Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Once again my Friends, I have to give thanks and praise to our God for directing me to Today’s Bit. It was even easier today. I guess He felt I deserved a bligh. (smile) I just opened the Good Book, and there it was staring me in the face. ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.’ More words of wisdom from the Preacher, the Teacher, maybe Cousin Sol, for there’s controversy amongst those learned folk, the scholars, about the Book’s authorship. But whoever penned them, they are indeed wise words. And what do they mean? Chap.11 of Ecclesiastes deals basically with charity; charitable works and the uncertainty of human labour. But though we don’t understand or can’t comprehend all the machinations of our omnipotent, omniscient God, or continually predict success, we still need to get involved, to immerse ourselves in the activities of life, and trust God to bring about good results. As Charles Stanley is wont to say, ‘Obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him.’ That’s why we need to cast our bread upon the waters; the Lord says so. We have to get involved, do good works, give to those in need, help those who need help. In other words, spread the resources of which the Lord has made us stewards, far and wide, to the benefit of mankind, and the greater awareness of God’s kingdom, for that’s our basic purpose here on earth; to serve, to help, and to spread the Word. Isaiah says it thus: ‘Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.’ (Isa.32:20) Yes my people, as true followers of Christ, it’s incumbent on us to do good works when and where we can. Remember, Jesus said He came to serve. ‘But I am among you as he that serveth.’ (Luke 22:27) And if we’re to be mirror images of Him, we too need to learn to serve. He also said, ‘If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.’ (John 12:26) And when we do like Jesus and cast our bread upon the waters, what happens? The wise Teacher says; ‘for thou shalt find it after many days.’ Oh Friends, when we are charitable and helpful, in God’s time, we are well rewarded. That’s a veritable fact that can be found throughout the Bible. Bruh David declared: ‘He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.’ (Ps.112:9) Cousin Sol puts it this way in Proverbs: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ (Prov.19:17) And if you don’t believe Bruh David or Cousin Sol, then listen to the Lord Jesus: ‘And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.’ (Mat.10:42) Meaning that God Himself will reward even the smallest service done to the most insignificant of Jesus’ servants. I want us to pay particular attention though to two things, my Friends. The first is the condition of our hearts in the giving and charitable endeavours. When Moses talks about lending to the poor in Deuteronomy, he specifically cites; ‘Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shalt not be grieved when thou givest into him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand to.’ (Deut.15:10) And Bruh Paul expands on this. ‘Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for god LOVETH a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7) That means we shouldn’t give just because it’s fashionable, or looks good, or it might bring rewards, but because there’s a right spirit in us that makes us genuinely want to give. It’s not the money or the service that’s important, but the willingness and sincere desire to be a part of the good deed. It’s serious, but still cheerful and uplifting. Now the second point I want us to note people, is that neither Bruh David nor Bruh Paul is suggesting what’s currently known as ‘prosperity theology;’ that all generous believers will be financially wealthy. All they are saying is that the financial needs of the generous believer will be met, so that he can continue giving, and also that spiritually, he will increase and mature. Please don’t understand it to mean that because you give generously you will automatically become wealthy, as some people are falsely teaching, using it to dupe believers into making generous donations, some they can’t even afford. It’s possible, as all things are with our God, but it certainly won’t happen every time. As Bruh Paul explains: ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor.9:8) The most significant part of that statement is ‘always having all sufficiency in all things.’ You might not be wealthy, but you certainly won’t want for anything. My Friends, it’s a very important distinction to understand, so you won’t be taken in by false teachers. We’ll close with some more appropriate words from Bruh Paul: ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal.6:9-10) Oh my people, our world desperately needs a lot of that right now to put it back on an even keel. So let’s cheerfully give as much as we can, of our resources, and also of ourselves. Much LOVE!…Jesus expects us…to do good…from a right heart…
Once again my Friends, I have to give thanks and praise to our God for directing me to Today’s Bit. It was even easier today. I guess He felt I deserved a bligh. (smile) I just opened the Good Book, and there it was staring me in the face. ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.’ More words of wisdom from the Preacher, the Teacher, maybe Cousin Sol, for there’s controversy amongst those learned folk, the scholars, about the Book’s authorship. But whoever penned them, they are indeed wise words. And what do they mean? Chap.11 of Ecclesiastes deals basically with charity; charitable works and the uncertainty of human labour. But though we don’t understand or can’t comprehend all the machinations of our omnipotent, omniscient God, or continually predict success, we still need to get involved, to immerse ourselves in the activities of life, and trust God to bring about good results. As Charles Stanley is wont to say, ‘Obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him.’ That’s why we need to cast our bread upon the waters; the Lord says so. We have to get involved, do good works, give to those in need, help those who need help. In other words, spread the resources of which the Lord has made us stewards, far and wide, to the benefit of mankind, and the greater awareness of God’s kingdom, for that’s our basic purpose here on earth; to serve, to help, and to spread the Word. Isaiah says it thus: ‘Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.’ (Isa.32:20) Yes my people, as true followers of Christ, it’s incumbent on us to do good works when and where we can. Remember, Jesus said He came to serve. ‘But I am among you as he that serveth.’ (Luke 22:27) And if we’re to be mirror images of Him, we too need to learn to serve. He also said, ‘If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.’ (John 12:26) And when we do like Jesus and cast our bread upon the waters, what happens? The wise Teacher says; ‘for thou shalt find it after many days.’ Oh Friends, when we are charitable and helpful, in God’s time, we are well rewarded. That’s a veritable fact that can be found throughout the Bible. Bruh David declared: ‘He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.’ (Ps.112:9) Cousin Sol puts it this way in Proverbs: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ (Prov.19:17) And if you don’t believe Bruh David or Cousin Sol, then listen to the Lord Jesus: ‘And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.’ (Mat.10:42) Meaning that God Himself will reward even the smallest service done to the most insignificant of Jesus’ servants. I want us to pay particular attention though to two things, my Friends. The first is the condition of our hearts in the giving and charitable endeavours. When Moses talks about lending to the poor in Deuteronomy, he specifically cites; ‘Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shalt not be grieved when thou givest into him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand to.’ (Deut.15:10) And Bruh Paul expands on this. ‘Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for god LOVETH a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7) That means we shouldn’t give just because it’s fashionable, or looks good, or it might bring rewards, but because there’s a right spirit in us that makes us genuinely want to give. It’s not the money or the service that’s important, but the willingness and sincere desire to be a part of the good deed. It’s serious, but still cheerful and uplifting. Now the second point I want us to note people, is that neither Bruh David nor Bruh Paul is suggesting what’s currently known as ‘prosperity theology;’ that all generous believers will be financially wealthy. All they are saying is that the financial needs of the generous believer will be met, so that he can continue giving, and also that spiritually, he will increase and mature. Please don’t understand it to mean that because you give generously you will automatically become wealthy, as some people are falsely teaching, using it to dupe believers into making generous donations, some they can’t even afford. It’s possible, as all things are with our God, but it certainly won’t happen every time. As Bruh Paul explains: ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor.9:8) The most significant part of that statement is ‘always having all sufficiency in all things.’ You might not be wealthy, but you certainly won’t want for anything. My Friends, it’s a very important distinction to understand, so you won’t be taken in by false teachers. We’ll close with some more appropriate words from Bruh Paul: ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal.6:9-10) Oh my people, our world desperately needs a lot of that right now to put it back on an even keel. So let’s cheerfully give as much as we can, of our resources, and also of ourselves. Much LOVE!…Jesus expects us…to do good…from a right heart…
SCRIP-BITS 