2 Corinthians 9:6-8

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Paul reminds us that God not only longs to bless His kids but He loves it when givers delight in the giving. We are blessed to be a blessing. Our problem when it comes to desiring God’s blessings is our purpose behind the blessing. Many of us want to be blessed not to bless us but so that we can benefit. But the goal is not getting but giving. What about you, are you making it about giving or greed? While Paul is appealing to the Corinthian Christians for financial help the truth of the text applies to more than just money matters. The principles found in this passage deal more with character than cash. The focus is not on money but on ministry, and whether we will sow sparingly or sacrificially. Grace giving leads to a life of liberation, freeing us from things and circumstances. Instead of things possessing you, you start to possess them. Instead of money managing and moving your life it becomes a means for ministry. Instead of cash controlling you, and dictating your attitude and actions, you begin to control it. Financial freedom doesn’t come through getting more it comes through giving back. Today we are being taught that financial freedom comes from acquiring and amassing, that the more we have the freer we will be. Yet often more money means more managing, more possessions means more time polishing and protecting. Instead of being freed to enjoy life we become chained to our cash and slaves to the stuff. Today there are many who play the power ball hoping to become wealth because they believe that financial security will bring freedom, but statistics suggest that those who win often end up far from freed. Money becomes their master, and many end up miserable instead of merry. Money has many of the attributed of a god, power, the ability to fix problems, and provide but unlike God riches don’t provide a real relationship. The real craving of our hearts is not more but meaning, we want meaningful relationships not riches. But when we chase after the cash we end up worshipping wealth, our focus become finance not God the Father. But true satisfaction is found in God not gain. Not only does God’s grace lead to a life of liberation but it also enables us to have all-sufficiency so we can abound in giving. God is able to give us complete sufficiency so that we serve, and service is the secret to satisfaction. Today we are trying to find satisfaction in security instead of in service. As a result instead of helping out we tend to hoard. But Paul reminds us of where our resources really come from as he reminds us of the:

• Ability of the Almighty

One way God’s approval of the grateful giver finds expression is in the provision of both physical and spiritual prosperity. Do you give cheerfully or out of compulsion, are you a grateful giver or a grumpy giver? When we are stingy we start serving sparingly. Maybe it was the uncertainty of life in the ancient world that caused the Corinthians to become concern about their cash. But God doesn’t want the uncertainties of life to be a reason to withhold our resources. The Almighty is able to provide everything that we need and when we lose sight of this truth we will turn to trusting in self instead of the Savior.  “God is able” is the consistent promise of Scripture: Romans 16:25 “Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong.” Ephesians 3:20 “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Jude 24 “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” He is able is a promise that we need to pay attention to so that we will place our confidence in Him. As disciples we are dependent on the promise that God is able and we especially need to remember this because we are called to walk by faith not by sight. Are you trusting in your provision or in God’s power, providence and promises? The might and power of God is capable of taking care of you. God is able to give “all grace, all-sufficiency, for all things, for every good work.” Yet even with these staggering statements we don’t get the full picture of God’s provision without the word abounds. Abounds knows no limits, it describes God’s jam-packed overflowing fountain of provision and both the greatness and the goodness of His grace. The King James says “God is able to make all grace abound toward you.” Grace here is used to sum up the bigness of God’s blessings which come to us through Christ. The primary use of Grace in the New Testament reveals the unconditioned, undeserved, providing, pardoning love of God. All grace comes from one act of grace that comes through Christs work on the cross. Grace is like a diamond which has many facets, so that as you turn it more of its beauty and blessing is revealed. Grace is also like the gift of life which produces many results. Life gives shine in the eyes, color in the cheeks, strength to the arm, and swiftness to the feet.  There are many sides to Grace, many manifested blessings but its source is Jesus Christ. The manifestation of grace giving is no different; being a blessing can be revealed in a variety of ways. The point is God’s gift of grace should change our lives from consumers to contributors. God not only gives all grace but gives it abundantly, He does not give it sparingly. God opens His whole hand not just His little finger. But notice that it says, God is able to make, not God will make. The responsibility for the overflowing is placed personally upon us, there are conditions we must meet. Although we have access to the full fountain of His blessing it will not pour on us unless we position our lives according to His promise. Unless we walk according to His Will we will not access God’s ability to give. So what opens the hand of God to bestow blessing? When we seek to sow, as we graciously give God opens the doors of heaven, if you want to be blessed don’t begrudge, sow with a smile not a scowl. The possibilities and provisions of God’s grace are up to individual Churches and Christians to receive. God is not stating that He will make every giving Christian wealthy in material things but it does mean that the Christian who practices “grace giving” will always have more than they needs when they needs it. Are you going to distribute God’s blessings or try to dam them up?

Galatians 6:7-10

7 “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith”.

Investing our lives not only involves sowing and serving but we must also be:

• STEADFAST

Verse 9 reminds us to not give up on good. This is a call to patiently persist, to keep planting because if we do we will reap the reward. Today there are many who want a hand in the harvest but not in the hard work. Sometimes it takes a lot of weeping before we get to the reaping. Being steadfast is more than just sticking it out it is focusing on the fruit of the future, not the problems of the present. Our hope is not in the here and now but in the harvest to come and if we are going to succeed then we need to have a forward thinking, future focus. No orchard owner ever planted an apple tree one day and expected to bake a pie the next. Being steadfast doesn’t mean sitting on the sidelines, being a steadfast servant involves sweat. Success involves more than just sowing, we have to water and weed, fertilize and prune. Not growing weary is a call to plant and then persist, to faithfully tend the garden as we focus on the future fruit. Perseverance produces patience and patience, especially people patience is a precious and powerful virtue. We want what perseverance will produce we just don’t want the process we have to go through to get there. Why do we often fail and throw in the towel before we see the fruit, because we have bought into the lie that living for the Lord should be easy. That all we have to do is show up and we will have success, but sowing and serving require spiritual and physical stamina. There may be painful patches and hard hits on the road to the harvest and we need to do more than just hold on we need to hope on. In Galatians 4:11 Paul points out a powerful truth in dealing with people: “I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.” We fear that our work will be a waste, but Paul provides a proper perspective here, reminding us that the focus is not on self but on those we serve. He says “I fear for you” not I fear for self, many of us make self the focus of our feelings. Our worry is not that others will not advance but that we will be taken advantage of. Worry and fear will cause us to freeze or flee, either way it will stop us from being steadfast, and when we fail to forge ahead we forgo the blessing. Not only do we fear our work being a waste, but work without results can cause us to become weary and discouraged. Often we don’t intend to quit, we’re just going to take a short break, but somehow we just never quite seem to get started again. This is where we need to engage in encouragement, because we all need a steady supply of encouragement. The problem is that we often feeding people a diet of discouragement and then wonder why they die. The word encouragement means to provide others with courage. Now there is a big difference between flattery and encouragement, flattery is a compliment but encouragement is coming alongside and spurring others on. It’s easy to flatter and fluff the feathers but encouragement encompasses so much more. I Thessalonians 5:11 calls us to: “encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” Encouraging one another is not just something that scripture suggests we do if we have time, but a call to take the time and come alongside. It’s easier to be a discourager than it is to be an encourager, it takes less thought and effort to tear down than to build up. We have a duty to one another to provide encouragement and that encouragement is vital. One of the greatest ways for us to help one another is through a steady show of encouragement so why don’t we do it. We live in a society that is more prone to punish that to respond with rewarding. Rather than rewarding good behavior we punish bad. Yet that is not the model of the Master, He loves and longs to reward the faithful with fruit. Sometimes it’s simply because we get too busy doing other things, we let life run us and run over us. Instead of taking charge and taking the bull by the horns we get charged. Not only do we need to be steadfast but we also have to stop being:

• SHORT SIGHTED

Scripture reminds us that we will reap in a different season than we sown. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” When we look at life through the short lens of instant gratification we often end up grumpy and dissatisfied. Living out the call of Galatians 6 is a challenge in a culture that demands immediate results. In our fast food culture it’s easy to forget to be future focused. The problem is that we see waiting as a waste, but waiting develops our dependence on God, and reinforces our relationship. It causes us to not only turn to Him in trust but once turned to keep trusting. Seeking to serve and do good in the discouraging and dry times of life is really a step of faith, and without faith we will never see the fruit. Are you going to forge ahead in faith or fall behind in fear? The problem is our current culture tells us that it’s ok to focus on self, as a result we want it our way and we want it now. We are not willing to plant the seeds and lend a helping hand until we see the harvest. How do we live a grace based grateful life during the hard times, by focusing on the harvest and what God will do, not on where we are at. Hope will help you clear the hurdles and handle the hurts along the way with wisdom and grace. Hope will keep your heart looking ahead not lagging behind. So let me ask you are you focusing on the harvest or the hard work? Are you going to get hung up on the here and now or forge ahead in faith? Are you going to serve and sowing good works wherever you go or be selfish? Short sighted living always short-circuits serving because it causes us to stop investing. Instead of helping out we hold back, instead of selflessly serving we become stingy with our time, talents, and treasures. When we lose sight of the harvest we are more prone to flake out and stop praying than to faithfully petition God the Father over the harvest. When we take our eyes off of God we lose sight of the goal, doing good, we get distracted and drawn away. We grow impatient for the harvest and irritable with people. Instead of aiding others we get angry with them, we see others as an interruption and an inconvenience, instead of seeing service as a prized privilege we view it as a pain.  Are you sowing and serving with a steadfast spirit or a short sighted one?