ICS Daily Devotions
Sow and Reap
Matthew 25:24 (NKJV) Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
The third servant in this parable knew that the master would reap whatever
he had not sown since it was the servants who did all the sowing and the reaping. However, the servant had overlooked the fact that all the servants were well-fed while working on the master’s field and that the master was giving them more responsibilities.
God has entrusted His servants with the tasks of sowing and reaping because we are His servants and representatives on earth. If the master is the one who sows, there would be no need to provide the seeds for us. We need to acknowledge that we are sowing and reaping on God’s behalf so that we can continue to sow again and again on His behalf.
2 Corinthians 9:6,10b But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…. supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
A faithful steward of God’s finances should not hoard money but be sensitive to what the master wants him to give. We need to remember this biblical financial principle so that we will trust in the Lord and not in the world. God will provide us with more when we are proven to be faithful stewards and administrators of His finances, but God will only supply and multiply to us after we have faithfully sown into those areas that He has instructed us!
Luke 6:38 (NKJV) Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
God will multiply the seed that we have sown so we can keep giving to different causes. It is an act of righteousness when we give according to how the Lord leads us. It can be for mission, for the poor and needy or for anything that He has placed in our hearts. It is a test of obedience, stewardship and faithfulness whenever the Lord prompts us to give. If we are not faithful with the little, why should God entrust us with more?
Proverbs 11:24-25 (NKJV) There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
Sermon Series: Faithful Stewards
