How Do You Get The Good Kind?

Chapter 2

GIFT #8—INCREASE (PART 2)

HOW DO YOU GET THE GOOD KIND?

Before you begin to read, pray that the Holy Spirit will give you and all readers of this book understanding and application.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV).

I have heard a story of a young Christian man who was about to graduate from college. For months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom. Knowing that his father could afford it, he told him that the car was all he wanted for a graduation gift. As the day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and he told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely leather-wrapped Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you gave me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the “instruction book” behind.

Many years passed, and his life went as many “Christian” lives go—up and down, good and bad, like the ocean tides. He got married, had two kids, and started a business. The business had its ups and downs and never gave him the freedom he sought in life. The effort he put into the business detracted from his family relationships, and as a result, he got a divorce (like 35 percent of professing Christians). His son wound up in jail because of a drug habit, and his daughter never really forgave him for the divorce because, in her mind, he’d abandoned the family.

Sitting alone at home one day, he got a phone call letting him know that his father had passed away and that he would need to come home immediately to settle his father’s estate. When he arrived, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still-new Bible, just as he had left it 25 years earlier. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with a dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he’d desired. On the tag was the date of his college graduation and the words, “Paid in full.” Are you expecting God to bring increase, blessings, and gifts the way you see fit? How often do we presume to know the way almighty God, the God who made the heavens and earth, should work? Honestly, as Christians, most of us know that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (see John 14:6), but when it comes to the way we actually live our lives, we still live by, “my way or the highway.” What if your increase is embedded in a person, a mission, a teaching, or an encounter that you have yet to experience, that God has yet to give you, or that you have yet to embrace? I found my increase in the midst of God profoundly exercising my faith; working through this process brought it about in a dramatic way. Remember that, just like the man in this story, your increase can only be found when, with faith in Him, you receive, unwrap, and then use the life changing gift offered to you by your heavenly Father.

RECEIVING THE GIFT

Early in my Christian walk, I learned the significance of the opening verse of this chapter (Gal. 6:7-9); however, at the time I didn’t realize that it would become the cornerstone of my testimony and would profoundly affect my faith. God punctuated this verse in my life in a very special way, since only He could know that I would eventually write this book. In the summer of 1988, I was living well, and I was beginning to develop my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. However, I started getting into financial trouble. I lost my company, my money, my house, my car—it was a horribly painful series of events that seemed to snowball, leaving little behind. Where was the God to whom I had just given my life? What was He doing with my life? I couldn’t help but wonder at times, God, I’ve given you my life, now why are you trying to take it away—to destroy it?

Every time I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. At the time, I felt like my life was a really bad Christian witness. I dreaded people asking me to give my testimony. My story seemed so depressing—one people would want to avoid—so I wondered who could possibly be inspired or want to come to know Jesus after hearing it. On the other hand, in spite of my difficult experiences, my life, my relationships, and my outlook had changed for the better, and for the first time in my life, everything made sense in light of God’s Word.

Yet, despite this profound clarity, I had lost nearly every one of my possessions. At one point, I thought it might be a virtue to be poor. This was taught in the church I attended as a young child; however, I couldn’t find any support for it in the Bible. So what was happening in my life? Why did it seem like everything was falling apart?

Well, from the time I received Jesus, my wife and I had started praying diligently for faith. As we did, things seemed to get worse. How was that possible? As you recall, faith comes by trusting God—by acting in spite of what you see (see Heb. 11:1). The key here is the word acting. This is how we exercise our faith; this is how we grow—by acting on our hope despite what we see or experience. So, how does this work? Well, for my wife and me to have the opportunity to grow our faith, we had to initially see things for which we had not hoped, like losing all our possessions. So in our case, this exercise program wasn’t a light jog—it was more of a boot camp.

So praise God. He had answered our prayers! God had instituted a faith-building exercise program using our finances, which was probably the easiest way for God to get and keep our attention. I was certainly very interested in that area of my life. Like most people, I was too interested. I can tell you, my flesh was not too thrilled about this faith exercise program, though God wanted me to be joyous about it.

This was the period of life when I discovered the principle of Seed, Time, and Harvest that you just read about in the previous chapter. As I mentioned, initially this principle seemed like bad news because, as a new Christian, so many of the seeds that I had sown were going to bear fruit that I didn’t want. However, this principle and its supporting truths ultimately gave me a blueprint. It gave me hope and encouraged me to work my way out of the predicament that I had gotten myself into.

UNWRAPPING THE GIFT

The first step we took to begin living out this principle was to start tithing. Tithe means one-tenth. The first recorded tither was none other than the father of our faith, Abraham, who gave his king and priest the first tenth of everything that he received. [Melchizedek said,] “And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything (Genesis 14:20).

Tithing later became part of the Mosaic Law for the Israelites, who were commanded to give the first tenth of their increase to God’s priests the Levites.

A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30).

This verse indicates that this tenth belongs to the Lord and is holy. This would suggest that under the Mosaic Law, if they didn’t pay their tithe, then they would essentially be stealing from God. The only place in the Bible where God challenges us to test Him is in relation to tithing.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10 NKJV).

Some Christians try to justify not tithing, saying, “These verses came from the Old Testament, which was a different spiritual season governed by the Law, and since we’re now in a season of grace, tithing no longer applies.” We have been freed from the law; however, I knew that it was still important to tithe, even in this season of grace. It was an offering of my obedience, faith, and surrender to God’s work—to God’s Kingdom and not humanity’s—even in the midst of financial struggle (especially in the midst of financial struggle).

Consider this important verse in Galatians that introduces the very principle of Seed, Time, and Harvest itself:

Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:6-7).

It was in the context of a discussion on giving (which is the main way that we support those who teach—our church pastors and staff) that God showed me the principle of Seed, Time, and Harvest. In this passage, God’s use of the word must makes it crystal clear—we should support pastors, teachers, and those who preach God’s Word even in this season of grace. Indeed, sometimes this will involve more than one-tenth of your income. Paul says that, in return, we will receive a reward for giving to God’s work.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor (1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NKJV).

Watering a plant is what brings life to it. We see in the same way giving to God is how you bring the fullness of life to yourself that God desires for you. The same concept is presented in Proverbs: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10).

As you might guess, the biggest problem with tithing is actually following through with it. Your faith will be tested on this point because of the time it takes for crops to grow and because of occasional crop failure. Mine was tested in a severe way many times. Of course, these tests will exercise your faith and build it up—which is ultimately a good thing.

ACTION & VISUALIZATION

Though it may be a challenge for you, start tithing regularly.

USING THE GIFT BY TITHING

When I accepted Christ, I was in the process of moving from a salaried position into commercial brokerage, where deal closings became my paydays. In commercial brokerage, you have the opportunity for big paydays, but these paydays can be irregular and are often spread far apart. Initially, my paydays weren’t substantial, and they were spread very, very, very far apart. On top of that, I had built up a significant overhead from “better living days” that wasn’t easy to get rid of. When I did get paid, it always seemed to be less than what I needed to make it to the next closing.

Looking at the numbers, I could see that if I didn’t give God His tithe, I might just make it if I got “lucky.” Due to the length of time it takes for a deal to close, I would typically know my dire financial picture months in advance. Yet, in spite of what I saw and the fear I felt, I chose to walk by faith and tithe anyway. Remember that faith is an action that pleases God. As a result, God would, at times, show me His hand operating in some very unusual ways. I admit that it was often a hair-raising period of life, as I was barely making enough to stay afloat. But in God’s wisdom, He knew that this would cause me to hang tightly onto Him.

I lost all of my non-essential possessions in one physically and mentally painful event after another while I sank deeper and deeper into debt. I was eventually reduced to riding the bus and living in a two-room apartment. Not a two-bedroom apartment, but a two-room apartment. One room was our living room, kids’ bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. The other was a bedroom for my wife and me as well as my office. Because I was in Hawaii, I had to get up at 3:00 A.M. to make calls to the East Coast.

I would sit on the corner of my bed all day, with files spread across it, occasionally staring out the one small window in the cinder block walls, thinking, how will I get out of this hole? As is the case with many Christians, my freedom to go places and do things was severely restricted because of my lack of financial increase. My life was clearly in a winter season. Though I was unable to save, in debt, and barely providing for my family, I still knew that God was calling me to give, to tithe. Do you think that was challenging to my faith? Yes, unbelievably so. Yet, we did not lose heart, and we continued to tithe and give anyway, believing for a change of season.

We were planting good seed; however, what we were experiencing was the truth that “due season” is something God determines, not us. I was still reaping the not-so-good fruit from the seeds I had planted before, and the good seeds I’d planted were not yet bearing fruit. God uses time to let us put our faith into action. My wife and I had to keep heart, and in faith, continue planting seed for the future in spite of the drought. Of course, every time things got worse, we prayed for more faith. (We didn’t initially realize the intense exercise program we were putting into motion.) The apostles did something similar when they asked Jesus for more faith.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Only a short time later, their friend, teacher, and leader, Jesus, was crucified. Suddenly, everything they had dedicated their lives to was gone. Their world was completely and forever changed. Their faith was severely tested. Three days later, Jesus delivered on His promise by defeating death and rising from the dead. In time He will fulfill His promises to you and me too.

For my family, at our lowest point, we were living in Waikiki in our two-room apartment with no car. Our refrigerator was one of those tiny mini-bar refrigerators with no freezer, so my wife had to endure the adventure of riding the bus to purchase and then lug home food and ice daily. Sometimes we would get a little extra money. My instinct was to buy a used car. However, my wife had a vision of a new green Nissan van. One day when she was walking in Waikiki, she saw one come around the corner, and it seemed to be moving in slow motion, glistening in the sun. She was convinced that it was God speaking to her in that circumstance. So we began trusting God for that Nissan van and nothing but the Nissan van. We were so sure of God’s direction that we took any extra money—at first $1,000, then $5,000—and gave it to God beyond our tithes. This was “seed money” for the Nissan van. One July, it looked like I was going to close the biggest deal of my career, beyond my wildest expectations: $800,000 in commissions.

However, it became clear that my co-broker, despite an agreement to the contrary, was going to double-cross me and keep the entire $1.6 million commission for himself. My client was sympathetic and agreed to pay me $100,000 directly. However, the $1.6 million went to the other broker. I was crushed, yet here again, it was another opportunity to exercise my heart and my faith.

I owed money to the IRS and other creditors, so after I paid the back taxes and old bills, there wasn’t enough to get the Nissan van. In hopes of getting the van, I told the co-broker that, instead of taking him to court on the $800,000 he rightfully owed me, I would settle for just $25,000. He refused. You can imagine, given our situation, how hard this was to accept.

I was heartbroken—all my hard work seemed wasted. As I struggled for understanding and direction about what to do next, my flesh wanted to kill the co-broker in some slow and torturous way. It was a very difficult decision— one I had to work at—but I wound up not suing him. I knew the long and costly process of litigation would keep anger burning in my heart. I don’t know about you, but I am simply not spiritual enough to avoid letting anger get the best of me. My anger, justified or not, would not have been beneficial. Knowing that my heart is weak, I needed to protect it.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV).

Furthermore, Jesus had this advice for me: …And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back (Luke 6:30 NKJV).

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I had not spiritually earned the money yet as all things are created in the spirit realm first.

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).

I can guarantee you that nobody, and I repeat, nobody, can take away what God intends for us. And no lawsuit was going to get for me what God hadn’t yet intended for me. Only a generous, forgiving heart would help me receive what God was preparing.

Good will come to him who is generous… (Psalm 112:5). Give, and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38). God is not going to turn around, surprised, one day and say, “Oops, how did you get that $800,000 in your account?” Nor is He going to say, “Oops, what happened to that $800,000 I meant for you? Did someone cheat you out of it?”

USING THE GIFT BY GIVING

About a month after the deal closed, my wife, still without a car, was taking her Bible out of the nightstand to pray when a letter fell onto the floor. She had placed the envelope there a few days earlier without looking at it. Though it was clearly junk mail, God impressed on her that it was important. Inside was an offer to get a car financed with bad credit—this was a new concept at the time. I was leaving for Mexico the next morning, but because she felt so strongly about it, I made the call. I quickly confirmed an arrangement to buy a new Dodge minivan— bad credit and all. Then it struck me, my wife’s vision was for a green Nissan van not a Dodge. I called the Nissan dealership and asked if they had a similar bad credit loan program, and sure enough, they did. I went in and met with the representative from the lending company—who happened to be there that day. After everything was arranged, a man explained to me the surprising nature of this car deal: “This is our first day of the bad credit loan program, and you’re our first customer.” Had I called even one day earlier, they would have said “no” because this lending program didn’t exist! And because the lender was there setting up the program that first day, I got a better deal. I happily drove the glistening green Nissan van home that day, knowing that God was fulfilling His promise: …To guide our feet into the way of peace [contentment] (Luke 1:79 NKJV).

About six months after I bought the car, I received the largest commission I had ever received, $200,000. I had $100,000 left after paying current taxes, back taxes, and old debts. We had been praying for and trusting God for a home so that we could get out of the two-room apartment, but the remaining $100,000 was not enough for a house in Hawaii, especially given my credit problems. Additionally, we weren’t hoping for just any house, we had high expectations!

…He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6 NKJV).

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower…multiply the seed you have sown… (2 Corinthians 9:10 NKJV).

We knew that, if we wanted to get the kind of home we dreamed of, finding a way to multiply our money was the key. I could only get a 10 to 20 percent return from traditional investments. And even with $100,000, at those return rates it would take a long time to earn enough money for the home we wanted. I knew that because God is the God of multiplication, He could choose to give us a much greater return (increase) if I invested the money with Him.

Did my flesh and mind think this was a good idea? No! They hated the idea. I am sure a professional advisor would have also found fault with this investment concept. My natural mind thought it would be foolish to give away the most money that I’d ever had in our bank account. However, despite my natural mind’s fears, I decided to walk in the Spirit and in faith.

Out of that original $200,000 commission, this is what I did: I gave $20,000 tithe; I paid off my debts and taxes with $100,000; I gave $50,000 as a gift to my church for their building program; I gave a gift of $25,000 to my former pastor so that he could put a down payment on a house in Denver; and I gave $5,000 to another church. I sowed everything I could, leaving nearly nothing in my bank account. With a warrior’s spirit, I followed the lead of the widow with the two coins, and gave all that I had to God. My spirit soared with expectations.

My flesh and mind didn’t stop working though. In fact, pride began to seep in when I calculated that the contribution that I had made to my church made up a noticeable amount of the entire building fund. Well, you guessed it; I still had more spiritual shaping up to do in the gym. A year went by and nothing happened—still no harvest.

GOD SURPRISES US

Though very discouraged at times, I remained confident in the seeds I had planted, and a little more than a year later, while I was seeking a retail location for a ministry, I ran into an out-of-town commercial broker I knew. I’d met him previously while trying to sell a beautiful townhouse complex to a developer. At the time, I had actually hoped that I might be able to get one of the units in the complex if I sold the complex to a developer. Now two years later, the broker told me that the townhouses had all sold, except for one—a particularly nice unit—which was still personally owned by the developer. He thought the developer might be interested in selling.

Out of courtesy and curiosity, I made an appointment to look at it with the broker. Though it was perfect and even more wonderful than we expected, I didn’t have enough for a down payment, nor could I qualify for a standard loan. I did not call him back again after the showing. The next Sunday at church, I noticed the same broker sitting in the row in front of me. Interesting coincidence, don’t you think? He turned out to be a fellow Christian who, when in Honolulu, would visit our church. After church, he asked me if I liked the townhouse. I said yes and then explained my problem. He said he thought he could do something to help. Ultimately, he was able to get the owner to hold a large second mortgage, which made getting a low-leverage first mortgage easy, even with my credit problem. I was able to purchase the townhouse with almost no money down.

One month later, the value went up by more than $50,000. God did what I thought was impossible. In that very same week, I found out that my former pastor had sold his house (the one he’d purchased a year earlier with my $25,000 gift) for a $70,000 profit. He then bought a bigger house that had room for his entire extended family. He was also, that very same month, taking advantage of a lower interest rate to pull $30,000 of equity out of his current house (without raising his payments) so that he could divide it between his three children (who were also in ministry) so that they could each get a condo. Amazingly, that same month, I was also placed in a position to help my current pastor acquire his dream house, giving me the same favor that I had given up a year earlier when I decided to help my former pastor instead.

THE SURPRISING INCREASES

Wait! God wasn’t finished yet. About a month later, I sold a $115 million portfolio of hotels, for which I received a $1.6 million commission (enough to pay off my new high-leverage mortgage). This showed me God’s sense of humor. He was driving His point home in a very dramatic way: He could do the impossible with credit or cash. Remember the broker who double-crossed me for $800,000? This commission was double that amount!

If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double (Exodus 22:7 NKJV).

I believe this can apply to anything that the devil steals from you. This is illustrated in the Book of Job. After the season of trouble created by satan, God blessed Job by doubling the possessions that satan had taken and destroyed. Yes, you really can count it all joy when satan steals your possessions, because God can double what was stolen. My harvest had begun, and it was beyond what I would have projected because it was clearly God’s power at work. After a rapid series of other amazing examples of God’s increase, I sold a $233 million resort hotel portfolio in Mexico. A month after that, I closed a $65 million joint venture hotel deal in Denver with the biggest hotel-buying company in the world. The seeds that I had been planting over the years were now bearing fruit in rapid succession.

He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him (Psalm 126:6).

Then the biggest hotel buying company asked if I could scout out European hotel chains that they could buy. What an incredible opportunity. Any intelligent businessperson would make time for a meeting with the world’s largest hotel buying company. All I needed was a hotel owners’ directory. I called and asked the presidents of the European hotel companies if they were interested in going to lunch with the director of real estate for the largest hotel buying company in the world. It was a no-brainer; who wouldn’t say yes? God was orchestrating my increase, and it was clear to everyone around me—this was supernatural. God likes to show off in your life when you truly make room for Him to show up in it. This particular fruit-bearing journey was not the result of hard work (though I always worked hard) or education (anyone could read a phone number, and I actually knew very little about hotels at the time). Instead, God was allowing me to operate well beyond my means, well beyond my high school education, and well beyond my intellect and abilities. Some of you might be thinking, I could never have that kind of faith, or, I could never give up everything like you did. Both of those thoughts would be wrong. First, I was no spiritual superman. I made many, many errors— I still committed sins against God after I was saved. For those sins, I also reaped an unfruitful harvest in my life. Second, it may be that God gifted me initially with a large measure of faith, but anyone can build their faith with exercise. However, as I was soon to discover, keeping that faith strong takes continued exercise and commitment. Don’t get lazy and avoid the gym.

TRUSTING GOD’S PATH

After my first wave of faith, I blinked. Yes, blinked. God had rewarded me financially with substantial increase. I had more money than I needed or could spend. My flesh—my mind and my body—liked having money in the bank. It felt good. It felt safe. But is it God’s ultimate goal to make us feel good and safe? Yes, but only if He is our source and sustainer. God wanted me to feel good and safe in Him, even when money was going in and out of my bank account like the ocean’s tide, because instability is part of a fallen world. He wanted me to trust in Him, not in my bank account, which of course is uncertain anyway.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God… (1 Timothy 6:17). The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall (Proverbs 18:11).

I knew deep down that I was in for more spiritual training, but my mind made a convincing argument. With so much money in the bank, I could rely on traditional investments with lower returns. Maybe I didn’t need to continue my aggressive faith-based investments into spiritual things, into His Kingdom’s work. Making this mistaken rationalization, I changed strategies, and I stopped walking in pure aggressive faith. This new reliance on what I could see was, of course, not pleasing to God. I shrank back, and my flesh took over. My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him (Hebrews 10:38).

Admittedly, I had also become somewhat proud. I felt like, at my level of faith, I had “arrived” — I had reached faith’s peak. Yet faith never reaches an end and becomes idle—there is no such thing as “coasting” with God. Instead, we should simply reach for new plateaus from which to launch into new and unknown territory. Unfortunately, my financial comfort led to less and less communication with God. I began to put my faith in bank statements rather than in His voice and His Word. It didn’t take long for my new investment strategy to potentially wipe out much of God’s increase in my life. Things went so bad in one investment that I wound up having to take out a $4 million business loan with my investing partners to cover the cash shortfall. The business was going so badly that it looked like I would soon be heading back to a two-room apartment. My, how chatty I can get with God during these kinds of circumstances. I sure became a better listener too. I don’t know about you, but hanging over a boiling pit of grease by a thin thread causes me to be very communicative with God.

After I began listening to God, He led me back to my original investment strategy. Sure enough, things started to turn around again in amazing and miraculous ways. I learned that when I was being obedient and following the leading of the Spirit—following the path God set before me—amazing God-driven things would come my way: In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death (Proverbs 12:28 NKJV). …[God’s] paths drip with abundance (Psalm 65:11 NKJV).

This abundance does not necessarily mean material wealth (although it can)—it means experiencing all that God has offered you according to your unique destiny.

I also learned that, for our own good, God does not want us to place our love, trust, or hearts in the gifts that He gives us—instead of in Him. When we do, Jesus gives this corrective command: Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Luke 12:33-34).

GOD’S PATH DRIPS WITH ABUNDANCE

In 1998, God took someone off of a flight from Honolulu to Chicago the day before my own flight to Chicago. The next day we were on the same red-eye flight, seated next to each other. As a result of a casual conversation, I sold him what many consider to be the best city hotel in the world for $275 million. He didn’t own a hotel at the time, nor was he seeking to buy one. But God’s path drips with abundance.

I ran into that same man in another “fluke” encounter at a mall in Oakbrook, Illinois. This encounter grew into a business relationship that has resulted in over one billion dollars in hotel sales as well as in an asset management assignment, which has provided me regular income for sometime.

About four years before meeting this man on the plane, I had met an investment banker on a red-eye flight to Mexico City. In 2005, I decided to introduce my two plane-encounter friends to each other, and this resulted in a mutually beneficial transaction for both of them as well as the largest loan placement I have ever done: $425 million.

Due to another “chance” encounter at the Tokyo Airport and another set of unusual circumstances, I entered into a distribution business in Japan for the man I originally met on the plane to Chicago. This allowed me while in Japan to assist in lining up a Japanese satellite for the first 24-hour Christian broadcasting network in Asia. I knew I was on destiny’s path when I learned that the name of the satellite was JC3. This satellite now beams 24-hour Christian programming into over 7.5 million households in Asia. The network is responsible for many, many people receiving the Gospel and coming to know Jesus Christ. I consider this to be one of the most important things that God has allowed me to do in my life to date. God’s path drips with abundance and leads to your destiny. It starts with an action of faith. Are you willing to act by faith?

A gift opens the way for the giver. … (Proverbs 18:16).

Your gifts will open ways and paths designated by God for you too. It’s become clear to me in my own life experiences and through God’s Word that He is actively involved in all aspects and details of my life’s journey.

The Bible says: You enlarged my path under me; so my feet did not slip (2 Samuel 22:37 NKJV). Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105 NKJV).

By walking in faith, through the actions of our heart, we are creating the circumstances that we will run into in our future. This is because we are constantly manufacturing things in the spirit realm that will in due time manifest in the physical realm.

I ran into the broker who cheated me out of an $800,000 commission again several years later. He had become the exclusive listing agent for a chain of hotels. Had I sued him, he would not have spoken to me. Instead, when I brought my client to look at his listings, he was very helpful and gave me an edge over other bidders in an effort to push things in my favor. As a result, I closed the deal, selling more hotels than ever before in one transaction. This is a great reminder for us to guard our hearts because our actions are setting into play our future circumstances.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of [your] life (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV).

My wife and I have chosen the path of relentless sowing. We’ve learned to continue on this path regardless of what we are seeing. This is the path with the greatest kind of rewards—eternal rewards.

ACTION & VISUALIZATION

Walk in faith and be consistent with the actions of your heart.

SEEK FIRST GOD’S KINGDOM

The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 that if you seek first the Kingdom of God, all things will be added unto you. Jesus paints this picture of the Kingdom of God: He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade” (Mark 4:30-32 NKJV).

Now that my prior giving is returning a harvest, I am able to plant new seeds into people and ministries—going well beyond what would be possible from my own efforts. It is a blessing as a Christian to be able to make a positive impact on the world and to give to the Body of Christ.

For the past ten years, I have been able to provide funds for a number of ministries in ever-increasing amounts. I could only do this because I planted seeds that God grew into a towering oak tree, which now provides rest and shade for others. I could not have created these with my own efforts. There is indeed a power beyond our own efforts that can make a difference for the Kingdom—this is the power of faith, and it is evidenced in the principle of Seed, Time, and Harvest.

Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:12). Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward (Hebrews 10:35 NKJV).

ACTION & VISUALIZATION

Seek God first by confidently sowing into His Kingdom. Then you will be rewarded with the fullness of His power, releasing freedom in your life.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENEROSITY

God wants His Body on earth to be a blessing to the world and to other Christians in need. God needs Christians who will be open conduits through whom He can pour out His provisions and gifts. We are blessed when increase and gifts come to us, but we create further blessings when we allow them to flow through us. God blesses those who trust Him to use them for His purposes. It is good and right to become a blessing to others in this way. The Scriptures are full of verses about the importance of generosity: ...Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8).

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

…remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done (Proverbs 19:17).

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25).

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor (Proverbs 22:9).

For me, the harvest keeps coming, and I am able to re-sow the seeds in order to give more back to God. Remember the pastor to whom I gave $25,000 that returned $70,000 then later $30,000 more? The last time I spoke to him, he said that he was able to refinance his house yet again.

With that money, he was able to build a Bible college in Burma and a home for the director of an orphanage—all for $25,000! Shortly after that, his uncle gave him his house, worth over $400,000.

Why was all this happening to him? He told me that, when he moved to take the pastoral job where I met him, he had sowed the equity from his house—valued at approximately $25,000. The very day that I originally called him to tell him that I was going to give him $25,000 for a house, he and his wife had spent the afternoon looking at houses they couldn’t afford.

His wife had asked him, “Do you think we will ever be able to afford a house again?” Before he could answer, he received my call and the $25,000 gift. So you see, the seed you sow can reap a harvest beyond your imagination, and it can continue multiplying itself like a ripple in a pond. It all begins when you toss your pebble of faith into the water. God wants us to focus on giving because it’s a fundamental principle in how the Kingdom of God works. Jesus tells a parable in Luke about a very successful man who was rich: The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God (Luke 12:16-21).

Despite the rich man’s apparent worldly success, Jesus called him a fool because he was not generous toward God. Being rich, even famously so, is not synonymous with being wise. I am sure you can think of some examples who are in the media today. It’s interesting that the rich man’s wealth came from crops—a profession in which the increase clearly comes from God. Did you notice that the rich man’s favorite word in the parable is my? The fact is, our money, talents, intellect, abilities, power, and authority all come from God, and we should generously give of them to help His other children. And you should also be giving back to God for the blessings and gifts that He gives to you: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you (Deuteronomy 16:17).

The apostle Paul wrote this encouragement to the Corinthians who had been supporting God’s work through giving to his ministry: Now… [God] will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion… (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).

ACTION & VISUALIZATION

Be a generous giver.

YOUR GIFT IS YOUR SWORD

In the Old Testament there is a story of God calling Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites who were preparing to attack Israel. Gideon not feeling he was physically qualified for this calling and he answered God this way: “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “How can I save Israel?” My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15).

In preparation for this great battle, Gideon prepares an offering of meat and bread to God (see Judges 6:16-21). So that God could clearly show that the battle would be won in His power and not by the strength of Gideon’s army (from the weakest clan) God moved Gideon through several events paring his army down from 30,000 to 300 men (see Judges 7:1-8). Then Gideon, with just his 300 remaining men, was on the hill above the camp of Midianites and Amalekites. Once there God instructed Gideon to go down and ambush the enemy’s encampment. Just prior to their attack, God instructed Gideon and his servant to sneak into the enemy’s camp so they could listen to what his enemy was saying about him.

The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed. His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands (Judges 7:12-14).

Gideon’s offering of bread had become his sword powerful enough to defeat his seemingly undefeatable enemy. You, too, by wielding the weapon of your offerings, can find victory even when the odds are against you.

ACTION & VISUALIZATION

Remember when your enemy is encamped around you your offering to God can be your sword—make sure it is a powerful one that can take down any enemy.

NOT JUST MONEY

I want to point out here that, while I have primarily focused on the ways in which God provided increase to my finances, this is certainly not the only way in which God applies the principle of Seed, Time, and Harvest. I highlight the financial aspect only to show how God used this area to teach me (He knew it would most effectively catch my attention).

So, what is God using to catch your attention? Where do you need to plant seeds? Where are you seeking increase?

The gift of giving is also my calling and the area where He knew I could serve Him best. But as I expressed in the previous chapter, when we sow good seeds of any kind, God will use them and provide a rich harvest. Indeed, sowing grace and mercy has had the most tangible and impactful harvest in my life. Since I am imperfect, the one thing I need the most in my relationships with others is grace. When I judge people for their actions, I am sowing judgment, and I will reap judgment in my own earthly relationships. However, if I sow grace, I will reap that much-needed grace from others. Just like sowing financially, you may have to sow over and over again in faith, but eventually you will receive a crop of grace and mercy in your life.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). Another great example of sowing is in missionary work. When Mother Teresa began sowing her kindness and care to the unwanted in Calcutta, she was one of only 12 who were called to serve that community. Today, the order she founded has more than 4,000 members, each dedicated to giving sacrificially to help those in need. Her seed of faith multiplied into other workers while bringing countless others to faith in Christ.

You will always have seeds of some kind to sow into someone’s life. When you step out and sow with your faith into others’ lives, you will bring a harvest of faith into your own. You have read my testimony. You now know what I know. You have read God’s words, and if you act on what you have read and if you sow, this Gift of Increase will set you free from the restrictions of this world. There is one thing you can count on:

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Genesis 8:22).

By Author: Greg Rice

Website: www.giftsoffreedom.com

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