sermonette: Sowing and Reaping (2003)

Offertory
John W. Ritenbaugh
Given 06-Oct-03; Sermon #634s; 16 minutes

Description: (show)

---

You know, everything that God commands us to do. is done in order to ingrain these things within our With our life Now we are here on the Day of Atonement and even on this day we are not to appear before him empty handed that is. This day is listed among the feasts and giving an offering is very much a part of each one of them. Well, the importance of the amount given varies from person to person, but in the overall sense. It is less important than the very act of doing it combined with the attitude and the thought that has gone into doing it. Now God wants the principle of giving, the generous offering of ourselves, or what is ours to be ingrained in us so that it is first nature rather than the fearful protecting of ourselves, which is the way that it is now in most cases. I want you to turn to Hebrews the 2nd chapter and verses 14 and 15. Hebrews 2 and verses 14 and 15. It says, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. And delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now one of the principles that can be extracted here is to show that all of our lifetime, much of our action is dominated by the fear of loss. Now fear is one of the most frequent and powerful triggers of what we do in life. And what we do in response to fear is not always justified. For example, we will protect our image of ourselves through lying. Now does fear justify lying? Does fear justify the breaking of any of the commandments? The less dramatic but still driven by fear is that we will seek to protect ourselves. That is our financial security through fear that as a result of some misfortune after we have given, we find ourselves penniless, wishing that we hadn't made the offering. Now psychologists Without any belief in the Bible. Know that this approach generates some major abundage and can even create paranoia. I know of a lady who became so fearful of germs. That everything that she touched other than food had to be wiped clean before she would touch it with her bare hand. Her time, her life. was consumed with making sure that things were clean. That her bondage that was her life became so restricted that she accomplished little else and was essentially wasted. She became a sort of female Howard Hughes without his financial resources. Now perhaps by looking at some extreme behavior like that woman. We can clearly see how restrictive and binding life's one can be if it is driven by a fear of loss. But God wants us to learn that there is a reciprocity to life. That is that we pretty much get out of life what we put into it. Now reciprocity means to give and take. To give and take. Now there is no magic bullets. We reap what we sow. And the reciprocity principle is part of the reaping, I should say the larger reaping and sowing principle. The woman that was fearful of germs sowed extreme measures of security to protect herself, and she reaped being a prisoner in her own home. I'll turn with me to Luke 6. Luke the 6th chapter and verses 37 and 38. Luke 6 verses 37 and 38. Jesus said judge not and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you. good measure press down, shaken together, running over, shall men give unto your bosom, for with the same measure that you meet withal, it shall be measured to you again. There is reciprocity, clear and simple. Now this says that we are not to, this is not saying, pardon me, that we are not to judge at all. We are, it is not saying that we are not to form opinions of others' behavior. To be discriminating is absolutely essential for a Christian. It is though a warning against harsh, self-righteous censoriousness and the fact that our judgment can never ever be final. Now Jesus Follows with the verse that is verse 38. In which he states the principle of reciprocity. If one judges without mercy, one will reap judgment without mercy. If one judges with kindness, one will reap judgment with kindness. And the implication is pretty strong from other verses which we will not go into that more will come back than is ever sown. So that can be either good or bad. Now in John 15 and in verse 17, Jesus made that famous statement that greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends. He is saying that to lay down one's life is another way of making an offering. It is a sacrifice. It is to make one's life and offering in service for one's friends. Now Jesus is the supreme example. His entire life from beginning. With his submission to the Father, while still in heaven as the sacrifice for men's sins was an offering to God and to men. Now if we were to look at this carnally, His offering really paid off in the long run, did not it? Now do you see the reciprocity? He gave freely and willingly not to get for himself in his case but simply as an act of love. It was the right thing to do. And it produced the right thing in huge amounts. Now let's go back to the Old Testament to Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs 11. And verses 23 through 28. Now these are really meaningful verses in regard to this principle. The desire of the righteous is only good. And that's what Jesus exhibited while he was still in heaven. His desire was a righteous desire. It was good. But the expectation on the other hand of the wicked is wrath. There is meaning a person that scatters. And yet increases. It's referring to a person who is generous. There is that is generous and yet increases, and there is that withholds the stingy person more than is fitting. But it tends to poverty. Reciprocity is at work. Whatever we sow, we reap. The liberal soul, the generous person, shall be made fat. That is that they will have a posterity that is good, and he that waters shall be watered himself also. He that withholds corn, the people shall curse him. That's what he sowed. That's what he reaped. But blessing shall be upon the head of Him that sells it. God doesn't even say it. Give it away. Sell it at a good price. He that diligently seeks good procures favor, sowing, reaping, reciprocity, but he that seeks mischief, it shall come unto him. You sow bad you reap bad. He that trusts in his riches. Shall fail But the righteous shall flourish as a branch. I once heard a story. Of giving That I do not know absolutely was true, but when I heard it, it was given. That's true The story eventually or ultimately came from Leadership magazine. And it seems that there was a Japanese farmer whose farm was on a high hill overlooking the ocean just outside the village that he lived in. And one day while he was working his farm, he gazed out into the ocean, and before his startled eyes, the water in the ocean began to recede from the shore. Now being acquainted with what was happening, he knew that a tidal wave was on its way and the village was in. Well, grave danger because it was right at water level on the shore. And so he set his crop on fire to serve as a warning. The people in the village saw the smoke, rushed up the hill to save his crop, and was standing there. On the hill when the tidal wave arrived. The village was destroyed. A portion of the man's crop was destroyed in the fire, but a large number of the people who would otherwise be dead were alive. For two acts of sacrificing in that story. First, the farmer putting his income at risk, and then by the villagers who gave up their time and energy, rushing to what they believed was his rescue. Now these people indeed rescued him, but his whole so because his whole crop was not lost, but he rescued them as well. Though the result of all involved offering themselves was that they survived a tragedy that undoubtedly would have killed them. A blessing followed their generous giving. The principle of reciprocity was at work. For a final scripture, let's turn to Ecclesiastes 11. Verses 1 through 6. Ecclesiastes 11 verses 1 through 6. Cast your bread upon the waters, for you shall find it after many days. Give a portion to 7, that is, generously and also to 8, even more generously, for you know not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth, and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. He that observes the wind shall not sow. That is because he's so overly concerned, and he that regards the clouds shall not reap. For you know not what the way of the what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child. Even so, you know not the works of God who makes all. In the morning, sow your seeds, and in the evening with withhold not your hand, for you know not which shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be alike good. Now one of the lessons here. Is that much about life is uncertain to us. The phrase for you know not that Solomon used appears 5 times in this brief six verses. In each occasion it alludes to what is going to happen in the future. And what he is saying is that there is some measure of uncertainty every time. That one sows. Now moving from seeds. To human relations. Solomon gives priceless advice in verses 1 and 2, essentially counseling us to live generously in our relationships with others. The inference is very strong that one never knows how kindness sowed is going to be returned as kindness received. Now he's not talking exclusively about being generous with money. It is general advice including Being generous and kind with wise counsel from one's own experiences, encouragement, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, mercy, pity. And judging A giving an offering is a regularly occurring exercise that fits within the general parameters of learning this valuable lesson. That is, sometimes when we sow it's fearful. But it is a necessary part of receiving. No seed sow No gain ever received.