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2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – Making the Son Shine – Bible study

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – Making the Son Shine – Bible study

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 Making the Son Shine Through the Scripture, the Bible speaks of Jesus and salvation as light and the rejection of Jesus and light as darkness. In speaking of Jesus, the Apostle John wrote: John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Jesus also takes up the comparison, speaking of Himself as light and the lost world as being in the darkness of sin. Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And so the analogy goes on through the Bible. Do you suppose it is a coincidence that the world hangs in utter darkness, with the only light being the light of the sun? Is that not a picture of its spiritual condition as well? A world enveloped in the darkness of sin, with only a small portion of it, lit by the light of Gods Son, Jesus. Jesus is the true Son-shine. You and I are very fortunate. We live in a part of the world that has been in the Son light for hundreds of years. Yet, most of the world is in darkness. 1. Many parts of the world have never had more than the smallest ray of Son light into their village or town or region. 2. Many language groups do not have any portion of the Bible translated into their language. (In an article dated March 31, 2011, it was reported that as many as 2,000 people groups have no Bible.) 3. The same article reported that as many as 1,000 people groups have no missionary working with them, let alone a church! http://www.ethne.net/information-strategies/no-christians-no-scripture-no- missionaries 4. And sadly, portions of the world which were once lit with the gospel of Christ are now regressing back into the darkness. In an article on Fox News, entitled Religion May be Headed for Extinction, a recent study revealed that a growing portion of the world population now identify themselves as not affiliated with any religion. In nine nations, the percent has increased up to 40 to 60%. The nations noted were Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Canada, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The article noted that this movement has taken root in all 50 of the United States as well. How can we make the Son shine on the whole world? Through the work of MISSIONS. 1. There is a need for missionaries. This is a great and desperate need of the day and it would please me immensely if some from our church would surrender to go; but lets start with something even simpler than that. 2. There is a need for money to support those who have already surrendered and in some case to keep those on the field who are already trained and there! This morning, lets consider our part in Making the Son Shine on the Whole World. I. \#2Cor 9:6\ Notice Gods Principle of Giving A. The principal in a nutshell is, "Sow a little, get a little, Sow a lot, get a lot." 1. This is a basic farming and spiritual law. 2. A farmer who sows a short row of corn realizes that he will get a proportional harvest to what he sows. 3. You and I need to understand that we will receive from God blessings in proportion to our obedience to God. 4. \#7\ And notice that Paul is definitely teaching about giving money. a. If that sounds a little bit like those on the name-it and claim-it station, it is because that they have built their false teachings on and around true Biblical teachings. b. Their problem is not where they START their teaching. It is where they END it. c. I am not going to tell you that you can sow a seed a reap a whirlwind. d. I am not going to promise you health, wealth, and fortune if you tithe and give offerings. e. However, I am going to tell you that the Bible does teach there is a relationship between doing what God tells you and receiving both spiritual and material blessings from God. B. Lets understand how this principal works. 1. You reap what you sow. a. A farmer sows peas and gets peas, carrots carrots, corn corn. b. The point is, if you want to get material blessing from God, you need to sow some material seed. c. This is your life and you can control a great deal of how it goes. (1) If all you want from God is heaven when you die, then get saved, pray a little, go to church a little, a be spiritually pious and that is about all you will get. (2) But if you want God to bless your work, bless your health, bless your family, bless your church, and generally bless you with a peaceful, joyful, and prosperous life, you are going to need to sow some materialist seed. 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. Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. 2. You always reap more than you sow. a. Farming would never work if you sowed a kernel of corn and got back a kernel of corn. b. God has established a cosmic rule that if you sow a couple of kernels of corn a stalk with come up, not with few kernels but with multiple ears on the stalk, each filled with kernel of corn. c. So it is with giving to God. (1) God blesses those who give to His work. (2) God has seldom given me large cash payments. (3) But God has given me good jobs, making decent wages that have provided for me and my family. d. Now, God may give you more or God may give you different. (1) Making money is not my career. Ministering is. (2) God may give you more than I have and I hope He does. (3) Or God may pay interest to you in other ways. (4) One doesnt have to have money to be wealthy. (5) Regardless, God will give you far more than you give to Him. 3. You reap later than you sow. a. Farmers know that there is a planting season, a tending season, and then, months later, a harvesting season. b. That time of delay is common with God, not just in returning a harvest to the farmer but in all areas of spiritual blessings. (1) Sometimes, God delays giving His material blessings. (a) I dont know for sure why. (b) I think a lot of it is to test our faith and to teach us patience. (2) But God is like that with most of His blessings. (a) Abraham had to wait years before Isaac was born. (b) David waited years before he ascended to the throne. (c) The Jews have waited thousands of years for their King and kingdom to come. c. The truth is that sometimes God wait until you get to heaven to give you what He has promised! Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (1) This is where we definitely part company with the name-it and claim-it crowd. (2) The issue for the believer should not be so much WHEN God will return your investment and interest, but that He has promised He WILL. d. Here is what you and I need to understand when it comes to giving to missions. (1) The reward you seek isnt money being returned to you. (2) Maybe that is what you seek for your tithes, I dont know. (3) But for faith promise giving to missions, what you seek is the salvation of souls! (a) What you want is to start a reversed, soul-winning pyramid. (b) In the financial world, pyramid schemes as they are called, are illegal. (c) But in the spiritual world, you and I want to start a reversed, soul pyramid. (d) That is a pyramid with you at the top, giving your faith promise. (e) Then below you, a missionary takes your dollars and wins a few souls to your account. (f) Then those converts go win a few more, making that level of the pyramid the biggest so far. (g) Then each member of that group wins a few more, making that level the biggest level so far. (i) And on it goes until Jesus comes. (4) What you and I are looking for is not immediate financial pay back. (a) We want to get to heaven and see the hundreds of souls that our faith promise has helped to win to Christ. (b) It takes more than a money ledger to keep up with the rewards of this account. (c) It takes a set of eternal books to keep up with it. II. Notice Gods Promise of Giving. Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. A. God has promised that He will give back whatever you sow. 1. This context is not so much about money as it is about life in general, but it still applies to money. 2. \#Gal 6:7\ In life, you mock God if you dont believe He will repay what you sow. a. Live like the devil if you want, but if you live that kind of lifestyle, you will reap that kind of reward. b. By the same token, if you life a righteous life, walking humbly before God, you can expect God to reward you accordingly. 3. This works with sowing material blessings as well. B. I read in a sermon where the preacher was making application of these verses to giving. He made three good statements. 1. Dont think you know a better way to get the blessings of God on your life. a. You dont! b. There isnt one. c. Live right and sow some spiritual seed. 2. Dont ignore Gods principals. a Live right and prosper. b. Try any other lifestyle and you will have regrets. 3. Dont neglect to make the necessary adjustments to YOUR life that you need to make to get Gods blessings. a. Gods not going to adjust His laws for you! b. You need to bring your life about to obey the Word of God so that you can enjoy Gods best blessings. c. Why wouldnt you want to? d. Why fight God when you know how it is going to end? III. \#2Cor 9:7\ Notice Gods Prerequisite of Giving. 2Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. A. All of this month, I will be encouraging you to pray about giving to faith promise. 1. Some of our missionaries have send videos which we will be seeing this month. This videos show the work that those who have been giving have a part in. 2. We have passed out our faith promise card for you to pray over. 3. Praises B. However, as hard as we are working to try to encourage you to seek the Lord on this most important matter, God would rather have you keep your money than to give it with a grudging attitude. 1. You say, "How do you know that?" 2. Because He says so! 3. God is not just looking for money. a. He can get money. b. He is looking for people who want to participate in the plan of causing the Son to shine on the whole world. C. If you cant get excited about seeing souls snatched from hell, lives being made whole, families being restored, hope and purpose of life being given, then, please, keep your money. D. Dont give and then wish you had it back. E. Dont commit and then which you had not. Last year as we prepared to leave for the field we watched God provide exactly what we needed. In January, 2010, the Lord had put a date on my heart, the date of March 22, for our commissioning service. My deputation director had already reminded me that Baptist World requires that missionaries be 100 percent supported before departing. We agree with that policy and were expecting the Lord to provide that amount for our departure although much was lacking. The long story short, God provided the remaining amount (to the dollar) the week before we departed. That was without us contacting any churches to ask them to support us. Missionaries Benjamin and Katie Shore If you can get excited about being an answer to prayer, seeing souls saved, and pleasing God, you should give. If not, you should keep your money. If you really believe everyone needs Jesus, you will want to give.