TD Jakes - Intentional Growth: From Seed to Bread
It is naive to think that the planting of good exempts us from the presence of bad. This is important for us to understand: just because God allows wheat to be planted doesn’t mean that weeds are restricted. Are you hearing what I’m saying? The kingdom is like this. We have to be able to produce in the presence of weeds. So, for all of you who are waiting for all the weeds to be gone before you produce the wheat, you are not digging deep enough into this text because this text declares there will never be a day when you can be full without being weedful.
God allows the wheat to be planted, but that doesn’t mean that the weeds are restricted. Wheat is planted with great intentionality; in other words, wheat is not going to grow in this ground if it is not planted. It is not a natural result of the climate, the soil, the rain, and the sunshine. It has to be planted. Nobody succeeds accidentally. Nobody wins a marathon accidentally. Nobody wins the Olympics accidentally. Nobody gets a master’s degree accidentally. Nobody gets a diploma accidentally. Nobody passes a GED accidentally. Nobody gets a promotion accidentally. Just because you pray doesn’t mean you win. This is work. This is sweat. This is labor. Because this is agriculture, and agriculture means that the intention of sowing the seed is that I might have wheat, and the intention of having wheat is that I might have bread. From seed to wheat to bread is going to take time. I can’t plant seed today and eat bread tonight because timing is crucial.
If I am going to be fruitful, I have to be patient for the seed to grow first down and then up. You didn’t get that! It’s going to first grow down and then up. Some of you are standing over your life saying, «I don’t see anything! I don’t see anything! I keep sowing, and I don’t see anything!» The seed grows down before it grows up. You’re not supposed to see it, but just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean that the roots are not growing in the soil. And if you wait a little while, it is going to go from seed to wheat and from wheat to bread, and there is work in between every stage. The seed is work; the wheat is work; the bread is work. You cannot eat any better than you work.
Now, somebody said your blessing is going to be work. When you finish dancing and shouting about the promise of God, understand that you’re going to have to break a sweat. You’re going to have to put in some effort. You’re going to have to grind the wheat. You’re going to have to pulverize it. You can’t just bring the wheat in and make bread until you crush it. It’s got to be crushed; it’s got to be made into a usable form. So, it doesn’t mean that God hasn’t blessed you with the bread; it could mean that you haven’t put in the work to go from seed to harvest. Oh, you’re listening this morning! Look at somebody and tell them, «I’m going from seed to wheat to bread. I might not be ready for consumption right now, but I’m in process and I’m going somewhere. Don’t look down at me because I’m not bread. I may be in the wheat stage or the seed stage, but I am on my way to a place that God has destined for me.»
Who am I talking to this morning? Whoever I’m talking to, God says hang on in there; I’m not finished with you yet. I’m taking you through a process, and at the right time, I’m going to take you from seed to harvest. I’m still dancing; it’s already done. It’s already done. It’s already done, and it is done on purpose. I want you to get this: the reason it is planted is that it is not indigenous to the land. The word agriculture is rooted in the word «cult.» Cult means you’re not orthodox; you’re not natural; you’re not normal. «Agra» means land. That means that wheat is not normal to the land. You can’t just wish for it; you have to make it happen.
Agra culture—culture—I’m going to make this happen. It is not indigenous. You don’t get it just because you want it. You’ve got to plant it. You’ve got to be intentional about it. You’ve got to work on it; you’ve got to labor for it because you were not raised in an environment that agrees with your dream. That doesn’t mean you can’t have it; it means you’ve got to be cultural enough to stand out against your neighborhood. «I’m the only one in my family. I’m the only one in my neighborhood. I’m the only one in my city. I’m the only one in my house.» They don’t like me at the family reunion, and they don’t invite me back to the parties. My friends have changed because I have become different in their eyes.
I broke the rule! Everybody who got out, make some noise! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Faith is a challenge to the unbeliever; it is not natural to the unbeliever. Stop trying to make the people at work understand what they can’t understand. It is not indigenous to them to believe. If the gospel is to be heard, it is heard from those who are lost—they can’t see it. Can I go deeper? How many people are being blessed in this room? You’ve got to be willing to be different. You’ve got to be willing to be controversial. You’ve got to be willing to be talked about. The greatest problem in our community right now is that we are so sensitive; we’re more worried about being liked than we are about being fruitful.
And you’re praying to God about what they said and she said and he said. God said, «Unless you deny mother, father, sister, brother, and even deny yourself, you cannot be my disciple.» What they say about you doesn’t matter. We don’t like wheat! Get it into your head! Weeds don’t like wheat. You’ve got to decide: do you want to be wheat, or do you want to be weeds? Lesson number two: My God, nudge your neighbor and say, «You came on the right Sunday!»
I can feel it right now! Something’s going to happen in here today! Something’s going to happen in here today! Something’s going to happen in here today! Something’s going to happen in here today! I feel it in my spirit. I feel it. God is about to do something in the midst of His people. He’s forcing some things to happen; He’s being intentional; He’s planting some things intentionally. Somebody shout, «Lesson number two!» This is a good lesson. Whenever there is great potential for harvest, the enemy will always earmark the spot with calamity. Whenever there is great potential for harvest, the enemy will earmark the spot with calamity. Somebody was telling me about a restaurant they like up in North Dallas. I was getting my head shaved at the time, and I said, «Let me find it on my phone.»
I found it, and then I earmarked it as a favorite. I haven’t been there yet, but I marked it as a favorite so I could find it easily. I haven’t been yet, but I heard there was potential, so I earmarked it. Wherever the enemy sees potential, he will always earmark it with calamity. They never planted weeds before the wheat. Notice the sequence: it was the wheat being planted that caused them to plant the weed. They didn’t plant the weed and then plant the wheat; the wheat attracts the weed so that the enemy can earmark the spot. The devil knew God was going to bless you; hell knew God was going to use you. Hell knew that God had a purpose for your life, so he earmarked it with calamity.
Notice this: the weeds were planted like spies behind enemy lines. Whatever went wrong in your life, whatever calamities happened in your life, whatever traumas you went through in your childhood were the enemy’s way of earmarking the spot. He knew it wasn’t time yet, but he started working underground before you ever came up, so that he would have his system in place before you became fruitful. He would already have his infrastructure in place, so you would have something to struggle with. Struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle. Where are my struggles at? Why are things so hard for me? Why do I take two steps forward and then three steps back? Why is it hard for me to do things that other people do easily? It’s because the enemy has earmarked you.