THE PROMISE OF FRUIT
Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days
As we read this verse, it seems at first, it do not make sense. It seems foolish to cast our bread or seed upon the waters. The sensible place would be in the ground.
We can better understand this phrase if we know the background of this passage.
In the middle east, some of the rivers would overflow their banks and when this happen, men would get into their boats and go out on the waters, and cast their seed upon them.
The seed would sink to the bottom, and after the water receded , they would leave a rich soil covering the seed which later would lead to a great harvest of grain.
The writer must have had this in mind as he penned this verse. Thus, he is saying, as we go through this life, we are to cast our bread upon the waters;
Sometimes it may seem wasted, but God knows about it, and one day it will return as a blessing. And remember, God is the source of our blessings.
A couple of years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land, in addition to the many hours of the farmer’s labor, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulfur, and other elements too numerous to list. In addition to these things, which no man can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. It was estimated that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to the efforts of man. If we were honest, we’d have to admit that the same is true in producing spiritual fruit.
I-CONSIDER THE REQUEST OF THIS PROMISE:
The word cast means to give, to let go, thus we are to give freely, not having our bread forced out of our hand.
When I was young, a friend of mine gave me some of his candy only after his mother stood over him threating to whip him. This is not the way we are to cast our bread.
Someone may ask the question, how do we cast our bread? Notice we cast it several ways.
A-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Works:
Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
1)we do it through our goods deeds and our kindness toward others.
2)Notice John Wesley’s Rule for Christian Living
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever... You can!
3)In 1975, Human Kindness day was held in Washington D.C. A Government aid by the name of Steve Land was stabbed in the eye while walking through the crowd. He cried out for help, but none gave him a hand, he had to walk to the aid station by him-self. The people celebrated kindness but they sure didn’t practice it.
4)Remember the story of David and Jonathan? how Jonathan saved David life on several occasions? After he died, David took his cripple boy and gave him a home for life. Jonathan has cast his bread upon the waters and it came back even after his death.
B-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Witness:
2 Corinthians 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
1)By this, I mean through our Christian influence, through our daily Christian life.
2 In his book The Crisis in the University, Sir Walter Moberly cites the failure of evangelicals to penetrate university campuses with the gospel. To those who claim to follow Christ he says, "If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are."
3)I am afraid in our day, many Christians have lost their influence, their zeal for Christ. And because of this, it is hard sometimes to tell the difference between a child of God and a Child of the world.
C-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Words:
Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
1) Soft words sung in a lullaby will put a babe to sleep. Excited words will stir a mob to violence. Eloquent words will send armies marching into the face of death. Encouraging words will fan to flame the genius of a Rembrandt or a Lincoln. Powerful words will mold the public mind as the sculptor molds his clay. Words, spoken or written, are a dynamic force.
Words are the swords we use in our battle for success and happiness. How others react toward us depends, in a large measure, upon the words we speak to them. Life is a great whispering gallery that sends back echoes of the words we send out! Our words are immortal, too. They go marching through the years in the lives of all those with whom we come in contact. -- Wilfred Peterson
D-We Cast Our Bread Through our Witnessing:
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.
1)Dr. John MacArthur has noted that some Christians are like the Arctic River, frozen over at the mouth -- they just don’t say anything.
2)We shouldn’t be like that but we should talk to someone about Jesus every day of our life.
3)Bishop Taylor Smith had a Christlike passion for soul winning. He was taken ill in San Francisco and ordered to the hospital, where, not long after, he died. One day Dr. Philpott and a friend visited him before his home-going. It was eleven o’clock at night, but as they reached his door and looked in they saw a nurse kneeling beside his bed and the Bishop had his hands on her head praying for her. They felt they could not intrude. Finally the nurse came out in tears and said, "That dear old man! I am the third nurse he has led to Christ today." ("Choice Illus."
E-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Wealth:
Luke 6:38 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.
1)Martin Luther astutely observed, "There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind and the purse." Of these three, it may well be that we moderns find the conversion of the purse the most difficult.
2)But we all need to give, for all of us cant preach, or sing, or teach but through our gifts we can make it possible for others to do so.
3)Some one has said, there are three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the more you will get. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness. Which kind of giver are you?
II-CONSIDER THE REWARD OF THIS PROMISE:
I like what one old time preacher said about this verse, he said, your bread will come back buttered!!!
What we do for the Lord sometimes seems to be lost for a time. But in due season, we will reap if we faint not.
A-Notice the Endurance that is involved in it: "Many Days"
1)When candy manufacturer John S. Huyler started out in business, he took Jacob’s pledge: "...of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Gen. 28:22). Going to the bank, he opened a special account which he initialed "M.P." Into that fund he regularly entered a proportionate amount of his income. When anyone asked what the strange label meant, they were told that it stood for "My Partner." As he kept God uppermost in his mind in all his transactions, his industry grew at a phenomenal rate, and each week the "Lord’s treasury" received increasingly large sums. His gifts to worthy causes and private individuals amazed his business associates. These contributions were always accompanied with the request that the donor should not receive any thanks or glory for his actions. He asked each recipient to offer praise to God alone, for he said, "After all, the money isn’t mine; it’s the Lord’s!"
B-Notice the Encouragement that is involved in it: "Shall find it"
1)This is a promise of encouragement to every preacher, to every teacher, to every worker to keep casting their bread on the water, for in due season they will reap.
2) A hiker was thirsty for a drink, but could not find water, until he came to an abandoned house. There he found a pump, and proceeded to pump with all the strength he had remaining. No water came forth. Then he saw a small jug with a cork at the top and a penciled note, directing that the water in the jug be poured into the pump to prime it. At first the thirsty man questioned this, but when he followed directions he obtained satisfying water. Before going his way, he filled the jug with water so the next thirsty person could secure water. He added to the note, "Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back."
Conclusion: Robert Schuller in telling this story reminds us of the principle stated by the Apostle Paul, "he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6).
A missionary returning after many years of service was asked, "Rev. Jones, tell me what you found at your station in New Guinea." "Found? I found something that looked more hopeless than if I had been sent into a jungle of tigers." "What do you mean?" "Why, those people were so fierce and degraded that they seemed utterly devoid of moral sense. If a mother were carrying her little baby and the child began to cry, she would throw it into the ditch and let it die. If a man saw his father break his leg, he would leave him upon the roadside to suffer by himself. They had no compassion whatever. They didn’t even know what the word meant." "Well, what did you do for them? Did you preach?" "No, not at first. I thought it better to show them my faith by my works! When I saw a baby crying, I picked it up and consoled it. When I saw a man with a broken leg, I sought to mend it. When I found people distressed and hungry, I took them in, comforted them, and fed them. Finally they inquired, "What does this mean? Why are you doing this for us?" Then I had my chance, and I preached the Gospel!" "Did you succeed?" "My friend," said the missionary, "when I returned home on furlough, I left a church."
He had found the promise of this verse. Have you?
