The Promise Of Fruit

THE PROMISE OF FRUIT

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days

As we read this verse, it seems at first, it do not make sense. It seems foolish to cast our bread or seed upon the waters. The sensible place would be in the ground.

We can better understand this phrase if we know the background of this passage.

In the middle east, some of the rivers would overflow their banks and when this happen, men would get into their boats and go out on the waters, and cast their seed upon them.

The seed would sink to the bottom, and after the water receded , they would leave a rich soil covering the seed which later would lead to a great harvest of grain.

The writer must have had this in mind as he penned this verse. Thus, he is saying, as we go through this life, we are to cast our bread upon the waters;

Sometimes it may seem wasted, but God knows about it, and one day it will return as a blessing. And remember, God is the source of our blessings.

A couple of years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land, in addition to the many hours of the farmer’s labor, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulfur, and other elements too numerous to list. In addition to these things, which no man can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. It was estimated that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to the efforts of man. If we were honest, we’d have to admit that the same is true in producing spiritual fruit.

I-CONSIDER THE REQUEST OF THIS PROMISE:

The word cast means to give, to let go, thus we are to give freely, not having our bread forced out of our hand.

When I was young, a friend of mine gave me some of his candy only after his mother stood over him threating to whip him. This is not the way we are to cast our bread.

Someone may ask the question, how do we cast our bread? Notice we cast it several ways.

A-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Works:

Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

1)we do it through our goods deeds and our kindness toward others.

2)Notice John Wesley’s Rule for Christian Living

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever... You can!

3)In 1975, Human Kindness day was held in Washington D.C. A Government aid by the name of Steve Land was stabbed in the eye while walking through the crowd. He cried out for help, but none gave him a hand, he had to walk to the aid station by him-self. The people celebrated kindness but they sure didn’t practice it.

4)Remember the story of David and Jonathan? how Jonathan saved David life on several occasions? After he died, David took his cripple boy and gave him a home for life. Jonathan has cast his bread upon the waters and it came back even after his death.

B-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Witness:

2 Corinthians 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.

1)By this, I mean through our Christian influence, through our daily Christian life.

2 In his book The Crisis in the University, Sir Walter Moberly cites the failure of evangelicals to penetrate university campuses with the gospel. To those who claim to follow Christ he says, "If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are."

3)I am afraid in our day, many Christians have lost their influence, their zeal for Christ. And because of this, it is hard sometimes to tell the difference between a child of God and a Child of the world.

C-We Cast Our Bread Through Our Words:

Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.