As a righteous sower you can never sow seeds to get yourself into poverty. There are people who do believe however, that by giving to the work of the Lord, they will be getting themselves into poverty. They have actually predetermined their end with their unbelief.
Even though Jesus called them the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13); they are ascribing to themselves with their unbelief, that the saltiness in their lives has lost its value. And that’s why the enemy often beats them down, with all kinds of crazy religious doctrines like: “God is using poverty to teach me (them) how to humble myself (themselves)”. Or that: “poverty or sicknesses are part of the Christian suffering, that must be endured for their righteousness to shine”. These are some of the false teachings, that the devil still uses today in keeping some people poor.
There are even some people of the world, who do believe that Christianity is meant only for poor people. They believe that only the poor need to be in the church, because that’s where they can be consoled and helped in finding comfort with poverty. They see the Church as the place where the poor should always go for help.
But we do know that as the salt of the earth, a Christian gives life to anything in his or her pathway. Salt spreads the blessing, healing and the prosperity of the Lord everywhere. Anything that salt touches lives. That’s why Jesus called you the salt of the earth. In other words you were created in God’s image to bring prosperity into your world with your faith.
The Prophet Elisha was once informed about the bitterness of the water in the city of Jericho (2 Kings 2:19-22). He asked for a bowl of salt and water, which he applied to the source of the water into Jericho, as he spoke healing and restoration to the water. The pleasant city consequently lived again as the Prophet spoke.
You are the salt that God has planted to bring life back into the bitterness within your community. The salt in your life does not have to loose its saltiness. Your life as a child of God brings restoration to the people in your community. It brings healing, salvation and deliverance as you persist in sowing the seed of righteousness. That’s why every sower of seed, who is committed to prayer and intercession, should be expectant of the harvest. The salt of God in your life makes you prosperous in everything that you do.
Therefore the more you are committed to sowing the seed of righteousness, through prayer and intercession into the community; the more your interest in the heavenly bank account accumulates. The more seeds that you are sowing, will be matched up with the increase in your interest rate accumulation with God as a righteous man. And this is how you bring increases into your harvest.
It’s important to note here that the economic system of this world, cannot have an influence on the interest rates of the righteous man with God. It is a fixed guaranteed rate that is underwritten by the Holy Scriptures. God’s economies are untouchable by the world’s economic systems.
That’s why Jesus said in the Passion Translation of the Bible:
““Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.”
Matthew 6:19-21 TPT
God’s economy is invisible to the devil. The devil is the one who operates the economic systems of this world; but the Heavenly system has the ability to overrule it. There is therefore nothing in this world that the devil does, which God cannot overturn. The accumulation of your wealth and credit with God, qualifies you for the overturn.
Watch out for the “foxes”!
There are certain things however which may affect the harvesting of the seed, that the righteous sower has sowed. But prayer and intercession is very vital in opening his eyes of understanding into those things, so that he can begin to do something about them. The spiritual eyes of understanding is illuminated by the Holy Spirit, as the sower gives himself fully to praying and interceding in the spirit. The more he or she prays in the spirit, the more wisdom and revelation comes to him or her. The more also he or she gets closer in fellowship with God – who is a Spirit.
That’s why Paul prayed for the Ephesians in this way:
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”
Ephesians 1:17-19 NKJV
The lack of spiritual wisdom and revelation has darkened the spiritual eyes of understanding of many children of God. They can’t see the “riches of the glory”, that’s their inheritance here on the earth in Christ Jesus. Even though they do have the power to sow their way out of poverty, but that revelation is being kept away from them by the enemy. They can’t pray in the spirit for them to be able to tap into what belongs to them in Christ Jesus.
Many of them have so many entanglements to the world, that are ruining their ability to grow spiritually in understanding, what they already owned in Christ Jesus. They love the Lord, but they are still lingering too often around the world’s system. Their harvest is being endangered as a result of this relationship with the world.
Some of them are no more paying their tithes to their local churches. I am not even going to mention here about sowing seeds, because it’s the tithes that qualifies your seeds for the harvest. You can’t be evading paying your tithes to your Church, and at the same time be laying claim to the blessing of the Lord. That makes you more like a hypocrite before God. The Prophet Haggai said about your situation:
“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD. “ You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.””
Haggai 1:5-11 NKJV
You are no more paying tithes, so you don’t have seeds to sow. Don’t blame God for the lack in your finances. Consider your ways before God. Are your ways right or wrong? When a man does the right thing before God, he is considered as being righteous in His presence. But when he is wrong it’s not hard to know why he has holes in his finances. No seeds, no harvest. No tithes, no seeds. Don’t blame God! Look at yourself in the mirror! There are “little foxes” that the devil has assigned against your prosperity. And if you don’t repent and start doing right before God, your good works in the past will be wiped away.
You had been depriving others and yourself of God’s blessings. That’s the wickedness that your lack of tithing and sowing seeds has brought on God’s people – poverty instead of prosperity. Consider your ways now and return back into the loving hands of your Father. He will teach you and show you the true way into His riches. You are rich, but you are living your Christian life like a poor man. You are the salt of your world, but your Christian life has brought so much bitterness into many lives. Consider your ways, and turn back from the little foxes in your life.
King Solomon in his Song of Songs pinpointed it when he wrote:
“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
Song of Songs 2:15 NIV
Apparently the brothers of the Shulamite woman in this illustrated exposition by Solomon, were warning her about the dangers of certain things in her life, which may endanger her relationship with her lover. They were pointing out to her, the importance of getting rid of those things out of her life. Those things do have the ability to damage her relationship with her lover, if he ever discovered the flaws in her life. They referred to those flaws here as “the little foxes”.
We do know that the Shulamite woman here is figuratively the Body of Christ in the New Testament. In other words the Church is being challenged here to get rid of the “little foxes”, that may potentially damage her relationship in the vineyard (God’s Kingdom) with Christ (the Lover). To catch those “little foxes” pin points that she must be smart enough, to search within herself in exposing and revealing those issues of her personal life. She must be quick to take the necessary actions in addressing them.
Don’t spoil God’s Vineyard with the foxes
Jesus also towards the end of Matthew chapter 19 explained the prosperity, that belongs to those who follow Him on the earth. But then at the beginning of chapter 20, He continued this conversation with a Parable. He started the Parable of the workers in the Vineyard in this manner:
“This will help you understand the way heaven’s kingdom operates: “There once was a wealthy landowner who went out at daybreak to hire all the laborers he could find to work in his vineyard.”
Matthew 20:1 TPT
He was explaining the secret to the prosperity of the Kingdom of God on the earth with the above statement. What would had qualified for the work of the laborers in the vineyard? Of course they had to deal with the weeds and thorns, but they would had to deal with these ravagers of evil that are called – the little foxes also; who were bent on destroying the harvest. The wealthy landowner (God) had to hire them for this purpose.
That’s why He has called you also to work in His Vineyard. But just because you are called does not means that you are automatically qualified. The activities of the little foxes does has the tendency of affecting you also. You will need to remove the plank in your eye first, before you can be qualified to remove the speck in the eyes of others (Luke 6:42) during the harvest.
You will notice in the above Parable that the wealthy landowner, never promised the laborers any specific payment, even though they were all hired at different times of the day. But at the end of the day they all got the same pay. The sower, the laborers and the harvesters were all paid the same amount of money. God does not show partiality in the harvest. It is what He has predetermined to give you that you will get. It is what you are sowing into His Kingdom, that will be measured back to you in accordance with your faith.
But remember that foxes are omnivores animals. They can cause devastating losses to the harvest. Foxes are the greatest enemy of the sower or the farmer. In their quest for food they do have the ability to destroy everything in their pathway.
There are spiritual “little foxes” that has the ability to cause destruction, to the harvest of the righteous man also. This is common especially if he is not catching those little foxes, with the intention of getting rid of them. There are many who are wallowing their lives around the little foxes, that the enemy has planted to destroy their harvest. It’s sad to see how some Christians do struggle daily with the “little foxes” in their lives. Their spiritual lives has become unfruitful because of them.
There is no harvest in the farm of the sower, that has the “little foxes” hiding in every little hole underneath the soil. The little foxes will always come out at night, when no one is present on the farm to destroy the harvest. The best that the sower has to do is to set up hidden traps across his farmland, so as to start catching those little foxes one by one.
That’s why Solomon used the expression – “catch for us the foxes”. This is a direct manner of telling the Bride of Christ, to get rid of anything that may be in the way of the harvest. There are “little foxes” that the enemy has assigned specifically against your harvest as a Christian. He will do everything possible to prevent you from getting a great harvest.
Little foxes are not necessarily sinful patterns in the believer’s life. They are on the contrary the unnecessary spiritual weights (Hebrews 12:1-2), that a Christian may be carrying at heart, but which he or she may not be aware of.
They may be the unnecessary attachment to the cultural traditions and customs of the community, where you may be living right now; which has no connection at all with the gospel of Jesus Christ. After awhile they will become like the spiritual weights, that are holding back your spiritual growth in God’s Kingdom. They will prevent you from paying your tithes to the church. And if you’re not a tither, then you are not a sower; because you can’t get seeds without tithing. You can’t have the little foxes hanging over your spiritual life, and expect to still be able to win souls into God’s Kingdom.
As Paul said:
“And what agreement has the temple of God with (little) idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.””
II Corinthians 6:16-18 NKJV
You can not bear fruit of righteousness in the harvest, while you are still battling with these little foxes or idols around you. You are the Temple of God. He lives in you. He walks in you. You can’t say that you do belong to God, and these things at the same time. It is not possible. It’s time to make a bold move this year, and cut yourself loose from them.
These may also be worldly habits or indulgences, that are not necessarily sinful but which has become part of the life of the believer in Christ. The believer knows that these things must go away, if he or she is to become a vessel of honor and glory to God. The struggle within his or her heart often gets intense, in confronting the strong spiritual attachment to them. Even though he or she knows that Jesus is the burden carrier, he or she is still struggling to disengage from them. There are a lot of Christians who are still struggling to get rid of theirs.
That’s why the ability to pray and intercede in the spirit is your greatest advantage over the enemy. Satan doesn’t understand you when you are praying in this way. He cannot even figure out what your next move will be. The worst he can do is to try and get you confused, about the will of God for your life concerning these things. He will give you a million excuses why you can’t get rid of them. You will have to make the quality decision to get away from them.
As the Prophet Isaiah said:
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!” Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.”
Isaiah 30:21-23 NKJV
These things will become like the unclean things to get rid of from your life, as you intensify your ability to pray in the spirit. It’s therefore important to stay focused on God during such moments of prayer and intercession. God will lead you out as you pour your heart completely and deeply before Him. He will answer you. You don’t need anyone to pray for you. You need to be seeking the face of the Father back by yourself in true repentance. And His prosperity is waiting for you at the end of it all. You will come out better and stronger than you are now. Because no one ever leaves God’s presence and remains the same again. No one!
Little foxes may be in the life of a Christian, and he may not even be aware of the danger that, those attachments to the world are causing him, in getting a good harvest from the Lord. He may be getting some harvests here and there. But he knows that he is definitely not getting the very best that God has for him.
That’s why it’s important to know the condition of the spiritual soil, where you are planting your seeds. Praying in the spirit will brighten your heart, and give you the ability to be able to discern spiritual matters more accurately before acting. You can’t miss God when you are praying like this.
Jesus doesn’t expect you to be carrying any weight or burden on your heart. He wants you to be able to rejoice in the harvest. He said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
A good rest in the spirit prepares you for the greatest harvest. Remember that:
“Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.”
Psalms 126:5 NKJV
You may have gone through a lot in sowing your seeds in 2019, but the harvest time brings you joy. Get yourself ready for greater harvest in 2020. Get rid of your “little foxes”. The harvest ahead of you is bigger than anything else, that the world thinks they can give you. Pray fervently in the spirit. Your victory is just around the corner.
