The Truth About Seed Faith, Giving
When an unmarried wealthy young man or lady is searching for a life partner, there is usually this expression: “I need someone who will love me for who I am and not what I have.”
This is the mindset of the Almighty God, the creator of the world in his fellowship and individual relationship with humans. God expects you to love and serve him alone for who he is, and not because of whether or not you are expecting a particular thing from him. God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5, Jeremiah 25:6, 1st Thessalonians 5:18).
Now, let us come to giving things to God, which can take different shapes.
“Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
This scripture means that if you give your heart to God, giving him any other thing will not be a struggle. Giving becomes more effortless.
Apart from your heart and material things that you can offer to God, what you can give to God includes a dance offering, a clap offering, a song offering, etc. God equally commands that you give to
- Your Parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:2-3)
- Charity (Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-37, Acts 20:35)
Generally, giving is an act of worship to God. That is why there is an offering (offertory) segment during mass (church service).You can also give God cash (money) in form of
1. TITHE: This concept originated from a VOLUNTARY ACT OF WORSHIP that Abraham made in Genesis 14:20. God later in Malachi 3:10 gave it as a COMMAND and attached a benefit to it. Even though tithe is not part of the contract of salvation, Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:23 noted the importance of tithing when he implied that it should still be paid even though there are weightier matters of the law.
The argument in some quarters about percentage is unfounded in my view. Tithe is 10%. Then, Leviticus 27:30 made us realize that tithe is not restricted to cash. In other words, if someone gifts you ten shirts, you should give God one as tithe. If you BENEFIT 10 cars from a legitimate business deal, one should be given as tithe to God. If you harvest 100 tubers of yam, 10 should be paid as tithe. If you convert the items to cash to pay, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER that you are offering it to, will still accept it, except where there is an instruction given to you PERSONALLY by the Holy Spirit against converting it to cash. The Holy Spirit can also direct you PERSONALLY to move the percentage of your tithing beyond the normal 10%. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS PERSONAL.
Personally, I have been paying tithe over the years, believing and applying the Malachi 3:10 scripture and it has been working for me (James 1:22). No human being on earth therefore, can influence me to stop tithing. I will pay tithe for as long as I stay on earth. If you believe that you should not pay tithe or that it doesn’t work for you, fine. That’s your choice or decision. Do not waste energy, trying to discourage or condemn others that are paying tithe. Don’t even argue with anybody about it. Live and let others be. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS PERSONAL.
2. SEED: The word, SEED in Galatians 6:7 is not restricted to money or cash. Anything you do in life is a seed. For instance, if you go to the social media to insult people or men of God or despise the Holy Bible just for the purpose of gaining popularity or building traffic for your platform, it is a seed and there is a reaping time, which is generational. Just as the internet never forgets, Gods word never fails.
Now, SEED FAITH implies that sowing of a SEED has FAITH attached to it. Today, most churches restrict seed faith to giving of cash to a church or a pastor or prophet. This is not an issue. Like I said, the Holy Spirit can direct you on what to do. If you do not believe in the place of the Holy Spirit in any act of faith, you do not believe in God and “the fool sayeth in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
The main subject of discuss here is the MOTIVE BEHIND GIVING AND SOWING SEED IN FORM OF CASH. Many have lost the truth because of the last days’ fulfillment of prophesies in Matthew 24.
First, I believe in SEED FAITH because it has been working for me. I say it is working for me based on the fact that I am alive and well after over 50 years of birth into this world. Like every human being, including you, I am permanently indebted to God in giving, as long as I breathe, in appreciation of what he has done for me, known and unknown, spiritual and physical. You and I are alive only by his mercy, which cannot be paid for in cash. “It is by his mercies that we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22). Because of this, there is no amount of money or gift in kind that is too much to give to God. In fact, after giving anything, you will keep owing God. That is why God can suddenly order you to donate as seed, a particular property, amount of money or give anything to a church, a pastor or anybody. He owns you and whatever you think you own.
If you are reading this piece, and the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you to sow a particular seed of something you hold precious, please, don’t be distracted by the opinion of mortals who are spiritually blind and ignorant instruments in the hands of Satan, who intends to break people’s personal relationship with the Almighty God.
SO, WHY DO WE GIVE?
In Luke 6:38, Jesus Christ commanded us to give. So, you give in obedience to God’s commandment. Otherwise, you are disobedient. The abundance that Luke 6:38 says will be given back to you is God’s prerogative. Give and it shall be given back unto you is a principle that never fails. More importantly, we obey it because it is a commandment.
Second reason for giving is to express your true love for God. (Read first and second paragraphs of this article again). Why did God give us his only son to die for us? It was because of love. “For God so loved the world that he gave…” (John 3:16).
Even love itself is a commandment and the evidence is giving. Matthew 22:37 commands us to love the Lord with everything.
The various people that gave in the scripture, gave what they gave just to express the level of love they have for God and not because they needed God to give them something in return, except where people offered God praises and songs to win a war. What a miraculous God.
1. CORNELIUS: The Acts 10 account shows that when Cornelius was giving alms to people for years, he was not doing it because he was expecting God to give him a particular thing. He was simply expressing love, because you cannot love without giving, even though you can give without loving. He was surprised when God sent an angel to him.
2. THE WIDOW: The widow that cried unto Elisha concerning financial challenge in 2nd Kings 4:1-7, did not have to pay money to Elisha in form of seed in exchange for the miracle because it is God that performs miracles. His servants are only vessels he uses.
3. THE SHUNEMITE WOMAN: When this woman in 2nd Kings 4:8-17 showed hospitality to Elisha, she did it out of love and respect for God and God’s servant. She did not do it because she was expecting something and so, had to pay for it first before getting it from God. In fact, it was Elisha’s Personal Assistant, Gehazi that told Prophet Elisha the woman’s need. Maybe she wouldn’t have mentioned it because that was not the reason for her giving lifestyle.
4. KING SOLOMON: 1st Kings 3:3-4 says “And SOLOMON LOVED THE LORD walking in the statutes of David, his father; only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the King went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.”
His giving was driven by love for God. So, Solomon offered this historical and much talked about sacrifice of 1000 burnt offerings, not because he was expecting God to give him something in exchange. He was simply expressing his love and respect for God. This is the correct reason for giving.
5. THE WIDOW’S MITE: Jesus commended the widow that dropped her sacrificial offering in the box to explain to us how we should give to God. The Bible did not tell us whether or not a miracle happened to her as a result of that sacrificial giving. This silence on miracle there, is because it is not the essence of giving. Miracle from God to us, his children and other blessings are part of the package that God, as Heavenly Father has for us. In case you don’t know, you are a miracle and you owe God everything for making you one. Those who argue about, and condemn the amount of money and things given to Almighty God and his prophets, are ignorant. A wise person should not join such multitude to do evil (Exodus 23:2).
6. KING DAVID: David said in 2nd Samuel 24:24 that he would not give God something that cost him nothing and therefore, had to buy what he would have gotten for free as the king. Yes. God deserves quality seed or offering but David did it as expression of thanksgiving, appreciation, love, respect and loyalty to God. He did not do it because there was a targeted miracle.
7. SARAH AND ANGEL VISITORS: When Sarah gave hospitality to three visitors in Genesis 18, she did not do it because she was expecting a miracle of child bearing. She only did what a charitable person, a child of God should do. In fact, she laughed when she heard them tell the husband after enjoying her hospitality, that she would have a son. That was not her reason for giving care and hospitality involving her financial resources. She did what she did as a simple expression of love, which is in Christ’s nature, for every born again Christian to display.
8. MARY THAT ANOINTED JESUS FEET: As at when Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with an expensive ointment and wiped it with her hair in John 12, the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead had already occurred in John 11. So, she did not offer that expensive ointment like that so that she would get something from Jesus. It was an expression of thanksgiving and appreciation of who Jesus is. Nobody compelled her to do it. It also justifies the importance of quality in giving to God as done by David in 2nd Samuel 24 and by Solomon in 1st Kings 3.
As for those who always argue, like the disciples did, that money given to the church and the pastor should be channeled to charity for the poor. Jesus has answered you. “For the poor, always you have with you but me, you have not always,” (John 12:8).
Please note that it was not everyone who saw Jesus physically on earth when he came that benefited from his miracles. It was only those that BELIEVED. It is all about FAITH. That’s why Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29 “because thou has seen me, thou has believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet, have believed.”
I cannot exhaust here, examples of Bible characters that practiced giving for the right reasons:
- In obedience to God’s command
- As an act of worship to God
- A token of expression of thanksgiving, appreciation for what God has done and is doing
- An expression of how much they truly loved God
FOR THOSE WHO INSIST TODAY THAT GIVING CASH MONEY IS A PRE-REQUISITE FOR RECEIVING A PARTICULAR MIRACLE, I ASK
- How much mammon (money) did the woman with the issue of blood give to Jesus to get her long desired healing? (Luke 8:43-49)
- How much did Mary and Martha pay to Jesus to get their brother Lazarus raised from the dead? (John 11)
- How much did the woman caught in adultery in John 8 pay to Jesus, to get escape from being stoned to death? (John 8:1-11)
- How much did the impotent man by the pool for 38 years pay to Jesus to get healing in John 5?
- How about the blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52? Did he give monetary seed to Jesus as a condition for regaining his sight?
Let me state here categorically that this trend of asking someone to pay money so that God can give him or her this or that does not agree with scriptures. Apart from the fact that God is not a trade by barter or cash and carry God and cannot be bought over or bribed like a man to do something, the practice is not sustainable and portrays God as someone who is only interested in your money (mammon), and can do anything positive or negative, provided you pay some huge cash as seed. THIS IS NOT TRUE AT ALL.
No wonder a lady went to a pastor with money (as seed), asking him to pray that someone else’s wife should die so that the person’s husband will marry her. God is not man, and cannot do or back evil because you have paid some money as seed. It is an erroneous teaching that led to such error and many are already deceived. This is the essence of this article.
I say the practice is not sustainable because by the time the amount of cash you give becomes your standard for measuring what God stands for, or what he can or cannot do for you, there will come to a point where you may lose your faith in Christ, which is the devil’s original intention in orchestrating such erroneous teachings. By the time you ‘sow’ a certain amount of money as condition for God having to give you a particular thing and it does not come, doubt creeps in and you may conclude that God is no longer real or working. You may even get frustrated and depressed and create doubts in other people about potency of God’s power. This has happened to some people in the web of this error.
The Bible instructs you to guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). One of the reasons is so that you don’t lose your faith in Christ as a result of wrong teaching or doctrinal practice, by those who are merchandizing with God’s name.
GOD NEVER FAILS BUT YOUR ERROR IN BELIEVE CAN PRESENT HIM OTHERWISE.
SUMMARY
- You can give anything to God, out of the instruction from the Holy Spirit or a personal decision to practice faith in God’s power.
- The correct reason for giving to God is (a) To obey commandment in Luke 6:38. (b) To prove that you truly know and love God (1st John 3:18) (c) To express in form of a token (even if it is billions of dollars), appreciation and thanksgiving to God for what he has done for you and what he is still doing by keeping you alive to give.
GIVING SOMETHING TO GOD BECAUSE YOU ARE EXPECTING IN RETURN, A BIGGER PAYBACK FOR THAT PARTICULAR CASH YOU ARE GIVING IS NOT CORRECT.
God thinks good towards all men that serve him (Jeremiah 29:11). God’s blessings are automated for his children. God does not lie and has made promises to those who obey him. He is faithful, compassionate and ALWAYS fulfills his promises, both those meant for your lifetime on earth and the ultimate reward of eternity in heaven. The truth is that if you GIVE WILLINGLY (1st Corinthians 9:7), there is assurance that you will be blessed abundantly because Luke 6:38 is a principle that never fails.
However, if the joy of salvation in Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit in you, the assurance of your future on earth and the reward of eternal life in heaven are not enough to motivate you to obey God in giving; if they are not enough reasons for you to show him unconditional love, you are not in a relationship with him. You know about God but you do not know him. Don’t deceive yourself (James 1:22). You cannot love without giving.
Like a wealthy unmarried guy and a lady, God is not looking for gold diggers to fellowship with on earth. God is looking for those who will love and serve him for who he is and not because of the riches of his glory and the things he has to offer to them. God created you for his own pleasure (Psalm 100:3). He is a spirit and must always receive sacrificial giving from you as long as you exist on earth. He is a spirit (John 4:24).
God is not a cash and carry God as is being portrayed by some people. He cannot be controlled or influenced by your mammon (money). It was that kind of belief system that produced Simon the sorcerer who attempted to buy the gift of God with money and Peter told him ‘Thy money perish with thee, because thou has thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money (Acts 8:20).
This is a big error that wrong teachings have produced. Now, you know the right thing to do. If you love God, prove it in your giving practice. God bless you.
PASTOR CHIEDU ALBINUS
+234 8038117704
