Cast Thy Bread

Cast thy bread upon the waters, Ecc 11:1.  God did this when he sent Jesus, the bread of life, upon the waters (people, Rev 17:15).  For thou shalt find it after many days.  How many souls have been saved in the past 2,000 years?

You and I must continue to cast this bread upon the waters.  In Matt 13:3-9, 18-23 the word is sown in all kinds of soil.  This is what we’re doing locally and in missions.   See Is 55:10-11.  Clouds full of rain empty themselves, Ecc 11:3,  And when they do, the rain falls on the just and the unjust, Matt 5:45.  Illustration about a man in Tennessee who sent wine bottles with tracts in the Mississippi River.

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight, Ecc 11:2.  For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.  In Lk 3:11, John the Baptist told the Jews who had two coats to impart to those who had none, and their meat likewise.  In Acts 4:32-37 each saint said not that ought of the things which he possessed was his own.  Contrast Lk 12:15-21 (a man like the tree that falls, Ecc 11:3) with 1 Tim 6:17-19.  The way to prepare for the time to come is to give.   Read and believe Lk 6:38.

Don’t regard the wind or the clouds,  Ecc 11:4.  You can’t wait for ideal conditions.  A preacher in the Northwest was asked by men considering working for the Lord up there, “How’s the weather”?  He said that if they had to ask about the weather, they were not suited for working in the Northwest.

A farmer can’t wait until this, that, and the other thing are just right when it’s time to sow and reap.  The conditions weren’t favorable for the disciples after the ascension.  The conditions weren’t favorable for Paul.  The conditions weren’t favorable during the dark ages.  The conditions don’t have to be favorable now.  Just as a farmer can’t control the weather, so you can’t control the conditions.  Just cast thy bread upon the waters.

You’ll never know all the works of God, Ecc 11:5.  If you wait till you understand everything there is to know, you’ll never do it.  Look how many times Solomon said, “thou knowest not” v.2, 5, 5, 6.   Pastor Keck taught us at the Preachers Conference that “Answers are in the way”.  You know that sowing and reaping must be done in the Lord’s work, Jn 4:35-38.  That’s what we do.  Let God handle his part, the increase.  You do your part, the sowing and reaping.  Cast thy bread upon the waters.

Work morning and evening, Ecc 11:6.  The Lord simply says “do it”.  Dale Hansen came back to the farm after his tours of duty in Vietnam.  His dad wasn’t among those in the reception.  He was out working on the farm.  Stay with it till the job is done and leave the results to God.

Morning can represent the time of your youth.  Evening can represent the time of your old age (the sunset of life).  Start young and keeping working when you’re old.  Malcolm Dickman and Don Sisk are excellent examples of men who withhold not their hand in the evening.