The Ministry of This Service

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,

“’He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

    his righteousness endures forever.’

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:6-12 ESV).

Now, in context, this is speaking of the gift of giving to those who are the saints of God who are in financial need. “Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness” (2 Corinthians 8:14 ESV). We are to have equal concern for one another in caring for one another’s legitimate needs. But we must be discerning here, always, for there are those among us who are thieves and liars and manipulators and con artists. So pray for wisdom.

Now this is not teaching that if we give that we are always going to be given back, in return, in material wealth. But sometimes the Lord will supply for us in ways we would not imagine so that we can provide for the needs of others. My husband and I have seen that happen to us many times where we would have extra income we were not expecting, but just in time to help meet the needs of others, especially those within the family of God. But we should never give just so that we will be given back. Wrong motivation.

For the point here is that we should not be selfish and be hoarders who care only for our own needs and who do not want to share with others for fear that we will not have enough. Now this doesn’t mean that we give away what we have that we need to pay our own bills and then just expect that someone else is going to pay our bills for us. We need to be responsible people who make certain, as much as is within our power to do so, that we have enough to cover our own necessities (not all our wants).

For this sowing and reaping, I believe, has more to do with spiritual blessings than it does to do with material blessings. For, when we give to the legitimate needs of others we are blessed when we see how our giving made a difference in their lives, and how God’s prompting us to give was just what they needed at that exact moment in time. 

For example, we once had a neighbor who had no teeth but he couldn’t afford false teeth so the Lord led us to give him the money for the teeth, and when he got the teeth his smile was priceless! That was our reward, to see the joy on his face that he now had teeth.

For this sowing increases the harvest of our righteousness, not necessarily increases our bank accounts. And that is because we give freely as we are prompted by the Lord to give without ever expecting anything in return, even if we get no thanks or no acknowledgment for the gift given. We can be satisfied in know that we obeyed the Lord in this giving, and we trust that he is going to use it in the lives of others, not only to meet their needs, but also to increase their faith as they give thanks to God for what was supplied.

But this also has a spiritual parallel to it in that when we sow sparingly in spiritual matters, in our walks of faith, in time spent in the word of God, and in time with and in obedience to the Lord in serving others in their spiritual needs, we are also going to reap sparingly. We will not grow to maturity in Christ, we will not have close walks with the Lord, and we will not have a spiritual impact on the lives of others in sharing with them the gospel of Christ and the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles.

But if we sow bountifully in our spiritual lives in all the areas mentioned above, we are going to reap bountifully in our close walks with the Lord in our obedience to him and in service to him. And we are going to see at least some of the fruit of our labors in the lives of the people who have been touched by our ministry to them. But if our ministry is on the internet, we may not see much of the results of our labors in this life, but that is okay, because we can be at peace knowing that we are doing the will of God.

Fit for Service 

 

An Original Work / October 5, 2011

Holy Spirit, come within us.

Cleanse our hearts, 

and from sin free us.

Make us holy vessels fit 

for service to the King.

Fill us with Your love and power.

Anoint us within this hour

To be living witnesses 

For Jesus Christ, our King.

Our praise to Him bring.

Father God, our heart’s desire,

Come and speak to us in power.

Revive our hearts to obey You;

Live for You always.

May we love and serve You only,

Walking with You; 

Not a phony.

May we always tell the truth,

And show integrity.

Your true servants be.

Jesus, Savior, sanctify us.

Purify our hearts within us;

Be transformed into Your likeness,

Holy unto You.

May we always listen to You

Speaking Your words 

Now within us.

May we heed Your counsel to us;

Follow You today.

Do all that You say. 

https://vimeo.com/113979906