Jentezen Franklin - The Multiplication Blessing - Part 2
Genesis 1:11. "Then God said Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself," everybody say that with me, "'Whose seed is in itself on the earth' and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good". Verse 21, "So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, in the waters according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good".
Now here's my text this morning. It's all connected to what I just read. "And God blessed them," no human being was created yet. No man or woman was yet populating the earth. "And God blessed them saying, 'Be fruitful,'" He's talking to birds, He's talking to fish, He's talking to plants, He's talking to trees, He's talking to grass. "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth". I wanna preach to you today on the first blessing in the Bible. The multiplication blessing. The seed was in the tree. The seed was in the tree, the text said. Whose seed is in itself.
God put in the first birds, the seed to reproduce and multiply, the grass to multiply, the plants to multiply. The seed was placed inside. And that's why God said at the end of it, "And it is good". The reason that it's good is because God loves multiplication. God loves that everything that He created, He placed within it the potential to multiply. It's not based, your multiplication, your growth, your increase is not based on what the government does. The seed is in yourself. It is not based on what the world out there says. It's not out there. Everything great that God wants to do begins on the inside.
And when you invite the creator of the one who put the seed of greatness in you, the seed of purpose in you, then suddenly, what God has put in you becomes possible, and I love this. It is not dependent on anything outside of you. That God says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hallelujah. And I heard the Lord say that there are people listening to me that the enemy stripped your coat and stripped your coat. But listen, you can strip my coat, but the blessing, the seed is in me. It's not in my coat. You can take my coat, but you can't take my confidence. You can take my coat, but you can't take my capabilities, hallelujah.
I'm called whether I've got the coat on and look like a success or not. I'm still got the seed of it in me. And bless God, you can take my coat, but you can't take the God who gave me the coat. I'm still a winner if you take my coat 'cause I know who I am and I know what He put in me, and He is my source. Oh, I need somebody to shout right now. And here's what I heard the Lord say. He said, "Tell somebody that they're entering into the season of the third coat". Because his own family took the first coat. A liar, deceiver, she accused him of rape, she took his second coat, they threw him in prison, but God raised him up and Pharaoh, in Genesis 41 took his coat off, his own royal robe coat, and put it on Joseph and wrap the ring on his finger.
And he's told everybody in the kingdom, "Bow down because this man has something in him". And I feel like saying to somebody, you're about to get a new coat. And it's not a coat of struggle, and it's not a coat of taking away, but God says, "I've got the third coat scheduled or your life". And some of you can't hardly believe it, but what you need to do is realize the God who's with you has never left you through everything you've been through. He's still there and He says, "The third coat is coming". Hallelujah. And it's gonna thrill you, and you're gonna rejoice. But don't wait until then, sow the seeds now.
Somebody praise Him in this house. The devil stripped you, the devil killed you and tried to destroy you, he thought. But you're gonna get another coat. Turn to somebody and say, "Your third coat is on the way". It's the coat of the overcomer, it's the coat of not a victim, but a victor in Jesus' name. They said you'll never make it, they said you'll never build it, they said because of the things that have happened to you. But listen, nothing on the outside determines my final place. The seed is within itself. Hallelujah, hallelujah. He multiplies it.
Let me close with this. Joseph is an old man. He's been through so many things, he's lived long enough to see it all, and he has two sons. And the first son that he has, he names Manasseh which means, "The Lord has made me to forget the pain of my father's house". You know what he's saying there? He's saying that, "I don't look like what I've been through. If y'all knew my testimony, you would say, 'Good Lord, look at all that poor Joseph went through.'" But he said, "The Lord has made me forget all that pain". That old song they used to sing. "God made it fail".
That's his attitude now. He's an old man. He says, "God made it fail. They meant it for my evil, God meant it for my good. And I don't look like what I have been through, I don't talk like what I have been through, I don't carry myself like what I've been through. I am not a victim. I've got my third coat on. I'm an overcomer by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony". But then he had a second son, and he named him Ephraim, and I wanna close with this. And guess what Ephraim means? He said, "I'm naming him Ephraim because he has made me fruitful in my affliction". He said, "Because God made me fruitful through the affliction that I went through".
Some of you are saying, "God, take me out". And God's saying, "No, I'm not gon' take you out, I'm gon' take you up". As a matter of fact, Exodus 1 said that Pharaoh, the one that came after Joseph's time saw how quickly the Israeli women were having babies, and they were multiplying, so many babies that they got concerned they're gonna overtake the whole nation of Egypt, these Hebrews. "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied. And were the dread of the children of Israel". Hallelujah. I'm simply saying to you that the more the enemy has afflicted you and your family, that's the very area God wants to multiply.
The more they afflict you, the more they multiply. It's the blessing of multiplication whose seed is in itself. You say, "I'm the only Christian in my family whose seed is in itself. I'm the only Christian that works on that Heathen jobsite where I work whose seed is in itself". I want you to say this. Through the affliction, I will multiply. And I want you to say it three times, "Multiply. Multiply. Multiply". In Jesus' name. The blessing is already in you. What's in your house?
And here's what I wanna say to you today. That you have hope, and you have a future. It's all in you, not out there. And it starts with making Jesus Lord of your life. And I'm gon' ask every person under the sound of my voice at every campus who's been going through a darkness, a depression, a discouragement, a tinge of just down, a tinge of just joylessness, a tinge of dread, and fear, and anxiety, and panic, and worry. I'm telling you, the seed for victory over every one of those things is on the inside of you this morning. And so, if that's you, and if I just described you, it takes honesty, it takes somebody willing to say, "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of this little, it's like a cloud. A mantle of down".
And the enemy wants to press you down. That's why it's called depressed. If you just say, "You know, I believe what he's preaching today. God's good. And the blessing of multiplication is not just for others, it's for me. Pastor, pray for me". If that's you, and you just had this little tinge of darkness, just stand up on your feet right where you are, I wanna pray for you. Don't worry about what anybody thinks, just, just... at every campus, do it. At every campus. That's awesome. It's very good, very good. It is good.
I just decree over you in the mighty name of Jesus that what you've been going through is very real. I'm not minimizing it. The pain is real, the issues are real. I've been there myself. But I've come with a spirit of encouragement today. And I speak the joy of the Lord, which is your strength. A peace that surpasses all human understanding I speak in the name of Jesus. The seed that is inside of you that Christ has given you when He entered into your life is greater than he that is in the world.
And Lord, I just pray right now for a new joy. That the more they're afflicted, the more you'll multiply them. That the multiplication blessing will come, and as they sow seeds of rejoicing, and praise, and worship, and faithfulness to the kingdom of God, as they sow those seeds, oh God, you will multiply the seeds that they sow back into their life. I thank you for it and I call it done. And I just proclaim the son is bursting through the clouds again. That your head would be lifted up in Jesus' name. That you will stand on the mountain top again with your hands raised saying, "God made it fail". Hallelujah. And I am blessed, and he has blessed me in the land of my affliction. In Jesus' name.
Now, I want everybody else to stand with 'em, and this is how I feel like I'm supposed to do this this morning, and I'm really excited about it. I mean, I have an unexplainable faith in this realm right now. I felt it this morning in the 9 o' clock, and I feel it right now like a fire shut up in my bones. I'm not trying to just say something. I have faith for this. I want every businessperson, I want every businessman, every businesswoman, I want every person who just, kinda, going through a some trying times, a little bit discouraging situations in your business life, in your career life. I feel like that you're supposed to come to the altar this morning, and you're supposed to just hold it up and say, "God, you put it in me".
Some of you have businesses that He's put in you. Some of you have things that you know you were born for and put here, and you haven't realized 'em yet. Some of you, it's a family, you know? It's a maid, it's a husband, it's a wife, it's children. It's okay. But I don't want you to come with, like, a sadness. I want you to come with a joyful expectation. An absolute joyful expectation that God is not cruel enough to put a desire in you that He's not able to bless and pull out of you. It's not up to them, it's in here.
And once your faith is the size of a seed, of a mustard seed could be planted into a mountain and the mountain could be moved. And if you're, kinda, whatever I described it, as a family or as a business, I really feel this for you today. Slip out of your seat wherever you are at every campus, and get down as close as you can down front because I said something in the first service, it was unplanned. I don't know where it came from, it's kinda neat though, I like it. "May God make you an asset owner," everybody say, "An asset owner. A land possessor. A wise investor". Everybody say:
Lord. I'm asking you to make me an asset owner. A land possessor. A wise investor. I'm asking you to bless my work again. To bless my business again. To bless my career again. To give me direction. To give me increase. Bless me with the blessing of multiplication.
Now, throw your hands up and just begin to praise Him a moment. He's gonna bless you. He's gonna bless your work. He's gonna bless you. It's not dependent on the outside. It's on the inside. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That's why I did that. Faith is what you hope for, what you set your vision for. Hallelujah. See, people don't understand this. "Well, it's easy for you to say. Well, that's not spiritual".
Well, you go without money and see how spiritual you get. You go without a home, and cars, and stuff that you need. The essentials of life. Let me give you a verse for it. "I have never seen," Psalm 34, "I have never seen the righteous forsaken," watch this, "Or his seed," where's the seed? Is it out there? Is it dependent upon the economy? Where is the seed? It's in me. "Or his seed begging for bread". Woo. Somebody needs to be encouraged today. God's not through blessing you. Now raise your hand, pray this prayer and say:
Jesus. I surrender my future and my life to you unconditionally. I am yours. I want self-control. I want the fruit of love. I want the fruit of peace. I want the fruit of joy. I want the fruit of kindness. I need some gentleness in my life. Don't let me be a hot head. Don't let me be somebody who just goes crazy, from zero to ninety. Give me gentleness. Give me faithfulness. Give me self-control. Give me patience. Give me love, joy, and peace. I receive What you purchased at the cross. Holy Spirit, produce these fruits in my life. In my marriage. In my conversations. In my business. Thank you for good success. Thank you that I am an asset owner.
Drive it home, come on. "I am a land possessor by faith. I am a wise. Investor in Jesus' name". Now let's just raise our hands and praise God. Praise Him for the increase. The seed is stirred up this morning.