Monday 1 June 2015

SOWING AND REAPING: WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN I


MEMORY VERSE: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.Psalm 51:5
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 9-10
Except something is sowed, there will be nothing to reap. What we reap was either planted naturally or purposely, either by God or by man, and either for positive or for negative results. Firstly, we reap fruits from the labours of others. John 4:38 says, “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” We reap blessings from the seeds others have sown. For instance, the seed of the blessings of Abraham we are reaping today was sown over 4000 years ago (Genesis 22). Verse 16-18 says, “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Several years back, in late 1800s a Scottish missionary, a young woman, sowed a powerful seed in Calabar area of Nigeria, West Africa. Prior to her arrival in Calabar, Natives considered the birth of twins an evil curse. They feared that the father of one of the infants was an evil spirit, and that the mother had been guilty of a great sin. Unable to determine which twin was fathered by the evil spirit, the natives often abandoned both babies in the forest. It was known as the ‘twin murder superstition of the Dark Continent’. A lot of young twins were killed during this period. Whilst working in Calabar, someone brought a twin which had been left for dead in the forest to this lady missionary. She took the child into her home as her own. This marked the beginning of a marvelous career of twin-rescuing which finally resulted in the natives abandoning the practice entirely. Today, many families are reaping from the seed she sowed over 100 years ago. A lot of twins born in that part of Nigeria have now become doctors, surgeons, lawyers, etc. The young woman’s name is Mary Slessor. This brings us to this soul searching question, 'what are you sowing today that the next generation can benefit from' ?
We reap blessing because of what God has done on our behalf. One of the blessings we reap from what God did on our behalf is that of common grace. Matthew 5:45 says, “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.” The Lord is good to all (believers and unbelievers) and everyone benefits from His goodness even atheists. Every good gift we enjoy comes from God. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Had He not given them to us, we would not have been in receipt of them. John 3:27 says, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
QUESTION: What are you sowing into you spiritual life? How is your quiet time with the Lord? Do you still read the bible? What do you want to be remembered for when the Lord calls you home? What are you sowing today that your children can reap from?
PRAYER POINTS: Father, please make me a world changer for Jesus.
twitter@BroOluwatoki
Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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