Sowing
and Reaping Generously
Proverbs
21:5 (NLT)
Good planning and hard work lead to
prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Matthew
25:2-4 (NLT)
Five of them were foolish, and five were
wise. [3] The five who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, [4] but the
other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
Much
of our future is hidden in what we do today!
Matthew
25:9-10 (NLT)
But the others replied, 'We don't have
enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.' "But
while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready
went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
Galatians
6:7 (NLT)
… You will always reap what you sow!
In Biblical sowing, we enlarge our present
and future by investing generously in the lives of others and in the Kingdom
of God
Proverbs
11:24 (NLT)
It is possible to give freely and become
more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything.
Proverbs
11:24 (Msg)
The
world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets
smaller and smaller.
1. Be a generous
giver - God takes extra and special notice of those who are generous
Acts 10:1-2, 31 (NIV)
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was
known as the Italian Regiment. [2] He and all his family were devout and
God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God
regularly…and [Peter] said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and
remembered your gifts to the poor.
2. In your
time of need, plant a seed that will bless others
2 Cor. 8:2-3 (NLT)
Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their
wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. [3] For I
can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And
they did it of their own free will.
Eccles. 11:1-2 (Living)
Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. [2] Divide
your gifts among many, for in the days ahead you yourself may need much help.
3. Start planting seeds by faith in the famine
areas of our own lives
Genesis
26:1, 12 (NIV)
Now there was a famine in the land…Isaac
planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the
Lord blessed him.
Luke
6:38 (NLT)
If you give, you will receive. Your gift
will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room
for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or
small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you."