even worse discard it and try to sweep it under the rug so to speak with a shrug of oh well at least I tried to hear and I guess I’m just learning a lesson or some other justifying nonsense.

It’s clear from the lips of Jesus that His hear and know His voice.

So the issue is not hearing it’s in what we do with what we hear.

From His perspective; it’s a done deal. What He says, at that moment, it’s a present reality. He sees it as done. The challenge is for us to join with Him in agreement and to take His Word and sow it well.

I have had to contemplate having heard a specific word over and over and over again confirmed fourteen different ways and yet nine months later still waiting to see it manifesting.

I certainly am open to needing a fresh perspective on this and so I asked the Lord about it this morning and here’s what He said, “Sow well, the words I give you.”

As I think about this, I’m confronted with two things I am sure of. One, that I have heard Him confirmed over and over and over again through the mouths of multiple respectable prophets and two that I’m having and have had a hard time seeing it as a present reality.

So, to the sowing well part.

I’m pretty good at visualizing results. I believe this is the essence of what faith truly looks like. As the famous verse in Hebrews 11:1 says, “And faith is of things hoped for a confidence, of matters not seen a conviction. Young’s Literal Translation. (see my notes at the end for the details.)

Here’s my paraphrase:

“Faith is my guarantee; God’s warranty of a confident legal standing backed by proof of solid, compelling evidence that what is currently not seen in the material realm is presently in the spiritual realm  and is certified that the revelation He in-birthed will come to pass (His way).”

“It’s a done deal” as one of my business partner’s often says, is actually a literal interpretation. Notice all the legal terms. What is absent is any emotions. It is quite literal. Factual. Legal. A finalized legal verdict.* (see my notes at the end)

Faith does not come from me. It is a gift from God of His faith. It is how He does everything. By faith in His Word and His ability to perform what ever He says.

In Genesis 1, He said, “Light be.” And there was light. Whatever He speaks happens. It is a guaranteed irrefutable fact. His word spoken is embodied within His power to perform it.

So back to sowing well.

I was thinking about the parable of the sower and the various results had by the different types of soil. The soil Jesus said was a picture of the hearts of the hearers and the seed was His Word. This is both His logos or written expression as well as rhema the freshly spoken empowered word.

In the parable God sows the seed. The condition of the hearer’s hearts determined the outcome in terms of how they received the seed / word. Some good and some not so good all determined by the choices they made in terms of what they did with what they heard.

In James 1 it says, “ in humility receive the word implanted within you that has the power to save your soul.” The key word is implanted which means to take root; to germinate, to produce life.

He then goes on to say that we are to not be hearers only but doers of the word. It needs to have a transformative effect in our life and behavior.

To bring this together, what I am seeing is this.

The Lord gives us a fresh rhema word. The first thing we do is receive it or plant it within ourselves. As we cultivate it through prayer and receiving further confirmations which are confirming evidence we add that to our legal file of supportive convincing proof.

This is like watering and feeding or nurturing the seed. We see the end result in our hearts and minds and our confidence builds until it shows up in the physical realm.

It’s kind of like the farmer who sows the seed, tends it and waits to see it appear. He knows the seed will go through a miraculous transformation from just a seed to a whole plant that will produce in a multiplied manner a plant that produces fruit full of new seeds. It really is quite amazing and miraculous when you think about it.

Or like when a woman becomes pregnant. The baby is there but doesn’t appear for around nine months. She knows she’s pregnant and so she does what pregnant mothers do. She prepares in advance for the birth. She imagines what the baby will look like and how it will act and buys in advance the things needed for the baby before it arrives.

This is sowing well.

We receive the word. We see it come to pass by using our spiritually stimulated imaginations to visualize the outcome. We imagine what it will be like to see the promised word come to pass. We build on this as our vision grows and we receive more confirmations. I believe these only come to those who steward the word properly; by faith. It’s as if we become a confirmation magnet drawing more and more and more until we see it come to pass.

Last March, I was having lunch in Phoenix with one of my business partners. As he talked about a meeting he had just had that morning I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and the presence of the Lord and I heard two words, “Accelerate and Elevate”.

I shared them with him and my other partners. From that day until this very day of hearing  those words, I have received confirming words on almost a daily basis.

But guess what. Everything I was working on has seemed to slow down, be delayed, set back almost to the point of despair.

Then one more confirmation came and the dam broke open.

Mari and I had planned for months to go see and hear an amazing prophet from Australia who has been one of those confirming voices we have followed for the past several years. Her name is Lana Vawser and I highly recommend her and her new book “The Prophetic Voice of God”.

Lana spoke of delay being broken to the congregation and then she spoke over us specifically “acceleration” increase (six times) and provision for the vision. Another word the Lord had spoken to me several months earlier when He said that it is my responsibility to “cast the vision” and He would make the provision.

That week, a flood of much needed new financial support for our business  came flooding in literally without me making a phone call, sending an email or text or having a meeting.

Suddenly, people I have never met started calling wanting to invest in our venture. From being behind the curve we went to riding the wave and have remained there until today.

That all started when I had done all I could do, was totally exhausted and had to completely rest and wait on God.

Another prophetic voice and intercessor for our business; CarolMarie Smith the head of a widow’s ministry called Anna’s Gate, had recently sent a text saying that God was about to answer in a different way than how I was going about things. I didn’t know what that meant and had asked the Lord to show me as I was absolutely exhausted from my attempts and ready for a change.

It came miraculously, and I give all praise, honor and glory to God. But you know what He showed me? He showed me that I had sown well. That during the dry times when all my attempts to move things forward and draw in the funds needed for the project resulted in the sound of crickets, that was when I sowed sometimes literally in tears.

Now was the time for the harvest.

Since then things have moved faster. I can feel the momentum building. Steady plodding is still taking place but even the little things that seem to be set backs end up being resolved in mysterious and even sometimes humorous ways.

Like this morning. Yesterday we were rocking along at our project when it was discovered that a specific fitting needed to be found to apply grease to a bearing. Four trips were made to town each an hour round trip to no avail. This morning the fifth (yes, I know five is the number for grace) trip was made with only the hope for a solution.

I just received a picture from my business partner showing that under a plate that we photographed numerous times yesterday with the details of the bearing inscribed so we could try and find the right fitting; when the cover was unscrewed, there was the fitting. Hidden in plain site. It was there the whole time. Sometimes I guess we need to look beneath the surface a bit to see what’s already there.

                 

The dealer that sold us the bearings thought that when we called that we were looking for additional ones and failed to mention the little hidden secret compartment under the label.

By the way, this could have prevented the whole system from running. It was that crucial.

Sowing well is up to us. We take what we receive, plant it within ourselves, see the end result in advance and continue to cultivate it until it becomes a physical reality.

All this is by faith. His faith operating within us which comes with the power and all the parts needed to bring about what He has spoken to us.

My anticipation grows daily for the manifestation of the two words, “accelerate and elevate.”

My expectation is not thwarted or diminished by what seems like delay. It is a present reality and has been from the moment I received the word.

I consciously see it as the realm in which I live where I have my seat belt buckled and am ready for the ride and I feel the engines roaring underneath me like a rocket ready to launch beginning to move or a locomotive churning and chugging with a full head of steam loaded with all the fuel needed for the journey ahead.

Sometimes it looks like the wheels are just spinning in place but the reality is this is how trains gets traction to start moving. One thing about a rocket or a locomotive once they start they’re hard to stop and they pick up momentum, accelerate and in the case of the rocket elevate.

My job is to keep my attention focused on what is ahead with the confidence that I am being led into what He has said.

Amen. Enough said. 😊

*That said, here’s my notes on Hebrews 11:1 for a deeper dive:

Faith: (pistis) in secular antiquity referred to a guarantee (warranty). In Scripture, faith is God’s warranty, certifying that the revelation He in-birthed will come to pass (His way).

Of things hoped for: elpís (from elpō, “to anticipate, welcome”) – properly, expectation of what is sure (certain); hope.

A confidence: hypó, “under” and 2476 /hístēmi, “to stand”) – properly, (to possess) standing under a guaranteed agreement (“title-deed”); (figuratively) “title” to a promise or property, i.e. a legitimate claim (because it literally is, “under a legal-standing”) – entitling someone to what is guaranteed under the particular agreement.

A conviction: elegchos: a proof, test

the root word is: elégxō – properly, to convince with solid, compelling evidence, especially to expose (prove wrong, connect).

Not seen: (blépō) suggests “to see something physical, with spiritual results (perception).” That is, it carries what is seen into the non-physical (immaterial) realm so a person can take the needed action (respond, beware, be alert). In the case of it not being seen it would be the reverse, right? Carrying what is not seen in the non-physical (immaterial) realm into the material one.