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Seeds and Needs
By Linda Valen
Your life is full of seeds. The work you do is full of seeds. What you say is full of seeds. What you think is full of seeds. Even your finances are full of seeds! All of these seeds have been entrusted to you for a specific purpose and calling that only you can carry out! What you do with your life and your seeds have eternal significance.
YOU are a seed God created so you would be "fruitful and multiply" and that verse doesn't just involve childbirth or only the women would fit this analogy! Whether you're married or single, what you pass on to your family or your circle of friends really does matter!!!
If you keep your seeds to yourself, they remain alone with you. They can't germinate in your hand so there will be no fruit; nor can they reproduce so there is no vital genetic link and dispersal agent between successive generations. You are meant to be one who is seeding the generations within your family line and friendships!
God Has a Great Memory!
A number of years ago I had a dream and I thought it was so strange that I quickly dismissed it after I woke up. I saw someone's hands wearing garden gloves and weeding a flower bed (in the dream I knew it was my hands).
Months later the Lord led me to the University of Nations (Youth With A Mission) Crossroads School in Kona, Hawaii. For 3 months, we went to class in the morning, worked on the base in the afternoon and our evenings were free. When my name was called for my job assignment, I was assigned to do gardening!
During a class with the late Derek Prince when he was teaching on John 12, my heart was stirred by his challenge to "let go" and let our lives become fruitful! That afternoon, while weeding a beautiful area of flowers, the Lord reminded me of the weeding flowers dream I'd had many months ago that I had forgotten about — but He didn't! Wow! That was a God dream, and I didn't realize it!
John 12:24 (Amplified Bible)
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.
As I was on my knees doing my gardening, I was talking to the Lord about what Derek had taught that morning. The Lord asked me, "Linda, is your life fruitful?" Without any hesitation I said, "No, it isn't!" Gently, the Lord said, "Well, you know what you have to do – let go of the seed (your life)." My response surprised me. "But Lord, I'm single, so if I don't take care of me, who will?" Immediately, He answered me with a resounding, "I WILL!"
It's one thing to know a truth. It's another thing to act on that truth!! Right there, with my knees bowed in the dirt, I carried out a prophetic act. I took my garden tool and dug a hole. I opened my hand and pictured a seed (me) in my hand. I "Let go" and tipped my hand so the "seed" would fall into the hole; I covered it up with the dirt. "Ok, Lord," I said, "from here on, YOU are responsible for me." I actually heard myself breathe a huge sigh of relief out loud!!!
When you "let go", you lose control of what happens to that seed and that's where some people struggle! The seed has to die in order to be fruitful as John 12:24 says!! Yes, the seed lies in the ground, and it is pitch dark. There is no action. Nothing. You cry out and begin to wonder if you made a big mistake. Time passes and you see nothing, feel nothing, and know nothing.
But one day, after waiting and waiting, a sprout pops up out of the ground! As the rains come (the washing of the water of the Word) and the sun shines (as the Son brings light to you), your little sprout grows and grows. Over the seasons and the years, your sprout eventually bears fruit. People meet you and "eat of the fruit" of your walk with God and they, too, are challenged and fed by your life and share it with others. That is fruitfulness!
Over the years, many situations have come up and still do where I would normally have taken charge and tried to work things out myself. But that event was such a vivid turning point in my life that even now I still pause, remembering that day in the garden where I entrusted my entire life to God so He is responsible for taking care of me. He will take care of whatever concerns me - and that is true for you as well!
Over the years, I've seen how creative He is in solving situations, and I often find myself laughing out loud in amazement. Sometimes I see how ridiculous it would have been to worry, when that doesn't change anything anyway! He handles things so easily!!! [Some people live by the old adage, "Why worry when you can pray" but twist it in their minds to really say, "Why pray when you can worry!!!"]
Is your life fruitful? Well, you know what you have to do!
On a More Personal Note from Linda Valen
Our heart is never to idolize our dear friend and mentor, Jill Austin, but to honor her legacy that has been left behind. I am reminded once again of a vision that Julie Meyer had regarding Jill that we shared awhile ago. It bears repeating because of what I am writing about — the value and power of seeds in our lives.
The Board of Directors and the staff of Master Potter have been entrusted with our own seeds — just as you have been. We've also been left with an immense treasure trove of "seeds" that were left behind by Jill. We are sobered by the weightiness of it all and we want to carry it well.
There are many things that were in Jill's heart to do that have yet to be done. We intend to carry out her wishes but I also have to attend to the legal matters relating to Jill's death, which is very time consuming in the midst of running the ministry. All of these things are very important and they all take time. I will be traveling and speaking once these matters are completed.
Our Needs — Your Seeds
Master Potter is operating, and we continue to believe God to speak to people about giving to the ministry so we can carry out the things Jill had planned to do in training and equipping the body of Christ. Some people have not realized that these strategic projects require our staff's time to carry them out mdash; and not one of us is in a position to work and not receive a salary. How else will these projects get done?
Last year, we did radical, extensive cuts in our budget to the point that there is no other place to cut any further.
Our general operating expenses and staff salaries for this ministry require $10,000 each month. It would be a great blessing to have monthly partners to help carry us as we work during this transition time.
We at Master Potter are also endorsing and launching a number of Jill Austin's spiritual sons and daughters through our weekly web blasts so you get to know them, what their heart is and their vision for ministry. This includes men and women from different age groups. Some have been established in ministry already and some are in the birthing stages of ministry. Our desire is to introduce them to you and we include their websites so you can invite them to come and minister at your church or conference. May the wind of the Spirit blow on these precious seeds to touch you and those in your sphere of influence.
NEEDED: Strategic Financial Partners
The parable of the talents in Matthew 25: 14-30 was given to us for a purpose. There were the servants who were given 5 talents (about $5,000), another 2 and to another 1 talent. Each was given a portion to his own personal ability and what happened?
When the master returned to settle accounts with each of them, he found that the servants who had 5 and 2 talents DOUBLED their portion! What did the master think of what they did? In Matt. 25:21 (Amplified) he said to them, "You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys."
In Luke 6:38 (Amplified), the Lord promises, "Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you."
The servant with 1 talent told the master in Matthew 25:25, "I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground." His talent was given to the servant who had 5 talents that he turned into 10 talents!!! You can read the passage yourself to see what the master thought of the servant who hid his talent.
Every ministry we know of is experiencing major reductions, if not the complete loss, of their donor support because of the economy. The enemy's tactic in this hour is to taunt us with the fear of lack. But this is the hour when all of us should act in the opposite spirit and give like never before; a time to sow seeds like never before!
Will you pray about standing with us as financial partners? If you have been touched by the ministry of Jill and Master Potter in the past, will you sow seeds in the present for our needs? Many of you have been faithful to help us for years and we deeply appreciate your love, your prayers, and your financial gifts! [Securely Give Online]
With passion for Jesus,
Linda Valen and the Master Potter Staff
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