Sermon # 12 - Sow Generously - Reap Bountifully Series

In Exodus 14:15-16 we read, “The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land.” (AMP)

Moses’ Hands

This is a familiar incident from the history of the people of Israel. The Israelites were fleeing from Egypt, and were faced with the Red Sea ahead of them, and the Egyptian army in hot pursuit of them. As they faced this serious situation, they cried out to the Lord to deliver them from this impending peril which seemed the most acceptable thing for them to do when in such a crisis. The Lord’s response to Moses was “Why do you cry to Me?” The Lord instructed Moses to lift up the staff, and stretch out his hand over the sea so that it would divide, and make a way for the people of Israel to go through. The Lord’s directive to Moses and the people of Israel was simple; God was affirming the fact that He had given the authority to do the miraculous into the hands of Moses, and all he had to do was to believe, and execute the same. The power and authority to part the Red Sea was truly in the hands of the Lord, but the Lord gave that authority to Moses, so that the multitudes of Israelites would also know that God had placed Moses in that position of authority. It was only then, that they too would be willing to submit to the leadership and authority of Moses.

We too must recognize that our hands are not ordinary hands, and that the Lord has invested His extraordinary power into our hands. Often we don’t recognize this authority that the Lord has entrusted to us, and keep calling out to the Lord not realizing the potential inside of us. If we are willing to stretch out our hands with faith in the Lord, we too will see signs and wonders.

Whenever the Apostles in the early church stretched out their hands and prayed, the power of the Holy Spirit came down on all who were there, and the Lord worked mighty miracles through them. We too have the same power of God in our lives as did the Apostles. If we exercise that anointing, and place our hands by faith on the sick, or pray for a person who is facing an adverse situation, the Lord is able to intervene to do the miraculous and bring healings and deliverances. So also when we have issues related to our children, we should learn to claim God’s promises and pray with faith over every things that concerns us about them. God’s word is full of promises that we must personalize, and claim for our every point of need.

As long as we are hesitant to exercise our faith and are unwilling to do as the Lord instructs us to, we will not witness the mighty acts of God in and through us. Whatever is placed in our hands, we should learn to use it by faith, and when we do so the Lord will be glorified through our lives.

Isaac’s Hands

In Genesis 26:1 we read, “Now there was a famine in the land [of Canaan], besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham.”(AMP)

In Genesis 26:12 it says, “Isaac planted crops in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because the Lord had blessed him.” (GW)

There was a severe famine in the land of Canaan during the days of Isaac. As the situation turned grim, Isaac thought it best to move out of Canaan, and go into Egypt as he heard that there was food in Egypt. God instructed Isaac to not move to Egypt, but stay on in Canaan. Isaac decided to obey the Lord. All that Isaac had in his hands was a little grain. Instead of using it all for food for his family and himself, Isaac decided to do something by faith, and decides to sow some of the grain that was in his hand. At the time of severe famine when circumstances were unfavorable, by faith he decided to sow the seeds, and the outcome was that the Lord blessed him, and he harvested a crop a hundred fold that same year.

In times of crisis when we go to the Lord, we must be willing to obey His word, and remain in the place that He has determined for us. It is in staying rooted to the place where the Lord wants us to be, will we be able to bear much fruit. Only when we are willing to sow will we reap a harvest. We can be people of two categories, ones who give or ones who receive. When we sow generously we will surely harvest abundantly. If we are constantly seeking to be on the receiving end, it only implies that we have not come to the place of sowing as the Lord expects of us, and as long as we are not sowing, we can never experience God’s blessings in our lives.