I AM A SOWER

This morning as I was in the shower, I heard, “You are the sower”. I said “What does that mean Lord?” Right then, He clearly told me to consider the Parable of the sower. He re inforced that I am the sower. You would think I wouldn’t argue with Him, but I felt myself arguing thinking that HE WAS THE SOWER. However, I decided He was right because He ALWAYS IS. LOL Anyway, I began to think deeper about those scriptures and realized that as I SPEAK HIS WORD TO OTHERS, I plant GOOD SEED, but as I SPEAK from the FLESH or in AGREEMENT WITH THE ENEMY, I sow Bad seed (OR TARES IF I AM PLANTING WHEAT) I know that in and of myself, MY WORDS DON’T CREATE, BUT GOD’S WORD (JESUS) DOES and I am HIS BRIDE-ELECT who is in Co-habitation with HIM and am His Helpmate on this Earth.
Our Words produce FRUIT. According to God’s Word, we eat the fruit of our lips (Proverbs 12:18). So, apparently even our misaligned words produce FRUIT. If I am God’s SOWER, and it’s up to me to sow good seed, I need to know what the Good seeds (HIS WORDS) are about any situation. I confess this day that I have been sowing bad seed (Doubt, Fear, Unbelief) and I have been reaping the fruit of that bad seed (, but from this day forth, with GOD’S help, I shall get back on track of speaking what the LORD SAYS about the situations instead of speaking out of what my flesh feels, thinks, or wants to speak. I renounce any UNBELIEF, DOUBT, OR FEAR that has gripped my life due to my negligence and I proclaim that even in me as GROSS DARKNESS tries to come that the GLORY OF GOD SHALL RISE UPON ME AND HIS GLORY SHALL APPEAR OVER ME. Instead of declaring what I see with my natural eyes, I will get my SPIRITUAL EYES RE-OPENED and RESIST the enemy trying to tell me different than what GOD SAYS ABOUT IT.
As I think upon HIS WORD and the GOOD THINGS HE SPEAKS, it will produce fruit in my lips of Good and not Evil. SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE. Then I will PROCLAIM what God says about things, and it will change things because Daddy says it will. It then changes the way I think about a situation and it changes those involved in a situation by bringing the Kingdom of God into the equation. The Kingdom of God suffers violence, but the violent take it by force. Lord that I would violently come against the enemy in my mind and be victorious in every difficult situation that arises. May Your Holy Spirit guide me into ALL TRUTH and REPLACE EVERY LIE from the enemy and convict me of any thoughts that don’t line up to YOUR WORD! I repent this day and ask for the GRACE to WALK IN TRUE WISDOM FROM THIS DAY FORTH.

Ok, so anyway, I am going to be a SOWER OF THE WORD. I am going to walk in HIS STRENGTH because He tells me that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their STRENGTH. This has definitely been a season of learning to WAIT UPON THE LORD greater than I have ever been able to do before. I have always wanted to jump up and go, but the Lord has told me to “Stand Still and Watch what I do”. He has went before me and been gracious even at my least loveable times. (HE LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE DIED FOR US ON OUR WORST DAY EVER) That blows my mind!

Ok, so after I had contemplated being a sower this morning, I got an e-mail from Elijah List. It was written by Nic Billman this time so it really drew my attention (Nic is in charge of the “Shores of Grace” ministry that we support in Brazil to end human trafficking) Here is what He said:

God Asks, "What Do You See?"
by Nic Billman:

Recently, I posted a status update on Facebook that said, "If you are a Christian and all of your friends are Christians, it's time to make some new friends." A couple people took issue with this because they believe Christians should not be friends with people in the world. They suggested we should seek to save the lost, but not befriend them for fear that they may drag us into sin. Unfortunately, this false perspective is pervading the Church right now.
The truth is, our perspective on the lost will determine our heart for them and our urgency to see them set free. I know who I am, and I walk in identity and wisdom. Because of that, when I go to make some friends on the streets, I don't go alone. I take Rachael or some of our team members with me. I'm not worried about the lost dragging me into sin. If that becomes our fear, we've already put our focus on the wrong thing. Instead, I fix my eyes on Jesus, and regardless of other people's behavior, I continue to show them how much He loves them. Paul became all things to all people that he might reach some, but he did this without compromising.
One friend clarified that he wasn't referring to the people on the streets of Brazil, but to non-Christian friends in America who continue to reject Jesus. I do not see any difference between the two. If people are lost, they're lost. The geography and the behavioral variation make no difference to me. Jesus didn't have a caste system for sinners; He befriended tax-collectors, harlots, Pharisees, thieves, and probably even stay-at-home moms addicted to soap operas. The nature of the sin was not important when compared to the heart's need for nurture. The reality is: Deep inside, every lost person is crying out, "Who am I?" We need to know who we are in Christ so we can tell them who they are.
We see how Jesus viewed the lost in these words: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends"(John 15:13). He laid His life down for His friends. He chose to call us friends – even before we knew Him – not sinners. When He hung on the Cross, He looked at the people of the world before Him and cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). This is Jesus's heart; even in His greatest moment of weakness, He prayed for us and cried out for our forgiveness.
Open Heaven At a Strip Club
Downtown Curitiba, Brazil, has a strip club called The Wiskaria, where our team has ministered many times. It all began one night as we were walking the streets. I approached the bouncer to the club and asked if I could pray for him. He acted awkwardly, telling me he was a Christian and only worked there because he needed money. Then he proceeded to show me all of the Christian music on his phone to prove his story. Clearly, he had immediately started to feel guilty because he knew that this job was not God's will for him. However, I said, "It's no problem. God sees your heart, and He will provide another job for you, but in the meantime, He's here with you, and He loves you." That night we prayed with him, and he said he felt peace and a heat all over his body as we prayed, even though it was very cold that night.
The next time we came back, he had a big smile on his face, and he told us to wait out front. He went into the club and brought out five other bouncers, pointing to each one and declaring their need for prayer. "This one needs healing. This one just got divorced, and he's sad. This one doesn't know Jesus. This one has a problem with alcohol. And this one just needs a blessing." We prayed for each one, and as we prayed, some of the dancers came out to see what was going on. The girls on our team then talked and prayed with them. Even some clients saw us, came out to ask what we were doing, and then requested prayer – it was an open Heaven – at a strip club!
As we were talking, the manager pulled up, and I thought we were in trouble because there was quite a commotion in front of his club. Leo, our bouncer friend, explained who we were, and the manager then asked for prayer as well. Then he said, "You are welcome to come to my club and pray for my employees anytime you want to." Shortly after that, we started sending a few of our girls into the club to pray for the dancers and to share about Jesus with them. While the girls were inside, we guys stayed outside and continued to love on Leo, the other bouncers, and the clients. We saw lots of inner healing and restoration take place both inside and outside of that club.
"Can These Bones Live?"
Ezekiel 37 tells the story of Ezekiel's partnership with God in a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel was surrounded by death and decay. Then God asked him a question, "Can these bones live?"(Ezekiel 37:3).
At moments like these, we must ask ourselves, Why does God ask questions? Why does the one who is called Wisdom, the omniscient one, ask questions? I believe, when God asks a question, it is because He is about to transform our vision. Often, when we're in the valley, we get so busy praying for God to do something that we forget to stop and listen. In prayer, listening is equally as important as bringing our hearts before the Lord. It is easier to talk than it is to listen. It's easier to pray than to be silent. However, sometimes when we are praying and petitioning, the Lord is saying, "Be still, and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10).
Ezekiel's response to God revealed his heart and his trust in Him."Oh Lord God, You know" (Ezekiel 37:3). Then God directed Ezekiel to prophesy life and breath to the bones. As he did, the bones came to life, transforming them into an "exceedingly great army" (Ezekiel 37:10). God took Ezekiel to the valley of dry bones because He wanted to transform the way he saw his nation and his generation.
As sons and daughters, we need to mature past assumption and into discernment. It's so important to discern and know the season we are in. A prayer that I pray often in worship is, "If Your heart is in the valley, then I'll leave the mountaintops behind. If Your heart is in the storms and the waves, then I'll leave the boat, and I will come to You. If Your heart is in the fire, then I'll stare into the flames, and I will run to You." We may find ourselves in the wilderness praying for deliverance when God's desire is for us to plant gardens and call forth the springs in the desert.
Likewise, we may be in a valley of death asking God to deliver us to the mountaintops when His desire is for us to declare life. We must seek to know the heart of our Father and His will for our lives every day. Sometimes God will put us in the middle of a valley of death and then ask us, "What do you see?" In other words, do we see dry bones and death, or do we see an army?
I am amazed by the revelation of the heart of God in this story. The Bible specifically tells us that these bones were dry. They were long dead and long forgotten, yet that is where God chose to raise up an army. As Christians, we should pray for God to raise up soldiers of love within the Church. This is important. However, sometimes we are looking in the Church for what can only be found in the world. In the world, an army of lost souls waits for the mature sons and daughters of God to prophesy life and breathe into them.
The question is: What do we see – a pile of dry bones or a mighty army? The abandoned, the abused, the outcast, the trafficked, and the untouchables are the dry bones of our generation. They are a hungry army longing to be filled with something of substance – the breath of their Papa. There is a revival coming from among these precious ones, and God is calling us to stand amidst these dry bones and declare, "Awaken! Life! Breath!"
On the streets of Brazil, we stand in a true valley of death night in and night out. Homeless children as young as six are prostituting and smoking crack, and darkness surrounds this city in many ways. In the midst of all of this, what do I see? I see an army! I hear the sound of life! I fix my eyes on destiny and not on circumstance. We have a choice to make. Will we see and hear only with our natural eyes and ears, or will we see and hear with the eyes and ears of the Father? I choose His vision and His hearing!
I See a Garden!
Just a few weeks ago, I was in a small park in Recife surrounded by street children and homeless adults around midnight. That night there were little girls, as young as ten, who were prostituting, and street boys of the same age were sniffing glue and smoking crack. Some people there have literally lost their minds because of drug and alcohol abuse and are now living homeless on the streets. At the edge of the park stood police, who often come to beat the children when they have nothing else to do. I was sitting right in the middle of the chaos. It wasn't a nice soaking atmosphere with quiet instrumental music and meditative prayers; it was loud with the sounds of the city and these broken people.
But Jesus comes right into the middle of our chaos and brokenness, our sin and suffering. God didn't dance around the edges; He put the Cross right in the middle of it all. That night in Brazil, right in the middle of the chaos and brokenness, the Father asked me a question. He said, "Son, what do you see?"I knew God wanted to show me what He saw, so I waited and looked around the dirty little park. As I looked at the children, I saw them begin to bloom like flowers. I saw fruit trees springing up where there was only concrete and trash, and I saw a river begin to flow through the drugs and the violence.
I responded to the Lord, "I see a garden."
He replied, "Good! So do I."
As sons and daughters, this is what we do. The Father gives us seeds, and we plant them among the broken soil of our generation. He is always faithful to water the gardens we have planted. I believe a true revival is coming from the dirtiest and most broken places of our generation. The best fertilizer is a bunch of manure, so let's plant seeds of revival in the smelliest and dirtiest places we can find! The same concept applies to our personal lives, too. When we are going through difficult times, we can rejoice because surely the Father is planting seeds amidst the fertilizer of our brokenness and struggle, and He is always faithful to water the seeds. He's a good Papa and He is teaching us to see like He sees!
Nic Billman
Shores of Grace Ministries


I love how the Lord does that. He digs deep enough. I KNOW that He is reminding me of the power of my confession. I have been a black and white thinker and have went back and forth on this confession thing for a few years now. I know there is a fine line on the “name it and claim it” theology, but I have to start recognizing that the LORD sees things so differently than we do. He tells us to SPEAK GRACE TO THE MOUNTAINS and to TELL the MOUNTAINS TO MOVE not to talk ABOUT OUR MOUNTAINS IN UNBELIEF. That goes so against what our natural mind can fathom, but OUR SPIRIT MAN recognizes it and CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS WE CAN DO (Phil 4:13). Let’s quit walking in UNBELIEF and DOUBT. Lets consciously choose to think His thoughts toward us and believe enough to SPEAK WHAT HE SAYS. If we believe that we are “Saved” and we call ourselves “Saved”, we are speaking something as though it already happened, but the actual getting to Heaven hasn’t occurred yet. Why can’t we take hold of the promises of God and PROCLAIM what HE SAYS and quit being like a ship tossed to and fro. (Me particularly here) I am choosing to believe God here and I choose this day to SPEAK LIFE and NOT DEATH.

Lord,

May the Words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer (Ps 19:14) Keep my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit (Ps 34:13) May my mouth be shut when needed and my lips sealed until the appointed times (Ps 141:3) May we be uncompromisingly righteous in our Words which are a well of life instead of being wicked and concealing violence (Prov 10:11) May our mounts be harmonious with your mouth and bring forth skillfull and Godly Wisdom, but keep us from a perverse tongue which shall be cut down like a barren and rotten tree (Prov. 10:31) May we be one who guards our mouth and keep our life and not be one who opens our lips wide and come to ruin (Prov 13:3) May we have soft answers which turn away wrath and keep far from grievous words which stir up anger (Prov 15:1). Let us have joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment (Prov 15:23) and think before we speak because the mind of the wise will instruct it’s mouth and we operate with the Mind of Christ (Prov 16:23)
Lord, we know that the power of life and death are in our tongue and we will eat the fruit of our lips for death or life. Let us choose LIFE (Prov 18:21) Let us speak a word fitly in due season (Prov 25:11) May we walk in a well taught tongue so we will know how to encourage tired people. We pray you wake us up in the morning and open our ears to listen as ready to take your orders for the day (Isaiah 50:4) I pray we guard our hearts so that the abundance that is in there is YOU JESUS because we know that out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth will speak. May we be good men and women who from our inner good treasure fling forth good things and never be evil and spew forth evil from an inner storehouse of evil thoughts (Matt 12:34-35) We know that on the day of judgment we will have to give account for every idle word that we speak so we ask that our words be full of life Daddy (Matt 12:36-37) Let no foul or pollutin language come out of our mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give Grace to those who hear it (Eph 4:29). May we always keep our tongue free from evil and our lips from guile so that we enjoy life and see good days (1 Peter 3:10)
We repent now for all the thoughts that we have had that were not good, lovely, of a pure report, and just. We turn to you and ask you to fill our minds with YOUR THOUGHTS Lord. The thoughts of prospering us and not harming us; the thoughts to give us a future FILLED WITH HOPE! Thank you Lord that when we call to you and come to you in prayer, YOU HEAR OUR PRAYERS. I thank you that when we seek YOU in prayer AND WORSHIP you, you are available to US and will reverse our plight and will gather us from all the places of exile we have gotten ourselves into as we seek you with our WHOLE HEART and SOUL. (Jer 29:11-14) Oh Lord, thank you for YOUR EVERLASTING LOVE! You indeed are RICH IN MERCY and YOUR LOVE NEVER FAILS!!! Thank you that NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE SHALL PROSPER! You are MIGHTY IN BATTLE and are FAITHFUL TO PERFORM YOUR WORD. May we keep you as the center of our focus for YOU WILL KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS FIXED ON YOU! Thank you Lord!