Mk.4:10-12: “But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, “so that; and he quotes” Isa. 6:9-10 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand;.' “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, (keep on seeing, but do not perceive) and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart (and hearing they may hear and not understand) and return (lest they should turn) and be healed. their sins be forgiven them.”

Jesus had offered himself as Israel's king but was rejected, a period of time would then take place before the literal kingdom would be set up. This is identified as the mystery kingdom which is the age between the first and second coming. During that interim period the kingdom would exist in spiritual form as each person bows their knee to Christ as king in his absence. As the word is sown it would it would have various degrees of success with only a few embracing the message. It consists of both believers and unbelievers.

Mk.4:18-19 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,  “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. The cares of the world become priority, these can be family a social life self wants and finances. All these can distract ones focus from the heavenly calling. They lose interest in Spiritual matters trading in like Esau their promise for a temporal appetite.

Benny Hinn  says “The wicked are piling up the funds and I love the way John [Avazini] teaches on this. He's the best there is on how to get the wealth of the wicked. Man, I like it!” (Praise-a-Thon, TBN, Nov. 6 1990).

The lust of riches is today is being preached alongside the word. Uncannily the faith teachers use this parable for a promise of riches through seed sown into their ministry.

1 Tim 6:9-10 But those who crave to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction and miserable perishing. For the love of money is a root of all evils, and it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many mental pangs. (Amplified Bible)

Does riches prove Gods blessings? Nothing could be further from the truth since their are many a heathen and atheists who are rich despite their disbelief. Prosperity is not an absolute to show Gods hand in ones life, it might in fact show the very opposite.

What we hear from prosperity TV preachers is God can make you prosperous, get you out of debt or give you a miracle by you sowing your thousand dollar seed into their ground.

We hear the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. If you want the wealth of the wicked, rejoicing on this scripture to condone the intent of your heart, you have just joined their ranks.

If your chances of going to heaven were greatly reduced by accumulating riches- would you want to be rich? Would God make us his children and then give us an abundance of riches that could possibly keep us out of heaven, that could take our affections away from him and compete for our devotion. None of this makes biblical sense. Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Maybe the reason we don’t see real miracles but conjured up facades and self induced convincing, masquerading as faith is because they do have silver and Gold (lots of it). The church is probably the richest it has been since the 1^st cent. In the book of Rev. the Church of Laodicea (which is man ruling) tells us they considered themselves rich, but God says they are poor blind and naked. In Acts 20:33-34 Paul says we have not coveted anyone’s silver or Gold or apparel.” Can the prosperity teachers say the same today. The truth of the matter is that Satan loves good things too, look at all the idols and temples made by other religions, was not Nebuchadnezzar’s image made of Gold?

John Avanzini distorts this scripture like no other saying, that the seed is money and that we can get a 100 fold return. This man has the knack to find money anywhere, even in the dirt.

Jesus explains the parable of the sower by saying in Mt.13:19 the seed is the word and before that he explains how the people need ears to hear, so they can understand the spiritual meanings of the word and be fruitful. In v.37 he explains further that the sower of the good seed is the son of man which is either Jesus himself or those who preach the same message of his word. The seed is the word Lk.8:11 The good soil is a receptive heart, those who submit as clay in the potters hands and  allow him to wound them and heal them his way are fruitful.

Jim Baker from  prison was interviewed and had this to say, “Its time to call from the pulpit be changed from who wants a life of pleasure and good things, new homes, cars, and material possessions to who will come forward to accept Jesus Christ and the fellowship of his suffering I have asked God to forgive me for preaching earthly prosperity.” It takes a man whose been there and has been broken by the word to speak the truth about the false hope men are dishing out as the teachings of Jesus.

A parable is a figure of Speech in which a moral and spiritual truth is illustrated in a story setting taken from the analogies of ones everyday life and experiences. It has the principle of going from the known to the unknown, from the natural to the spiritual, it uses what people already know to explain spiritual lessons. It is designed to solve problems to answer questions so the events must be possible. If one knows the main issue of the picture that is being illustrated in the story the other parts of the story will fall into place. One must know the literal figure before he can understand the spiritual significance.

What the Faith teachers do to the parables is no less a distortion than the rest of the plain teachings in scripture. Jesus is using a natural example to explain a spiritual truth. They reverse it and take the spiritual truth and apply it to a natural example.

Mark 4:26-29 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,   “and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The faith teachers interpretation of this is scattering as one sowing seed indiscriminately on all types of ground, is one that just gives their money anywhere. But If you don't’ sow in good ground you won't reap a harvest, no fruit. Meaning the ground is the ministry one sows their money in. The yield is what the seed grows into and how God gives it back to you 30 , 60, 100 fold. As Rod Parsley says to sow in a ministry you unlock the spiritual anointing of that ministry. Now where is that in Scripture?

Paul also used the sowing concept to assure the Corinthians that their giving to another church not as a obligation but as generosity. It was to a Church that was suffering, the Jerusalem Church, the poorest of all (the one James was head of). Instead today it is the opposite giving to the richest of all the Christian networks.

2 Cor. 9:6  “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each give as he purposes in his own heart.” This is a far cry from those who demand a $1,000 seed or as recently Shambach asked for $2,000 and no less for the miracle of debt to be broken in the special Jubilee year! Paul goes on to explain in v.10 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” This is a quote from Isa.55:10 about God giving rain to the earth to bring forth fruit that he may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Paul uses this physical example for a promise of a future reward, not on earth but in heaven, for their act of kindness. He uses a material example to illustrate a spiritual truth.

We give out of love, but if one gives for a return because it is a law, it is not love. What the faith teachers are doing with this is bringing people out from grace and under a law, the OT law . Going back to vs.8 notice Paul says God is able to make all grace…all sufficiency in every good work. That we would have an abundance for everything we do by grace. Grace asks nothing in return it is something not earned but gives freely just as God did for us through his son.

Sowing seed so that the windows of heaven would be open for excessive gain is a totally unbiblical practice.

Mal. 3:10 is used for Gods blessing to come down a hundred fold. However a closer look of this verse in the correct context shows that it has nothing to do with wealth or material blessings or healings. We first find this term used by God way back in Genesis 7:11 the windows of heaven were open for rain that contributed to the flood as the fountains of the deep were broken open also in Gen. 8:2 it says the windows of heaven were stopped and the rain from heaven was restrained. Isa.24:18 also mentions the windows from on high, consistently this phrase is used for water. In Genesis it was a judgment. In Malachi 4 it was to be a blessing on the crops. With their tithing they were to trust God acknowledging that everything belongs to him. These tithes were not 'gifts', they were taxes tithes were given in addition to other numerous offerings which ended up to be over 22%. The nation lived by their agriculture which depended upon the rain. No rain, starvation. Gods blessing had to do with his provision of water. This is the same for the phrase the former and latter rain it is about blessings on their crops and having Gods provision. Too much rain can be judgment. If they did not give God their tithes (which was part of the Mosaic covenant). God would bring a curse on them, the ground would not yield food. This was also to be brought in for the Levitical priests and to the poor.

Bring the whole tithe into the “storehouse,” so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows” (Malachi 3: 1 0). There were four tithes in Israel under the Old Covenant.

And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the “storehouse” (Nehemiah 10:38). The tithe payable by the Levites, “not” the tithes payable by the people. Malachi is not rebuking the people, he is rebuking the Levites for not bringing it into the storehouse.

When our modern day tithing teachers (salesmen) point this verse at the people, they are really pointing at themselves - except that most of them are too biblically ignorant to recognize what it is actually saying.

To understand the book of Malachi, we need to look at Malachi 4:4, “Remember the Law of Moses...” That is the whole thrust of Malachi.” At the end of the book vs.6 he writes about Elijah the prophet (who came in the ministry of John the baptizer) they are to listen to him or he will strike the earth with a curse.

But we do not live under the Law, we live under the grace provided in Jesus Christ. if you choose to submit yourself to even part of the Law of Moses, you have a problem.

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10). If you choose to place yourself under the works of the Law, you are under a curse for the simple reason that you cannot keep the Law of Moses. Malachi was the last prophet in the Old Testament dispensation, God was silent for 400 years until John the Baptizer began the transition to a time of grace.

Acts.20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” If the faith teachers really believed the 100 fold blessing of sowing seed they would not be asking for you to give it them, but they would give it all away and keep on giving to get more. That is something we will never see.

One should not make doctrines from the parables. Gal 6:7: “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.”

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The Lord does not need your money, he’s more interested in our heart, our time, our life. For it’s all suppose to be around him, this will include our money. What the lawful tither's have done today is apply the Mosaic Law to everyone else but themselves.