2 Cor 9: 6 -8
6 ¶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
God’s laws of increase are many and we have seen some of them. The law of sowing d reaping is a fundamental law that works in all spheres of life and no other law applies in all facets and levels of life as this one!
As you purpose in your heart. We have seen this passage deals with giving and in it Paul applies the law of sowing and reaping to giving in particular. Paul teaches that this law works and comes into effect when you give. How much he believes in it is evident in that each one should purpose in one’s heart how much one is going to give. It is not to be interpreted to mean we decide in our heart how much we are to give on our own wish, or giving the largest amount in our purse or even determining in advance how much one gives. Rather, we are to decide the amount of our giving based on how you would like to reap. Giving is not to be based on how much you have but how much you want to have!
Make up your mind and decide accordingly! How do I want to set the pace of increase in my life; how I make a stand of faith. It does not depend how much we are able to give. (For we will never be able to give much in our own eyes. It calls for a deliberate, intelligent and spiritual decision indeed!
Giving in faith Rules out grudging and compulsion. Saying we do not have much is not our faith talking; it is merely our unbelief talking. What does your faith say? Do you believe that you will reap bountifully if you sow bountifully? Then based on that belief, make a decision to sow! (That is a revelation!) Let not your natural mind make the decision; always let your faith make that bold decision! That is a bold step that will produce results in your life!…as he purposes in his heart.
Not grudgingly or of necessity…when you give by faith, grudging and compulsion is absent! Because faith is a voluntary thing! Faith expects great things, so there is no necessity; you are sowing since you have decided to give based on your belief on God’s laws.
Some would like to compel you to give. They might even blackmail you at the end of a meeting, to give to make up the difference in expenses of a project or meeting. We are not to be fooled; we ought to give after patiently waiting on God to speak to us. Giving is not to be out of necessity. Cornering people to commit how they would give is also compulsion!
It should be safe to preach on sowing and leave the rest to God. If they respond to it on their own, it is good; if they did not sow, still the cause, ministry would go on; it would still be blessed by God! However sowing and reaping is good for the hearers. That is why obligating them is not necessary; even pawning personal items or put in IOU slips that would spoil the fun and the reward! Compelling people cause them to have a grudge in giving. This is like troubling a little child and causing it to cry; thereafter tell it to smile for Jesus loves you! Crazy! Let people understand faith and encourage them to give in faith. However letting people give voluntarily seems impractical and farfetched to impatient preachers. Sometimes we are advised about different fundraising methods used in America, Europe etc and trying to work all that, but fail to use God’s method for them. It even leads to be doubtful of ministries that raise money God’s way and feel there are some secret donors who finance those ministries. They fail to accept God as their source.
When you follow God’s method there will not be any grudging in giving, everyone will give cheerfully because they will be faith givers. Not out of being cornered by debtors or deadlines or ‘collection’ gangs, but rather since they have tasted and know the efficacy of God’s laws.
1. You must sow (since it determines your future)
2. Sow precious seed (that is all you got)
3. Sow liberally (it is a mentality)
4. Sow what you want to reap. Sow in every area of your life (if you want to reap in those areas)
The first time the law of sowing and reaping is mentioned in Gen 1 : 11
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Whatever you sow in its kind you will reap. Gal 6: 7-10
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
It is sad indeed that people talk about it only for fund raising. However that is far from all the other avenues where this law may be applied.
Loving Your Spouse. Do you have a unloving spouse? Have you loved first? Like a man who did not sow but was looking at the barren field and complained he has not reaped anything from it yet! Keeping on looking at it till eternity will not cause it to produce! If you sow love, you w ill certainly reap love! You set out to love a woman who does not love and love her and cause her to love you. There are biblical principles:
The bible says man is the initiator; the woman is not! Man is the one who chases after; the woman is the responder of that love. The bible teaches it this way! The men have to start it: if you want a lot of love, show a lot of love!
It may not work over night, it will take some time. Sow tomato seeds; you will not have tomatoes overnight! Tomatoes will come slowly but surely over the next few months! Slowly the sambar will taste better, the talk will become batter, good times, good everything! If you sow love, you will reap love. You are never going to reap any love unless you sow it! Love does things; it overlooks the faults and reaches out to them, accepts them, corrects and advises them! Showing love will cause it to come back in good measure pressed down and shaken together…
Managing Time. In every area whatever you sow will come back! The story Oral Roberts related about a woman who complained about not having enough time for anything. He enquired how much time she gave to the Lord. The woman told him how she was not able to find any time for anything, for studies and her job, how was she to find time time for the Lord? He told her “it is because you have not given any time for the Lord that you cannot find time; why don’t you give time to the Lord and see how it goes with you?”
The woman came running to him in a couple of weeks and reported that “it worked “. After she spent a little time everyday with the lord, praying and reading his word, she seemed to have time enough and more time for everything. What took over two hours earlier took a lot lesser now! When you give time it comes back to you;
Sowing Applies to Everything. The same applies to mercy, kindness… Lu 6: 35-38
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 ¶ Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
People associate this verse with giving since they focus on v 38; however if you see from v 25, the context is clearer.
What is the use of doing good to your enemies? The result is, soon they will become your friends! Do not lose opportunity to do something.
We read earlier gal 6: 10
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
When an opportunity shows up; when your enemy says help me; you have an opportunity to set in motion what you are going to get back: how that person is going to treat you is going to be determined by how you act! He may be an enemy, but since an opportunity has now come to turn around that situation: your sowing of this good thing will cause you to reap good.
V 36 to 37 talks about actions we take towards others: judge not and condemn, forgive and you will be forgiven;
After talking about being merciful, not judging, forgiving, Jesus asks you to give!
He is saying Give all of these things! What you give will be given to you: I much in your bosom!
Show an unfriendly face, faces will be shown to you! Be unfriendly and you will have no friends: irrespective of how they treat you, be friendly! You do not want to get in good measure the wrong things! (Do not gossip on someone; it will come back on you). Lu 6: 38 may be said as per 2 Cor 9: 6-8. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully, reap bountifully!
Some wonder, “Why is all this harm happening to me?”When confronted about how they sowed, they admit, they did a ‘little’ sowing! That is how the law works. When it grows it returns multiplied; and you are stunned by the magnitude!
Sow a little harshness; a little gossip, a little meanness, a little sluggishness, a little; so little you do not notice, but when it comes back, that very little is enough to produce a large return!
You may not like the large return a bad deed brings but you would surely not hate the great return a good deed brings! Sow whatever you want to produce! Whatever you would like to have, you can have it, and you have to sow more of that!
Ma 7:12
12 ¶ Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
This is so familiar; many do not even think this is the bible! What would you like to receive- love? Mercy? Wealth, time, kindness?
Start doing good and it will come back to you! (Men will do it to you)
5. Sow in the manner you want to reap. (The way you want to reap.)
Pr 3: 27
27 ¶ Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Do not say “go and come back later”: because it depends on the manner you would like to be treated!
A merciless man who would not help someone in need will also not find mercy when he needs it! (He may degrade to the level to be refused by the one to whom he refused it). When you feel it is good; do it! You would like to be treated with your request immediately: the manner you would like to be treated; it is important to sow in the manner you would like to reap!
Sometimes someone need not even ask. Do it and someone else would do it for you even before you ask or knock on their door! Someone will obey God and do it just like you obeyed God and did it!
Do it when God tells you to! Promptly, graciously and willingly! That is the way you would like to be treated! Sow in the manner you will like to reap! Manner is as important as the matter! Graciousness and promptness is important: you will reap that way too!