“POSITION YOURSELF FOR THE HARVEST”

2 Cor 9:10

2 Corinthians 9:9–10 NLT

9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

POSITION YOURSELF FOR THE HARVEST”

As we look at this text and the fact the Apostle Paul is writing a letter to the Church In Corinth, His role was that of an absentee pastor who was trying to sustain a relationship with a congregation through the occasional visit, the use of on-site colleagues like Timothy and Titus, and the occasional letter, which was intended as a substitute for his apostolic and pastoral presence. Some at Corinth were quick to spot the failings of this approach and to exploit its weaknesses. They charged Paul with making travel plans that he never intended to keep and with writing threatening letters that he never intended to enforce in person.

2 Corinthians Purpose

Purpose Paul’s main purpose in writing 2 Corinthians was to tie the congregation closer to himself by gaining their complete confidence. In so doing, he hoped to distance the church from self-acclaimed apostolic meddlers, whose intent was not to help the church but to subjugate it

2 Corinthians 11:20 TPT

20 You actually allow these imposters to put you into bondage, take complete advantage of you, and rob you blind! How easily you endure those who, in their arrogance, destroy your dignity or even slap you in the face.

2 Corinthians Purpose

In the first seven chapters Paul tries to gain the Corinthians’ trust by demonstrating the validity of his ministry. From a literary standpoint, chapters 1–7 divide into a background section, where Paul sets forth his ministerial credentials (1:8–5:21), and a request section, where he appeals to the church to give him complete loyalty (6:1–7:16) and points to continuing involvement in idolatrous activities as a major obstacle to doing this (6:14–7:1).

2 Corinthians Purpose

Paul’s overall strategy for winning the church’s allegiance is twofold. One, he seeks to present the Corinthians with credentials that inspire confidence in him as a minister of the gospel and serve as ammunition against the criticisms of intruders who were seeking to displace him at Corinth (5:12), and two, he attempts to show how closely intertwined their lives are, so that to reject him would be in effect to reject themselves. Paul’s secondary aims in these chapters are to inform them of his near-death experience in Asia (1:8–11), to explain his change of itinerary (1:12–2:4) and to get them to reaffirm their love for the offender now that he has repented (2:5–11).

2 Corinthians Purpose

Chapters 8–9 are devoted to getting the Corinthians to fulfill what they had promised to contribute toward the Jerusalem relief fund. Paul’s strategy is to motivate them by means of the example of the Macedonian churches (8:1–15), the not-so-subtle sending of Titus to see the project to completion and a forthcoming visit of representatives from other churches that have already fulfilled their pledges (8:16–9:6).

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

Paul concludes his appeal by pointing to the benefits the Corinthians will reap as a result of generous giving.

2 Corinthians 9:6 TPT

6 Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest.

Galatians 6:7 TPT

7 Make no mistake about it, God will never be mocked! For what you plant will always be the very thing you harvest.

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

A similar thought is found in a number of Old Testament texts (such as Job 4:8; Prov 11:24–26; 22:8–9; Hos 10:12–13).

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

But the closest parallel actually appears in the teaching of Jesus:

Luke 6:38 ESV

38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you”

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

The principle is clear: we harvest in proportion to our planting—

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

“we get as good as we give.”

This Isn’t just Money this is anything and everything..

sow Love- Reap Love

Sow discord- Reap Discord

Sow forgiveness- Reap Mercy

Sow disobedience -Reap ( you get the picture right)

You can forecast your future by your last years Seed Sown.

Tell Your Neighbor My Forecast looks Bright and Sunny!!

Why because i am positioning myself for the harvest..

When Church Membership Sows Into Souls,,,, What else?

Matthew 9:37 TPT

37 He turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest is huge and ripe! But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in.

Tell Someone i got to get in position for this next harvest

Can I prophesy to you and tell you, that this next harvest God wants to bless you in, you’ve never seen, slept, driven, loved, tasted or experienced it eva...

But first let me put out a disclaimer out. Not everyone is going to get a harvest like that....

WHYYYYY

If your not willing to position yourself for greatness you can’t expect it to fall in your lap..Lk 6:38

Joshua 5:12 (AV)

12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Someone Say Old Corn....

It was consider old because those who lived in the land already had it!

But to former slaves it was something new

There’s this old 3 car garage house with commercial grade Kitchen and two walk in Closets. And the person that brought it new, didn’t realize he got it for you.

So its old to them But its new to your family…

So Position Yourself

There must be a crossing Over: From Jordan To Gilgal ( you have to be willing to leave behind your slave mentality)

The Jordan is Where John Baptized folks Including Jesus. And it required Repentance

2. They Had Leave 12 Stones (its a testimony of how great God is)

Joshua 4:8–9 AMP

8 And the Israelites did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Joshua 4:22–24 AMP

22 You shall let your children know, Israel came over this Jordan on dry ground. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up for us until we passed over, 24 That all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and that you may reverence and fear the Lord your God forever.

3. They had to have a circumcision ( It’s painful but Necessary)

Circumcision represents Covenant, You can’t expect God to honor anything thats not in Covenant with him.

Joshua 5:9 (AV)

9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Are you ready for the Harvest?

God has rolled the reproach away.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Reproach)

REPROACH Term used to indicate disgrace or dishonor, or to discredit someone or something.

In the KJV the word or its derivative occurs more than 130 times. Reproach can be incurred in various circumstances. Its sources include a woman’s barren condition, rape, uncircumcision , physical mutilation, widowhood, mistreatment of parents, famine, sin, military defeat & illness.

Everything that was holding Up my harvest is rolled away..

So whats stopping me Now?

Three Things to Keep in Mind

#1

2 Corinthians (The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15))

First, giving is to be an individual matter that is settled in the privacy of one’s own heart.

Each, Paul says, should give what he has decided in his heart to give. Each is placed first for emphasis. “How much?” is a question that each person must answer for him or herself.

#2

The text reads what he has decided (literally, “as each has purposed”) means “to choose deliberately” or “to make up one’s own mind about something.”

Paul says that giving is to be based on a calculated decision. It is not a matter to be settled lightly or impulsively.

#3 giving is to be a private, not a public, decision. It is to be decided in the heart.

The real reason to give is because one cannot help but give This desire is in fact to give the way God gave; it was because he so loved the world that he gave his only Son.

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

Paul identifies four beneficiaries of charitable giving

The Giver, The Recipient, God & The Church

The Giver: the giver benefits. God’s response to generosity is to make all grace abound to the giver.

The idea of grace abounding is a familiar one in these chapters. The noun grace (charis) Here it refers to the giver’s unmerited favor from God.

2 Corinthians The Results of Generous Giving (9:6–15)

“Sow a thought and you reap an act; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny” (Samuel Smiles, Life and Labor).