A New Beginning
2nd Corinthians 9: 6-11
We are going to be a little different today. Instead of reading the scripture verses and then praying we are going to pray first and then read the scriptures when we get to them in our message today
Please join me in Prayer!!
As I was working on today’s message I had an ideal of what I wanted to talk about and as I searched for something to begin with I looked at many things to find something along the lines of what I felt GOD was placing on my heart. I searched for a passage of scripture, then I looked at some sermon ideals from other pastors, then I looked at complete sermons by other pastors and as I looked several things crossed my mind but none of it seemed right. Finally I paused and thought to myself that nothing was going right. I couldn’t even find a passage of scripture that reflected what I wanted to say. Actually I thought that there just wasn’t anything to go along with what I wanted to say and I wondered was I not listening to GOD, was I trying to impose my ideals instead of GOD’S, why couldn’t I find one verse or one short passage of scripture to say what I was feeling.
Then it hit me all at once, the whole Bible said what I was wanting to say. It says it in Genesis, It says it in Isaiah, It says it in Psalms, It says it in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, It says it in Acts, Romans, Hebrews, and Revelation. But nowhere does it say it any better than in 2nd Corinthians 9:6. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
This passage was already being printed on the back of the bulletins and at first I didn’t really think about it fitting the theme of a new beginning. However after allowing GOD to show it to me in a new light by reading the whole chapter in several different versions I saw it in a whole new context and I saw it especially in the New International Version in verses 6-11. If you will follow along as I read these verses perhaps they can make the same impression on you.
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.” 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Do you see what I saw here? Paul was saying as you sow so shall you reap!
If you are sowing iniquity then you shall reap iniquity, if you sow eternal salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ then you shall reap eternal salvation through our Lord and Savior just as he promised.
But, and this is a big but, if you are not right now sowing generously then right now you are slated not to reap generously. But, and here again this is a big but, you can change all that right now, right this minute, you can begin to sow generously in everything that you do and eventually you will reap generously in everything that you do. This is truly a new beginning, a chance to start all over.
Have you been giving generously of yourself in serving GOD? If not you can begin to do so right now. Have you witnessed generously as GOD would want you to do? Now right away several of you are going to say “But I can’t go out knocking on doors and telling people about Jesus and his salvation.” Why can’t you? I know all the answers , “I’m just not an outgoing person, I’m afraid to meet strangers, I freeze up and don’t know what to say, GOD hasn’t called me to that kind of ministry,” But, there’s that word again, there are more ways to witness to people then knocking on doors.
Let’s look at a few simple ones and how easy they are to do.
First how many of you eat lunch with others at work, when you do, do you bow your head and say grace before them even if you don’t know how they feel about this. Or do you just sit down and go to eating. Or how about offering Thanks in a crowded restaurants. This is a witness to others about what is important in your life.
Secondly how about when you are given too much change, whether it is a penny or Twenty dollars. Do you immediately give it back, or do you have to think about it, or do you just put it in your pocket. This too is a witness of what is important in your life, and remember as you sow so shall you reap.
There’s a story about one of the pastors who was at First Baptist in Houston. When he first got the job and they were trying to grow the church he had to go downtown one day and decided that he would ride the bus. When he got on the bus and paid the driver with a dollar bill and the driver gave him his change. As he walked down the aisle and sat down he realized that the driver had gave him a quarter too much change. He said his first thought was to go and give it back to the driver, but then he thought well it’s only a quarter and no big deal so he put it in his pocket. All the way downtown it kept bothering him that he had given the quarter back, but he kept thinking to himself what’s the big deal it’s only a quarter.
As they got to his stop he got up and started up the aisle and it was still bothering him so as he got to the driver he pulled the quarter out of his pocket and told the driver “I’m wanted to give this back to you, it seems you gave me a quarter too much change.” The driver thanked him and said “Hey aren’t you the new preacher out at First Baptist” and he said yes he was. The Driver then Said “I thought that was who you were when you got on and I have been thinking about going to your church so I gave you a quarter too much change to see what kind of person you are. I think I will come to your church.” As the pastor stepped down off the bus he had to grab hold of a light pole to stand up as he thought ”O my GOD I nearly sold you out for a quarter!”
So you see this is also a form of witnessing and we may never know when we are being tested by someone or by GOD!
Third how about the way you react when someone around you tells a dirty joke or uses language that is filthy. I remember when a friend of mine’s daddy died many years ago. This man was a deacon in the Baptist Church, served as secretary and treasurer of the church for several years. But the greatest thing I ever heard about him was said by one of the men he had worked with for over twenty five years. The Man said there was one thing about Bill, he never told a dirty joke and if he realized you was telling one he would just turn around and walk off. This to me spoke more about the man then anything else because it showed his true character.
Fourth how do you treat some one who has misused you, maybe they lied about you or maybe they took something of yours. What do you do when they come around? Or what do you do when they ask for forgiveness? Remember the Lord’s Prayer says “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5: verses 43-45.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Forgiveness then is another way to witness to people about what we are! About what we believe and about what we as Christians do!!
These are just some of the ways we can witness for Christ every day. You see our lives are our witness to the whole world. When we live the kind of life that say’s we are forgiven and we can forgive others because our GOD has shown us how!! Well when we do that other people see it and they want that same kind of love, peace and forgiveness that we all have because GOD has given it to us. No we didn’t earn it; we could not do enough to earn it! It is GOD’S free gift to us but we are to live so others can see it in us!
Now some of you are probably wondering what this has to do with a new beginning. We can begin today to live this kind of life even if we haven’t already been living it. And since we have moved the church building and are working on getting it sit up so we can start using it. And even though it doesn’t seem that we are getting much response from anyone that can help us we are at a new beginning.
How we are going to accomplish all the things we need to do is beyond me and probably beyond anybody else here today. But I remember a couple of years ago when it was brought up at a business meeting that we should start looking for a lot for the church and the general consensus was we could not afford it. A bout three months ago that was still the general consensus and they were all right we couldn’t afford it but we forgot about GOD and he could afford it because everything is his. Now her we are with two, not one but two lots with our trailer sitting on them and we are again saying that we just don’t see how we are going to make it work. We don’t have enough money, we can’t get this done or we can’t get that done.
I am asked all the time not just by our members but by other folks how are you ever going to get all that done? Does your church have enough money to do that? Where are you going to get any help?
My answers from now on are going to be. I am not going to get it done but GOD is. No our church doesn’t have enough money but GOD does. I am going to get all the help I need from the people GOD sends to us!
Because GOD owns everything and as long as I am doing what he wants me to he will provide!
That should be our new beginning today, that should be our new focus starting to day.
I am going to do exactly what GOD wants when he wants the way he wants and he will provide everything I need to get it done because where he leads he always provides. He has used any number of people and funds to put this church in this area and if we will just do what he wants then he will bless it and everything will come together and this church will grow and prosper.
But I want you to remember that some sow and some reap and it’s not always the same one. Sometimes we will be sowing and somebody else will reap, sometimes we will reap where others have sown but we should rejoice at all of these things for it is all for the Kingdom of Heaven and for the GLORY OF GOD!!!!
Join me in Prayer!!
