“Biblical Boomerangs”
Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”
Introduction: There is an Australian weapon called the boomerang, which when thrown properly follows a singular curve, returns back to the hand of the thrower. Simply you throw a boomerang and it returns to you. What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back to its thrower? A stick! The boomerang has become a symbol and a figure of speech. It characterizes actions which go out today and return tomorrow – often with multiplied consequence! Well, the Bible tells us about some boomerangs of which we need to be aware. Each of these has the amazing skill of returning to the one throwing it. There are four I want us to consider – the boomerang of sin, of generosity or liberality, of proclamation and witnessing, and of serving.
I. The Boomerang of Sin
A. Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
B. Job 4:8 “...Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”
C. Concerning the Psalmist’s prayer in Psalm 54:5, “He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth.”, “The Expositor’s Bible Commentary states: "The resolution of the prayer lies in the conviction that God is just. He will not permit his children to suffer without vindication. The imprecation [or curse] is not vindictive but expressive of trust in divine justice. Evil must be repaid. The people of God believed in the boomerang effect of sin: ’Let evil recoil [i.e., come back on those who perpetrate it]’". (note on verse 5)
D. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Sin is a kind of boomerang, which goes off into space curiously, but turns again upon its author, and with tenfold force strikes the guilty soul that launched it.” (My Sermon Notes, Charles H. Spurgeon)
E. Sin always promises more than it can deliver. It assures us of pleasures it never imparts. Sometimes it does deliver some pleasure, but it conceals the boomerang effect that will surely come. – copied
F. Hosea 8:7a “"They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.”
G. Asbestos is a good example of the subtle but inevitable effect of sin. In its natural state, asbestos is a soft rock consisting of compressed fibers. Because of its fire-resistant qualities, it used in thousands of homes and industries over the years. Almost 30 million tons of the material were used in the United States for insulation since 1900. It was often seen as the amazing kind of cloth that won’t burn. But even though it has served a beneficial purpose, we now know that asbestos poses a severe health hazard. According to a Harvard Medical School report, more than a half million Americans will die from exposure to the air-borne particles of asbestos. Just because we do not see the immediate effects of air-borne asbestos, it does not mean that it is not an immediate problem. We must not be fooled by its latency. Often asbestos disease is not discovered until it’s too late to cure. Even the symptoms may not show up for 30 years or more. (adapted from Our Daily Bread)
H. Numbers 32:23 “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.”
II. The Boomerang of Generosity
A. Luke 6:37-38 “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.”
B. Giving to God and his work has a boomerang effect. When we give, it always comes back to us.
C. Someone once said....”When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing! - copied
D. 2 Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
E. ’Somehow not only for Christmas, but all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others, is the joy that comes back to you.
The more you spend in blessing the poor, and the lonely and sad,
The more of your heart’s possessions return to make you glad’. - copied
F. ’There was a man’, he said, ’though some did count him mad, the more he cast away the more he had!’ – copied
G. Proverbs 19:17 “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”
H. Because you can’t out-give God, God is more generous than we can imagine. He will give us untold blessings when we demonstrate that we are consistent and straightforward in our giving.
I. Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
III. The Boomerang of Proclamation
A. Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”
B. Ecclesiastes 11:4 “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
C. We cannot expect to sit back idly saying nothing and expect people to come to Christ and unite with the church.
D. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”
E. If you don’t plant you won’t reap!”
F. Psalm 126:6 “He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
G. You can’t reap souls if you don’t sow the Gospel. People can only respond to what they know, only know what they hear about, and only hear what you tell them.
H. A Christian who doesn’t seek to win souls by sharing the Gospel is like a fireman who doesn’t put out fires. A Christian who says I can win souls by my Christian life is like a fireman who tries to put out fires by being a good fireman at the station. We must go – take the Word – and sow.
I. Isaiah 55:10–11 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
IV. The Boomerang of Service
A. Matthew 23:11-12 “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
B. “Christians do not practically remember that while we are saved by grace, altogether by grace, so that in the matter of salvation works are altogether excluded; yet that so far as the rewards of grace are concerned, in the world to come, there is an intimate connection between the life of the Christian here and the enjoyment and the glory in the day of Christ’s appearing.” – George Muller of Bristol and His Witness to a Prayer Hearing God, Arthur T. Pierson
C. 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
D. The Scriptures teach that the happiness or blessedness of believers in a future life will be greater or less in proportion to the service of Christ in this life. Those who love little do little; and those who do little enjoy less. - Charles Hodge
E. Luke 12:42-44 “And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
F. The reward for honest labor is always greater than the wages received.
G. Do not be worn out by the labors which you have undertaken for My sake, and do not let tribulations ever cast you down. Instead, let My promise strengthen and comfort you under every circumstance. I am well able to reward you above all measure and degree. You shall not toil here long nor always be oppressed with griefs. A time will come when all labor and trouble will cease. Labor faithfully in My vineyard; I will be thy recompense. Life everlasting is worth all these conflict, and greater than these. Are not all plentiful labors to be endured for the sake of life eternal? Lift your face therefore to heaven; behold I and all My saints with me--who in this world had great conflicts--are now comforted, now rejoicing, now secure, now at rest, and shall remain with Me everlastingly in the kingdom of My father. - Thomas a Kempis.
H. Commenting on Psalm 37:18, “The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever”; Matthew Henry wrote, “Not one day’s work shall go unrewarded. Their time on earth is reckoned by days, which will soon be numbered; but heavenly happiness shall be for ever.”
