Jentezen Franklin - Seed Power
I wanna share with you today how powerful a seed is. A seed is how God rules and works in anyone's life. The definition of a seed is the beginning, the beginning of a thing, something that you've been given that can create anything you've been promised. God doesn't just make you a promise, but He gives you the seed of that thing. And when He give you the seed it can produce everything that is promised. The seed can be something you know, the seed can be something you have experienced, the seed can be something that you have, that you've minimized and you don't think it's a big deal.
That stone that David put in the slingshot was a seed that God has given him, God had allowed the river to shape that smooth stone it would go right - right sometimes we think, "if I had this or that". If God makes you a promise He's already given you the seed. And I'm gonna give you some seeds, and this is so simple but if you would let it speak to you God' going to do it today and give you steps and seeds to increase the influence and ability that He's put on your life.
Number one: Access is the seed for opportunity. That's why when you are given access to someone's life or any environment that you have access to inside of that access is the seed for opportunity. The opportunity to reveal your difference, the opportunity to reveal your talents, your gifts, the opportunity to reveal your passion, your significance. When God allows you access to anyone - and some of you don't even realize the people you have access to, the places you have access to. Identify the environment that you've been given access to and enter it and realize it's the seed that has been planted in your life to give you new opportunities, so very important to recognize that.
Number two, and I love this one. The seed - the battle is the seed for territory. Battle is the seed for territory, meaning you cannot take more territory, you cannot enlarge your life more without battles. The battle is the seed for territory. Get good at fighting, in other words. If you want more, if you expect more, if you're believing for more, if you feel like God has promised you more it will not come without fighting. You don't ever get to retire from warfare, you will have to fight for everything that God has promised you and... Those children are territory, that marriage is territory, that business is territory and if you want more territory then what you're asking for is - you're saying, "I'm willing to fight for anything that you want me to have, God". You'll never outgrow warfare. The battle is over territory.
Jabez in First Chronicles 4 prayed, "Enlarge my territory". But with the enlargement - every time we've enlarged this ministry, every time we've enlarged this ministry it came with a new battle. Battles sometimes that I didn't see coming, battles that I never imagined that we would fight in that. But you cannot take new territory without new battles. And the battle is the seed for new territory. Fight for that territory, those kids are yours, fight for it, the enemy will contest it.
Goliaths don't show up till you enter the territory God has promised you. they didn't fight one giant out in the wilderness when they were wondering around but the moment they stepped foot into the promised land giants started showing up, warfare starts taking place, the presence of a giant is proof you have entered into your promised land. Not an easy land flowing with milk and honey, it might be flowing with milk and honey but by better get your sword out because I promise you a battle is gonna come. That's where the giants appear, on the turf that God told you, you can have. Giants only show up in the promised land. Battle is the seed for territory. Fight for your turf, fight for what is yours.
Number three: thankfulness is the seed for joy. Everybody say that with me, thankfulness is the seed for joy. When you walk in a room it's possible that you walk in and you only notice what's wrong. We are a negative people, we are a people who have been infected with stinking thinking. And if we're not careful we just see the glass half empty all the time. But I'm preaching to you this morning, if you don't have any joy, if you're depressed and discouraged, thankfulness is the seed for joy. Boy that got down in my soul, that if I don't have joy it's not God's fault because I'm alive and the sun is shining. Thankful - find something to be thankful for because thankfulness is the seed for joy. Your circumstances does not control your joy, your gratitude, the attitude of gratitude and thankfulness is the seed for joy.
Have you thanked God for anything this morning? Have you thanked God... if you had a headache you would have told 14 people before you got here, "I got a headache, I don't even feel like going, I don't know why I'm going in here though drums are getting on my nerves. That bass is just making my head thump". No, you didn't have a headache, have you been thankful? Have you told anybody, "I'm so thankful I don't have a headache today". No because we're programmed to notice the negative. Oh, but I came to preach to somebody today that thankfulness is the seed for joy. Hallelujah! Lord, my name is written in the Book of Life and Heaven is gonna be my home. Get thankful and your joy level will start rising. And the lack of thankfulness is the seed for depression, discouragement, and whining. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Man, I can't hardly get past that one. "Well nothing's changed". Thankfulness is the seed for joy. If stuff don't change around me, I can change inside of me if I'll start being thankful.
Number four: confrontation is the seed for change. Anything unconfronted increases in your life. Anything. You have to confront what you don't like. If you don't like your body, confront it with a gym. You have to confront, confrontation is the seed for change. If you don't like your hair, change it. You can part it on the other side. You can flip it around, you can do whatever you wanna do. Or just shave it off. But change it! Confrontation is the seed for change. Anyone you like will occasionally, and anyone who likes you will occasionally confront you. What you gotta worry about is if they stop confronting you, that means they don't see you in their future anymore. There's an amazing Bible verse in the Old Testament that God spoke and said, "Leave Ephraim alone". He tried and he tried and he tried, and God reached a point where He said, "Just leave him alone".
You don't want God to leave you alone. You may act like you want to, you may be here today and you may be, you know, living a crazy life and you just wish God would just leave you alone. You don't want God to leave you alone. Confrontation means I care about you. Confrontation, I care enough to confront you. Confrontation is the seed for change. Get some help. Do something. Reach out to somebody, have somebody at least praying for you. Confrontation is the seed for change. Confront it. Quit coming to church, playing the game and confront the issues that are destroying your life. Because God has grace, God has power, God has mighty Holy Spirit anointing that can break every yoke and set you free. But you gotta confront it. You gotta quit playing church.
Number five: this is a big one. Listening is the seed for knowledge. Listening. Be in the moment, listen. I told them in the first service my daughter Connor, youngest daughter, she just loves to come home and if she gets me she talks to me. She tells me everything going on in her life. She'll tell me, she'll talk to me about the latest thing in Hollywood, this that and the other. That, this, that, and her friends and this and that. And just wonderful and I love it. And sometimes though, my mind after a while will start straying. And she'll say, "Daddy, are you listening to me"? And my eyes go right back. But listening is the seed for knowledge. Listen for pain, listen for anger, listen for frustration. Listening is the seed for knowledge. Did you hear me, men? If your wife says something in frustration, that's a seed for knowledge for you to, we're dense. We're dense. Abandon yourself to the moment and listen to one another. Listening is the seed, is the seed. Boy, what a great seed. Listen to your children. Listen to 'em.
Number six: honor is the seed for access. Your future will be decided by who you choose to honor. If you do not honor people, if you do not honor authority, if you do not honor elders, you will not have a good future. Honor is the willingness to reward a person. Honor people through the right words. Through kindness, through respect. Sometimes you honor people through silence. Because if they're an elder or somebody you are not going to change their mind. So, the greatest thing you can learn to do is disagree if you disagree, but you're the younger, they're the older, shut up about it, and let 'em have their deal and you don't have to say anything about it. I'm preaching better than y'all are letting on right now. Silence is a way of honoring people sometimes. Spirit of honor, God let us always have it.
I like this next one. Presentation is the seed for acceptance. Presentation, now you say, "This ain't in the Bible". Yes it is. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. "All I care about is God". But man looks on the outward appearance. You can have all kinds of good stuff on the inside, but if you look crazy on the outside it may be that you're not gonna get access to some people because presentation is the seed for acceptance. You go to a job interview, you hadn't combed your hair, you got bad breath, your belly button's showing, you're walking in there and you expect them to hire you. It's not gonna happen. Presentation is the seed for acceptance. Every fisherman hides a hook with the worm. Because presentation is the seed for acceptance. It reveals the level of importance, present yourself at the level God made you.
Number eight, I'm almost done. Words are the seeds for feelings. Words. Words paint pictures. Words are like nitroglycerine. They can blow up bridges, or they can heal hearts. When somebody's having a heart attack they take nitro pills. Words can hurt, words can wound, or words can heal, and words can restore, and in your mouth is the power of death and life to relationships. To life itself, to attitudes and everything else because words are the seeds for feelings. You can speak words that can produce bad feelings, or words that produce good feelings. And it's up to you. Think before you speak. Right words are the bridge out of trouble if you'll think before you speak. God loved words so much that He named Himself the Word. Words matter.
Number nine: order is the seed for productivity. Order. Order is the seed for productivity. The arrangement of things, any movement toward order will create joy in your life. Just some crazy little illustration. If you have one of those cars that people are writing on it, "wash me, wash me", all you got to do to have a good day is go wash that car and you will love everybody. You'll be amazed. You'll ride in that same car and if it's clean and all cleaned up inside and outside it'll be a better day. Preaching, preaching. Amen, amen.
Same is true for your closet. Problems are seeds for recognition. A problem is an invitation to significance. A problem is your chance to reveal who you are, your talent, your skill, your competence. A problem is not something you run from, but God has called us to be problem solvers. Face it and solve the problem. God will give you His help. When Daniel saw the butler and the baker, or when Joseph saw the butler and the baker I should say, he instantly saw and recognized the countenance of their face was troubled, and the Bible said that he instantly knew, "that's my exit". It's a problem and if I can solve their problem it'll get me to the king and if I can solve his problem, it'll get me out of here. But he saw the problem as the exit out of his pain. David ran to Goliath. He didn't run from him, he ran to the problem. He ran to the situation. Shout out loud everybody. I am a problem solver!
I close with this, confession is the seed for mercy. Millions and millions of angels had pulled their swords and surrounded the city, the ancient city of Nineveh and they were there by divine commandment to wipe out the whole population because God had tried to reach them and they refused to repent. One man, Jonah went and preached to Nineveh and when he did, the Bible said that the people began to confess their sins and confession is the seed for mercy. If you want mercy all you have to do is start confessing, "God, I did it. I'm sorry, I did it".
Repentance is the seed for forgiveness. There's a difference between confession, confession is recognizing it and admitting it, but repentance goes a step further. It says I did it, I'm sorry I did it, I'm truly sorry that I did it and by God's grace I will not go back and do it again. Now that's repentance, I did it, and I moved God that I did it against you, I did it. You made me better than this. You made me for more than this. Repentance says I did it, and here's the thing that's missing, Godly sorrow, and I'm sorry I did it. When I used to council people that had marriage problems I faced almost everything you can imagine I would hear. But when it was infidelity, many many times I knew instantly whether or not they would be restored.
Because the man or the woman would say, "I'm sorry I did it", but if you didn't feel something deep from within them that said "I'm sorry I did it. I'm truly broken by this. I'm truly", and I'm not talking about just a flood of emotions, but there ought to be something in you that says, "Oh my God, I have sinned. I'm wretched and so lost without you God, and only you. And Lord, I need you. I repent of my sin". Repentance says, "I did it, I'm sorry". And by God's grace it will not happen anymore. I've never seen a marriage that God couldn't heal if someone came with that spirit. But if they're just saying it to say it because they got caught, it never works. And I guess what I'm saying to you today is, this is the last one, today is the seed for tomorrow. You're not gonna have a different day tomorrow than you are today. Nothing's gonna change in your life.
If you don't confront, if you don't deal with it, if you came in this morning and you've got some addiction that's destroying your life nothing's gonna change magically tomorrow. Today is the seed for tomorrow. Now is the seed for next. It's not up to God, it's up to you. Today is the seed for tomorrow. And when you begin to understand that and you realize that today is the day of salvation, repentance is the seed for the mercy and the grace and the love of God, and the moment you say it all of Heaven will come running. When Jonah preached and the people repented the mercy of God was released and it's just standing being ready right now to be released into your life. And today is the seed for tomorrow. Nothing's gonna get better in your life if you don't do something with today.