What you sow is not made alive unless it dies

1 Corinthians 15:36
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

I am sure that you have been taught sowing and reaping -- if you want to reap a harvest, sow a seed. For example, if you want a financial increase, sow money into good ground in the kingdom of God. If you want more friends, be a friend to someone who is lonely. If you want more health, pray for the sick. And so on.

The harvests that we want are generally blessings, good gifts from our Father. It is interesting then, that He tells us that "what you sow is not made alive unless it dies".

As I was reading this verse one morning, the Holy Spirit reminded me of my Saviour's words:

John 12:24
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Jesus was, of course, talking about the necessity of His death. Unless He dies, there would be no salvation for mankind, no born-again sons and daughters of God, no Christians, no church of Christ. God the Father sowed His only Son, so that He could reap many sons.

What the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me was this: That we can reap the blessings we want from all our sowing because of the death of all deaths -- that of Jesus Christ at the cross. What we sow in faith we will reap, not because we are good, not because we made personal sacrifices, but because of the death of Jesus Christ. Every blessing is ours to have and to hold because of Jesus' death. (Ephesians 1:3)

There is one other thing the Holy Spirit showed me. What we sow must die. It must leave our hands. We must let go of it. I can best explain this by talking about sowing money. Some believers, when they sow money into the kingdom of God, like when they put money into their church’s offering bags, their seeds don’t really die. Why? because they still hold on to them. 

How do they do this? By "telling" the leadership how the money ought to be used. "I've given my money, therefore, I have a say in how the church should use the money, how the church should be run, how the leadership should operate." Some have even asked for "refunds" because they were not happy with the leadership.

How can our seeds die and bear fruit if we choose to hold on to them? Let them go -- into God’s hands -- and watch them grow.

Why the double standards?

While I agree that there is no necessity to mock other religions when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, I can’t help but think that a double standard exists in Singapore. I am referring to the recent and ongoing uproar caused by Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism church in Singapore. His video-recorded interviews cum testimonies of ex-Buddhists and Taoists have angered many Singaporeans and landed him in trouble with the authorities.

Why do I say that a double standard exists in Singapore? Well, I recall that when the Da Vinci Code movie and book were popular here, it upset many Christians like myself and caused many of us to question our faith. It also caused many non-Christians to believe that the whole Christian faith was a hoax. Yet, the authorities did nothing about it, though I am sure many Christians voiced their concerns and hoped that the movie and book would be banned.

To make matters worse, well-watched documentary TV channels took advantage of the movie's popularity and aired documentaries (such as the Gospel Of Judas) here that further undermined the Christian faith. These documentaries, the movie and similar publications said many things which Christians regard as blasphemous. For example, they disputed the death and resurrection of Jesus, a fundamental truth of Christianity, and said that He had sex and hence children with Mary Magdalene.

So I can't help but think that it is somehow okay to "mock" or "test" Christians here, but not believers of other faiths. (Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that it is right to mock other religions.)

No one doubts that such movies and books would never be allowed in Singapore if they were undermining, say, Islam. Can you imagine what would happen if a Da Vinci Code type of movie and book about the Muslim faith were to be screened and sold here?

So why do the other faiths here seem to enjoy more protection than the Christian faith? Were the movie, documentaries and books permitted to be shown and sold in Singapore because Christians here were not vocal enough, that is, we did not protest in the streets or call for the death of Dan Brown? Must it come to that before we are heard? Didn't the religious harmony bill speak loud enough for us?

Perhaps we are seen as more tolerant, less volatile -- hence it's okay to push the boundaries when it comes to content that undermines and mocks the Christian faith.

I really hope that in future, Christians here can enjoy the same amount of protection the other faiths here enjoy. Let's be fair.

Leah and Rachel

Genesis 29:20-30
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.
23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her…
25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"
26 And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also…
30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

Jacob had to work seven years for Rachel whom he loved. At the end of the seven years, after consummating the marriage, he was shocked to find out that he had slept with Leah instead. Laban had secretly given Jacob his older daughter Leah.

Jacob wasn't too happy, of course. Laban explained to him that it was not customary to give the younger before the firstborn. He then told Jacob to finish the week with Leah, and he would give Rachel as a wife to him too, on condition that Jacob served him another seven years. So Jacob finished the week with Leah and married Rachel, and worked for Laban another seven years.

Leah had weak eyes and was not pretty. Her name means "weary". She represents the law, for when you are under the heavy yoke of the law you become weary and weak. Rachel, on the other hand, was beautiful to behold. Her name means "ewe" or "female sheep". She represents grace, personified by our Lord Jesus, who is the Lamb of God.

I saw this: Under the law, works come first before the blessing -- Jacob worked seven years before he got Leah. Under grace, works follow the blessing -- Jacob received the blessing of Rachel first, and then worked another seven years for Laban. In other words, under the law, you have to work for the blessings. Under grace, you receive the blessings first, and that in turn empowers you to produce good works. This is working out of rest. This is real faith that produces good works.

Also, when you work for a blessing, when by your self-efforts you try to earn a blessing, you will probably end up with something that you don't quite like, that is of inferior quality. But when you simply receive a blessing by the grace of God, it is truly a blessing in every way.

I also saw this: Leah the firstborn had to be given first because the law came first. Israel had the law for 1,500 years before grace (Jesus) came. The Bible says that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came (later) through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

Eating with man versus eating with God

Let's compare three cases of eating with man in Proverbs 23 with eating with God in the Holy Communion.

Proverbs 23:1-3, AMP
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;
2 for you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].

When you sit and eat with a ruler who has prepared a sumptuous meal for you, be careful. He may have ulterior motives, a hidden agenda. He wants something from you. 

But when you partake of the covenant meal with God, all His motives for you are good. He wants you to prosper and be in health (the body). He wants you to remember that your sins are forgiven (the blood). He wants you to profit from communing with Him. He has your best interests at heart.

Proverbs 23:6-8, AMP
6 Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;
7 for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].
8 The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.

When you eat with man, especially a miser, be careful too, as his heart is not with you. He is grudging the cost of the meal. His heart has no love for you.

Jesus knew the "cost of the meal", but He paid it gladly. It was with willingness and joy that He laid down His life for you. (John 10:15, Hebrews 12:2) His heart is full of love for you.

Proverbs 23:20-21, AMP
20 Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Mixing with winebibbers and gluttons will bring you to poverty. Drowsiness will clothe you with rags.

But eating with God will bring you from rags to riches. At the cross, Jesus was made poor, so that you through His poverty might be made rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) We are reminded of this truth when we partake of His broken and naked body. Our poverty for His prosperity. Our rags for His robe of righteousness.

No reason for death

Luke 23:22

22 Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."

When the chief priests, rulers and people shouted, "Crucify Him [Jesus], crucify Him!" Pilate said to them the third time, "Why what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him..."

I want to draw your attention to this thing that Pilate said: "I have found no reason for death in Him." Beloved, there is no reason for death in Christ. And because you are in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30), there is no reason for death in your life.

There is no reason for you to be sick. There is no reason for you to be weak. There is no reason for you to be poor. There is no reason for you to die young. Heaven and hell cannot come up with a reason, for you are in Christ who is perfect. If the devil says, "I have a reason for you to be sick," you tell him, "No, liar, I am in Christ."

You are not in your sins. You are in Christ. And as He is, so are you in this world. (1 John 4:17)

God's image, justice and love

Genesis 9:6
6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A life for a life. Sounds fair enough. I understand. But why did God say that the reason for this is that we are made in His image?

You see, God's nature or "image" is such that when there is sin, when there is a transgression of His moral laws, the transgressor must pay or be punished.

Since man is made in His image, the same standards of God's justice are expected of man. In other words, if a man kills another man, he must pay for his sin with his own life -- a life for a life. This is God's justice.

The truth is that according to Jesus, we have all committed murder, because we have all hated or cursed our fellowmen at one time or another. (Matthew 5:21-22) And God's justice demands that we, who are made in His image, be punished with death -- a life for a life.

But God is also love. While His justice demands that we die, His love willingly provided a legal substitute -- His only Son. Jesus satisfied God's justice when He took our place at the cross of Calvary. We shed our fellowman's blood, but instead of our blood being shed as payment, Jesus shed His blood for us and died our death.

The wish of the rich man fulfilled by Christ

Luke 16:19-31
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29 Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

The rich man in this well-known story wished that Lazarus could rise from the dead and go to his five brothers to warn them of their impending doom. He believed that some sort of message of repentance from someone (in this case, Lazarus) who has miraculously come back from the dead would persuade his brothers to repent and thus save them from being cast into hell when they died.

As I was thinking about this story, I saw that Jesus has in a sense fulfilled the wish of that rich man for all mankind.

Our Lord not only raised another Lazarus (Mary and Martha’s brother) from the dead, but in a greater resurrection, He Himself is the perfect Man who rose from the dead and who has a message for all mankind. And this message or gospel is able to save mankind from eternal torment in hell, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)

The rich man had five brothers. As we know, five is the number of grace in the Bible and brothers here speak of mankind. It was through grace and for the justification of all mankind that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 4:25) And His message to all mankind is about the grace of God, which is the only thing that can bridge the "great gulf" that separates man from God.

The brothers had Moses and the Prophets, but it is implied in the story (verses 29 and 30) that they would not hear them. We know that Moses represents the law. This reaffirms the truth that the law cannot save mankind (Galatians 3:11), only the message of grace from Someone who has been raised from the dead!

The last part of the story says that the brothers will not be "persuaded though one rise from the dead". The sad truth is that not everyone will listen to the gospel of grace. There will be those who will not be persuaded by the message of the risen Christ. Nevertheless, those who receive God’s grace will escape the fires of hell and find themselves not in Abraham's bosom, but in Christ's bosom!