REAPING AND SOWING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

2 Corinthians 9:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You get out of life what you put into it.

Maybe you have heard this phrase before.

In essence, it means that gaining something requires a person to actually do something to earn it.

Through my many years of military service and leadership, I used a variation of this theme to try and encourage service members to strive for excellence in what they did every day. Here’s what I used to tell them:

Minimum effort will usually produce minimum results. People who find success invest themselves in doing things that lead to that success.

It’s a principle I lived by and one I think many others did (and still do) as well. I know the service members who took it to heart and applied it discovered the truth found in it.

Well, this matter of putting into something to get something out of it is biblical as well. In fact, we could say that the genesis of our modern thinking on the matter happened in the scriptures for it’s there that we find the Apostle Paul writing these words in the sixth verse of 2 Corinthians 9:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

As we often see in the Bible, agriculture is used as an illustration in order to drive home a teaching point. Cultures in the Old and New Testament were very agrarian in nature and so it made sense that teachers like Jesus and Paul would use examples that a majority of their students could relate to.

Everyone would know that if you only plant a little seed, you will only harvest a small crop. Conversely, if you sow seed generously then you could expect the harvest to be robust and hearty.

In other words, you reap what you sow.

When we apply this to ministry work, we see the ante upped exponentially. I say this because there is a lot at stake. It’s not about how much we lose or gain by the way we carry out the Great Commission but rather how much Jesus, our Savior loses or gains. When we sow the Gospel sparingly, we get sparse results in regard to souls that get saved. However, when we get outside of ourselves and fully invest in others for the cause of Christ, then we can make a kingdom difference by reaping an abundance of people who choose to believe in Jesus, and in doing so, gain eternal life.

One could probably say that the fundamental work of sharing the Gospel is one of sowing and reaping.

How well are you doing in this area?

Are you sowing the Gospel scarcely, failing to be effective in the work Jesus called you to?

Or are you fully dedicated and devoted to the Gospel cause and reaping a harvest of saved people who come to receive the gift of eternal life through the labors you invested?

I pray you are in the latter category but if you are in the former, now is the time to change things. Jesus stands ready to use you in bigger ways to produce a greater harvest of the saved. All you need to do is surrender yourself to Him and allow Him to lead and guide you to carry our His will and way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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THE POWER OF ENDORSEMENT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.

What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

2 Corinthians 8:16-24, 9:1-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Endorsements are important.

I’m not talking about this from an advertising sense where let’s say a sports team, race car driver, or golfer wears names on their uniforms or vehicles to promote companies or causes. No, the king of endorsement I am talking about is when someone endorses someone by praising them for their quality of work or character traits.

If my wife and I are looking for a contractor to do work on our home, we are usually reading reviews people have left or seeking referrals from our neighbors who may have had similar work done. If a worker has a large number of positive endorsements from others, then you can feel confident that they will do a good job for you.

Personal trait endorsements can happen for different purposes. When a politician is running for office, they will often try to get someone to endorse their campaign so to garner more votes and win the election. A person who seeks employment may be asked to provide referrals to provide feedback on the prospective employee’s work ethic and moral makeup. If that person gets hired, they may eventually be in the running for a promotion and would hope that there would be plenty of endorsements to move up to greater levels of responsibility.

As we look at the closing verses of 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, and move through the opening five verses of chapter 9, we find the Apostle Paul using the power of endorsement to promote those who would be assisting him in the work of the ministry. In this instance, the backing is for those who would be involved in getting the promised gift for the church in Jerusalem.

First, we find Paul talking about Titus, his “partner and co-worker”. Immediately, he wanted the Corinthians to know that God had put the same concern for them in Titus, who was coming with “much enthusiasm” and fully on his own accord.

Second, we find Paul telling the Corinthian Christians that someone would accompany Titus, a man Paul referred to as a “brother” (meaning brother Christian) who was praised “by all the churches for his service to the gospel”. Further, this brother was “chosen by the churches to accompany” Paul and his fellow missionaries as they carried “the offering” which they administered “in order to honor the Lord Himself” and display their “eagerness to help”.

Ultimately, Paul was carefully choosing the men who would manage the “liberal gift” donations because he hoped “to avoid any criticism of the way” they administered the funds, He wanted the church in Corinth to know that he and the others were “taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.”

So Titus and a brother Christian of Paul’s were going to Corinth to receive the offering earmarked for Jerusalem. They would be joined by a third person, another brother Christian who had often proven that he was zealous and felt great confidence in the Corinthian believers. Together, the scriptures tell us that two brother Christians were “representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ”.

With these three men coming for the distinct purpose of collecting the offering for Jerusalem, Paul issues a slight warning. He had been bragging up the Corinthian church and he didn’t want them to let him down. And so he encouraged the church to “be ready” to provide the “generous gift” as promised and to do so with eager joy so not to make it appear that they were giving grudgingly.

Finally, Paul finishes by asking the Corinthian Christians to show the visiting men “the proof” of their love and validate the pride that Paul and his fellow missionaries had for the church in Corinth.

Through the power of endorsement, Paul sought to facilitate a smooth collection of the giving for the Jerusalem church. The Corinthians knew they could trust the emissaries were coming as representatives on behalf of God Himself on a mission to bring aid to a sister church in Jerusalem.

What’s out takeaway from this?

We need to learn from Paul’s tact and moxie because he fully knew the power of persuasion. It was a gift God had given him to convince Christian believers to live and give as God desired. We need to be positively endorsing all positive aspects of church ministry and the people involved with the intent of encouraging people to give to the work, whatever it might be. If we do, then we can ensure our church congregants are willfully giving out of a preponderance of care for the church and a desire to advance the kingdom work of God here on earth.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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TWO WAY GIVING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

2 Corinthians 8:13-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been associated with someone who was one-way when it came to giving?

You know this kind of person, right? The one who always wants other people to give to them but never gives anything to others themselves. I’ve been associated with more than a few in my life and like to view them as consumers of people and what they have, consumers because they develop an appetite for charity with others with no intention of ever returning the generosity.

As we see in today’s verses from our continuing study of 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, we find the Apostle Paul addressing what giving should look like between churches but there is a broader application of this principle when it comes to how we should give to one another and especially God. Let’s look again at Paul’s words here:

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”  2 Corinthians 8:13-15

You will recall that the matter at the heart of this chapter was the collection Paul took up from all the Christian churches he had planted during his missionary journeys for the support of the Jerusalem church. The Apostle had singled out the Macedonian believers for their blessed generosity as they had given up and above what would have been expected and did so eagerly and gladly. Paul extended his compliments to the Corinthian Christians as well because they were first to give out of a deep desire to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. He encouraged the church in Corinth to continue giving as they had done in the year before.

But note that Paul didn’t advocate for one-way giving. He didn’t want the Corinthian believers to think that they wouldn’t one day be helped the same way in kind if there was a need for it. No, Paul expected that the Jerusalem church would be just as quick to help the Christians in Corinth once they were able to financially do so. This was an equitable and cooperative approach which would link and strengthen the bond between all Christian churches in the world at that time.

In first century AD, Paul’s goal was equality in charity and we should see this in the way Christian churches interact with one another today, the way people interact with one another, and most importantly, how people interact with their God. Sadly, I believe we need to do a lot of work in this area. If you don’t believe that, then just take the time to consider the following questions:

1. How many Christian churches connect with other churches around them and truly connect ecumenically, caring for and supporting one another regardless of denomination affiliation?

2. How many people are only interested in receiving giving from others but never feel compelled to give back to the person who helped them or anyone else for that matter?

3. How many times does God give and give and give to His people only to never receive anything in return?

Friends, these are questions that should convict us and challenge us to improve the way we approach giving whether within the church, or in giving to one another or God. The good news is that we can make conscientious decisions to change our giving attitude and those changes start with us allowing God to dictate how we give. For in the end translation, what we have or what we might receive from others is really from God’s provided resources, right? We should allow Him to show us how to use the things He provides to His glory and honor.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

ACCEPTABLE GIVING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

2 Corinthians 8:10-12 (NLT)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is the love chapter, then the eighth chapter of 2 Corinthians is definitely the giving chapter for just as Paul’s focus is on love in the former, his emphasis is definitely on giving in the latter.

This truth has played out in our messages so far in this chapter as we have looked at the blessed generosity shown by the Christians in Corinth, giving that was excellent because they followed a certain process and emulated the actions of Jesus, the greatest role model for giving that mankind has ever had.

As we continue the study of this chapter in today’s message, we find Paul providing the guidelines for appropriate giving and this is critical because while giving is definitely required and endorsed by God’s word, there always seems to be a lingering question as to how much a person should give.

For example, if your church is working on the budget for the next year, they may ask the congregational members to complete a giving estimate for the coming year. This request causes people to have to sit down and decide how much they commit to. In doing this, they may ponder how much is enough.

So how much is acceptable to the Lord when it comes to giving?

Let’s look again at our three verses today for the answer.

Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 2 Corinthians 8:10-12 (NLT)

What is acceptable?

It isn’t to give in a way that overextends yourself, that’s for sure. We are to give according to what we have, not what we don’t have. In other words, the Lord wouldn’t expect you to go into debt by charging your offering on a credit card. Rather, He would want you to work giving into your budget in a way that is “in proportion to what you have”. Then a person could give eagerly because they not only know that their giving is in accordance with what they have but also done in a way that is acceptable to the Lord.

This was the kind of giving the Corinthian church had engaged in during the year prior to Paul writing this latter and the Apostle encourages them to continue giving as they were in the year to come.

Friends, this message is written as much for us as it was for the Christ believers in Corinth. For the Lord still calls on His people to give charitably to the church and elsewhere, and this giving will be acceptable when we conscientiously give in proportion to what we have, giving what we can.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com