Ecclesiastes 11

 

Success is living in such a way that you are using what God has given you your intellect, abilities, and energy to reach the purpose that He intends for your life.  Kathi Hudson

 

 

Before We Can Expect a Harvest, We Must Plant the Seed:                                                     v. 1-3

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. 2Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.

1.         Sowing .                                                                           Proverbs 11:23-28

2.         Reaping .                                                                                Psalm 126:5-6

3.         Trusting .                                                                              1 Peter 1:22-25

 

Principle of Rewards .

 

 

Soil Must Be Cultivated and Nurtured to Create the Right Climate for Growth:                   v. 4-6

Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

6Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

1.         Live by faith .                                                                            Genesis 8:22

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

2.         Fear God and obey His Word.                                                   James 5:7-8

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

3.         Nourish your soul .                                                           1 Corinthians 3:6-9

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

 

Principle of Patience .

 

 

The Harvest Is Determined by the Kind of Seed We Plant:                                                       v. 7-10

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. 8However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. 9Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. 10So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

1.         Don’t stray .                                                                              Hebrews 2:1

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

2.         Don’t strut .                                                                            Proverbs 16:1

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.

3.         Don’t stoop .                                                                    2 Corinthians 2:17

 

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

4.         Don’t stop .                                                                           Matthew 10:22

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

 

Principle of Reproduction .