I Love You Sow Much
Posted: May 5th, 2010, 1:42 am
simpletruth #138g Re-Written 05May10 salicart@msn.com
HOSEA 10:12—Part Seven: I Love You Sow Much
by rev. dave c
Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).
The Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13:3-23 provides an illustration of what becomes of the Word of God as Christ sows the seed of truth into the World; as He reaches out to the lost through His Church; and as He speaks into the lives of Christians. God is love (1Jn 4:8b, NAS), and He desires for all to come to repentance (2Pe 3:9b, NAS), but within the context of this parable only one in four is the ‘good soil’ who hears the Word, understands it, and from whom Godly fruit is produced. It is significant that Jesus frequently used illustrations of broadcasting seed and fishing with big nets (Mt 13:47-50) when speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven, as opposed to specifically planting a seed and using a fishing line.
In Mark 16:14-16 we are told that, having been resurrected, 14 ...Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (NIV). While verse 16 deals with the individual who hears the Truth and either believes, or disbelieves—verse 15 tells the disciples of Christ to “go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL creation”. Although salvation is a personal experience between the repentant and the Lord, it is apparent that Christ desires for the Good News to be broadcast en masse, as well as shared one-on-one. Jehovah may have whispered to the person Samuel (1Sa 3:5), but He also used His voice to shake the Earth before several million of His people (He 12:19&26).
In addition to what we sow and where it is sown, the Bible is obviously concerned with how much is sown. Paul tells us in Second Corinthians 9:6, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (NIV). The “Apostle to the Gentiles” told Timothy, Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed (1Ti 6:17-19). Proverbs teaches that there is wisdom in giving generously: One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Pr 11:24&25, NIV). A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor (Pr 22:9, NIV). As these verses illustrate, God exhorts us to be generous with our money—and with our time, our gifts, and our activities.
Just as Christianity is a quality of life, not a standard of living, Jesus teaches that Godly generosity is not so much a matter of the quantity of giving, as it is a matter of the quality of giving. Otherwise this aspect of righteousness would be limited by the size of the check book, the number of degrees acquired, and/or the extent of a person’s talent. In Mark 12:41-44 we are told, And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on" (NAS). If I have $100 and I give you a dollar, I’m a nice guy. If I have $2 and I give you a dollar, I’m a real friend. But if I have $1 and I give it to you freely, then I may be approaching the beginning of Godliness.
Galatians 6:1-10 establishes the principle of reaping what we sow. In Part Three of this series we discussed how what we sow today needs to provide food for us tomorrow AND provide the seed for future planting. In order to have sufficient crops next season, the farmer must sow generously this season, and he must trust God to bless the planting by exponentially multiplying the seed that is sown. In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has (Pr 21:20; NIV). If I consume today all that I have, then I have nothing left to plant for tomorrow. If I sow just a little today, I will not have enough to eat tomorrow, with nothing left to plant for the day after that. If I sow generously today, I will have sufficient food and seed for tomorrow...and for the day after. Sound agriculture principles provide us a common and effective example of Matthew 25:29: For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away (NAS). Clearly God wants to bless us in all good things, but He expects us to work within His Law of the Harvest. As God blesses us generously, His expectations for us grows. “Lord, please help me to remember Your words in Luke 12:48b, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (NIV). Amen.”
HOSEA 10:12—Part Seven: I Love You Sow Much
by rev. dave c
Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).
The Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13:3-23 provides an illustration of what becomes of the Word of God as Christ sows the seed of truth into the World; as He reaches out to the lost through His Church; and as He speaks into the lives of Christians. God is love (1Jn 4:8b, NAS), and He desires for all to come to repentance (2Pe 3:9b, NAS), but within the context of this parable only one in four is the ‘good soil’ who hears the Word, understands it, and from whom Godly fruit is produced. It is significant that Jesus frequently used illustrations of broadcasting seed and fishing with big nets (Mt 13:47-50) when speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven, as opposed to specifically planting a seed and using a fishing line.
In Mark 16:14-16 we are told that, having been resurrected, 14 ...Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (NIV). While verse 16 deals with the individual who hears the Truth and either believes, or disbelieves—verse 15 tells the disciples of Christ to “go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL creation”. Although salvation is a personal experience between the repentant and the Lord, it is apparent that Christ desires for the Good News to be broadcast en masse, as well as shared one-on-one. Jehovah may have whispered to the person Samuel (1Sa 3:5), but He also used His voice to shake the Earth before several million of His people (He 12:19&26).
In addition to what we sow and where it is sown, the Bible is obviously concerned with how much is sown. Paul tells us in Second Corinthians 9:6, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (NIV). The “Apostle to the Gentiles” told Timothy, Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed (1Ti 6:17-19). Proverbs teaches that there is wisdom in giving generously: One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Pr 11:24&25, NIV). A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor (Pr 22:9, NIV). As these verses illustrate, God exhorts us to be generous with our money—and with our time, our gifts, and our activities.
Just as Christianity is a quality of life, not a standard of living, Jesus teaches that Godly generosity is not so much a matter of the quantity of giving, as it is a matter of the quality of giving. Otherwise this aspect of righteousness would be limited by the size of the check book, the number of degrees acquired, and/or the extent of a person’s talent. In Mark 12:41-44 we are told, And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on" (NAS). If I have $100 and I give you a dollar, I’m a nice guy. If I have $2 and I give you a dollar, I’m a real friend. But if I have $1 and I give it to you freely, then I may be approaching the beginning of Godliness.
Galatians 6:1-10 establishes the principle of reaping what we sow. In Part Three of this series we discussed how what we sow today needs to provide food for us tomorrow AND provide the seed for future planting. In order to have sufficient crops next season, the farmer must sow generously this season, and he must trust God to bless the planting by exponentially multiplying the seed that is sown. In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has (Pr 21:20; NIV). If I consume today all that I have, then I have nothing left to plant for tomorrow. If I sow just a little today, I will not have enough to eat tomorrow, with nothing left to plant for the day after that. If I sow generously today, I will have sufficient food and seed for tomorrow...and for the day after. Sound agriculture principles provide us a common and effective example of Matthew 25:29: For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away (NAS). Clearly God wants to bless us in all good things, but He expects us to work within His Law of the Harvest. As God blesses us generously, His expectations for us grows. “Lord, please help me to remember Your words in Luke 12:48b, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (NIV). Amen.”