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A Sower Went Forth
Good Morning! Yawn! You awake yet?
Me neither. Robert and Sandy have been in our home this past week, and that usually means we stay up later than we ought to. We don’t get to see each other as often as we used to, so when we do, we yak a lot.
Got your coffee cup filled, or your tea, or your grapefruit juice poured?
We’ve mentioned our friend, Dave, in Lake Charles, who had this coffee-roasting business. Della and I have always talked about having a little coffee boutique where folks could hang out, have their coffee and doughnuts or deli sandwiches – that sort of thing. Our daughter, Shelley, is a really creative chef, but likes to be on her own instead of working in the traditional restaurant business. We always figured if we could put it together, Shelley and Gabriel (her husband) could move south and run the business.
Anyway, one day Dave called me on the phone. “I’m getting out of the coffee-roasting business. Getting ready to move to New Orleans. Think you might be interested in buying this business?”
Without hesitation I said, “Make me an offer I can’t refuse.” Dave hadn’t thought that far ahead and decided he’d call me back later. The long and short of it was that he needed more cash than we decided was practical for us to put out, and we didn’t want to start a business owing someone money. Sadly, we had to pass. Maybe some day………
In the meantime, I look for good coffee roasters – especially local roasters – and buy the darkest roast I can buy. That’s what I’ve got in my cup this morning – as usual – so let’s get started.
Most of you already know that I came to the Rio Grande Valley in 1999 at the invitation of Bob Walker and Bill Jorn to oversee the construction of KTLM-TV in McAllen, and get this television station on the air. I stayed on and served as the Chief Engineer until leaving in late 2003 to run for Congress. Our transmitter site was located in Starr County, some 46 driving miles from our television studios – a trip I made almost daily for the first three years.
Part of the highway to the transmitter passes by huge cotton fields. Each year, I have watched as the cotton grower would plow the fields, turn the dirt over until it was ready for planting, then plant his cotton seed. In the fall of 1999, he produced what I considered a huge crop of cotton. In the fall of 2000, he harvested an even greater crop.
A field of perhaps a thousand acres (I’m not really good at estimating the size of the fields, so my thousand-acre figure could be way off) at the junction of highways 490 and 680 had roughly a dozen or more bales of cotton at the end of the harvest. I learned that each bale was worth approximately $40,000. Not bad! Half a million dollars for that one field of cotton. And that didn’t count all the other fields.
2001 wasn’t all that different, but 2002 was awful! I’m not sure he had six bales of cotton from that field. Funny thing, though: when the harvest was over and the bales had been picked up, he plowed the field as usual; and in the winter/spring of 2003, he planted again just like he had in each of the preceding years. The crop of 2003 was better, but not by a lot. He had maybe eight or nine bales out of the field.
Didn’t matter. In the fall of 2003, he plowed the field just like he had in each of the previous years. In early 2004, he planted again – just like he had before. And he harvested again in the fall – just like he had before.
It was an illustration for me of Matthew13:3-9.
“Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
What’s the point, here? Simple. The sower continued to sow. It didn’t matter that some of the seed didn’t fall into good ground and produce a crop worth anything. He kept right on sowing. And he kept right on sowing. And he kept right on sowing.
And pretty soon, he hit pay dirt! The seed he was sowing fell into some really good ground, and it produced a harvest of a hundredfold. And some of that ground produced sixtyfold. And some of the ground produced thirtyfold.
There is a foundational principle here in the Kingdom of God that many folks have missed – and, unfortunately, so have I in the past – at least to a degree.
Let me explain.
During the Charismatic Renewal that lasted for nearly two decades from the early 1960’s to the late 1970’s or early 1980’s, one of the emphases in teaching was our deliverance from the Law, and the liberty we have in Christ Jesus.
Now that IS Truth. We HAVE been delivered from the Law – at least the penalty of the Law and the curse of the Law. Problem is, in our perception of this deliverance, many of us took it too far. We lumped all of the Law of Moses together in the same basket without realizing that there were some spiritual principles incorporated that have nothing to do with Law – at least the kind of Law we associate with Moses.
Let’s see if we can get a handle on this.
As we know, the Law – maybe we should identify this part of the Law as the Ten Commandments – is grouped into two segments: (1) the Vertical portion (Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with all thy soul…) which addresses the direct relationship between us and the Lord; and (2) the Horizontal portion (…and thy neighbor as thyself) which addresses the way in which we relate one to another. Put together, the two parts of the Law form the Cross.
The Law prophesied redemption. It prophesied the coming of a Redeemer Who would deliver us from the curse: the penalty that hung over our heads for failure to keep some aspect of the Law.
With redemption, however, came blessing. Instead of a curse, we now have blessings available. Here’s the rub. Those same blessings were available under the Law to folks that would keep the commandments of the Lord. And, brother, sister, were they EVER blessings!
Take a quick look at some of those blessings. This is a whole lot!!!
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
“Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
“Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
“Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
“Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
“The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
“The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
“The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
“And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
”The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.” (Deuteronomy 28:1-13 KJV)
Overwhelmed, yet? How about it? Do these verses describe your present state of affairs? Thought not!
OK, then. Why not? Maybe….just maybe….you missed the same principle that I did.
Leviticus 27:30: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.”
Leviticus 27:32: “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.”
Deuteronomy 14:22: “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.”
Deuteronomy 14:23: “And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.”
Deuteronomy 14:28: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates.”
Deuteronomy 26:12-15: “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled, Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me….. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers…”
Got the picture? “All the tithe….is holy unto the Lord.” That takes it beyond the realm of the Law. This is a principle.
Take a look at Deuteronomy 26 again. “When you’ve brought in all your tithes during the year of tithing……” Did you see that? The YEAR of Tithing???? Yeowch! An entire year you spend giving to the Levite (OK, those in ministry), strangers in need, the fatherless and widows so that all their needs are met?
But get this. AFTER you’ve met the needs of ministry AND the strangers, AND the fatherless (children), AND the widows…..THEN you get to say to the Lord,
“Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people…and the land which thou hast given us….”
Here’s where I believe that we (I?) have gone astray when it comes to relegating tithing to the Law. Israel was commanded to use it as seed. They weren’t simply bringing tithes to the preacher. They were planting seed.
Sure, it went to ministry. But it went WAY beyond that. They were planting seed by giving to strangers – folks not of their household or families, folks who weren’t even of the House of Israel. Then they gave to provide for all the needs of the fatherless children, and beyond them, the widows.
They weren’t just paying tithes. They were planting seed in order to have the right to the blessings of the Lord upon them, their households, the nation, the land, their crops, you name it! They were planting seed because they expected a crop they could harvest.
Now, bear in mind that all this preceded “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee…”
The promise of the Lord for blessings exceeds the pennyante thinking most of us have grown up with. Sadly, many still view our giving as mandatory under the Law – that is, legalistic.
OK, under the Law it was mandatory. But under Grace it is also mandatory. The difference is the mandate.
Under Grace, we have a mandate from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mandate is not treated as tithing in the sense of a legal tenth of our increase: it is treated as sowing in order to bring the blessings of the Lord!
The apostle Paul puts it like this: “Remember this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously (so that blessings may come to someone) will also reap generously, and with blessings.” (II Corinthians 9:6 Amplified)
See the picture? This isn’t tithing as we think of being forced under the Law. This is tithing as giving beyond the tenth. It is tithing and beyond!
“Let each one give as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion [of the Law], (my addition) for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful, joyous (“prompt to do it”) giver (whose heart is in his giving.)”
Paul makes it clear that forced giving – that is the legalized form of tithing – is NOT what God is after. But he picks up the principle that God spoke to Israel through Moses.
“And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation).”
Now we get to the sowing part of this principle.
“As it is written, He (the benevolent person) scatters abroad; he gives to the poor; his deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever.”
Here is the phenomenal promise of God that takes this out of the realm of Law.
“ And (God) Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your (resources for) sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness (which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity).”
Got it? You’re not tithing, giving, sowing from YOUR provision! You’re tithing, giving, sowing from the resources God specifically gives you for that purpose! He gives you the seed to sow!
“Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and (your generosity as it is) administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God. For the service that the ministering of this fund renders does not only fully supply what is lacking to the saints (God’s people), but it also overflows in many (cries of) thanksgiving to God.” (II Corinthians 9:7-12 Amplified
Tomorrow, I’ll take you out of the Scriptural principles into the practical, every day realm where we live to show you how this works for Della and me, and how this works for you.
You didn’t let your coffee get cold, did you? Looking up all those scriptures? Well, heat it back up. No, make a fresh pot. That way you can have plenty for the next couple of hours.
Blessings on you! See you tomorrow.
--Regner
Regner A. Capener
EKKLESIA HOUSE
RR-15, Box 6180
Mission, TX 78574-9589
(956) 583-5355
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