“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32
Dear Ones:
The Lord, in addressing Israel, in light of the declared, “new beginning,” and the openness of opportunity because of His declared blessing, told them: “Sing…break forth into singing…enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations, SPARE NOT, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” (Is.54:2) Why did He say this, and in this way? What was coming that Israel did not see? We discover it in the promise: “For thou shalt BREAK FORTH on the right hand, and on the left…My kindness shall NOT depart from thee.(Is.54:3,10)
The story is told of Dwight Moody, a prominent evangelist of his time. Two elderly women confronted him one day to say, “Mr. Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man who is totally His.” Moody replied, “I will be that man.” And so he became one of the most powerful, and influential preachers in American history. When we look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, with respect to the fact that God did not SPARE anything, but gave ALL in the giving of His Son, the call echoes down to us this very day, challenging us to not spare, but to yield, and surrender to God entirely, the whole life at His disposition and beckoning.
What is the great reward of “sparing not?” First and foremost, it is that of knowing that we are pleasing God. It is also certainly that of knowing God, knowing and experiencing the love of Christ. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he writes: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully.” (9:6) He goes on to say that “God is able to make ALL grace ABOUND toward you…” (v.8) This grace is His intervention, and provision in life, for life and service. The very evidence of the work of God, as a result, is seen in the following declaration: “Now He that gives seed to the sower, both gives bread for your food, and multiplies your seed sown, and increases the fruits of your righteousness.” (v.10) What is He saying? This ministry, or service of Life, is one whereby we receive from the Lord of the Harvest, His SEED, His word and testimony, to be given unsparingly to all who will receive. The promise is that He will provide the seed, multiply it, bless it, and accomplish His purposes in the spreading, and sowing of it.
Sowing abundantly, sparing not, is sowing in the morning and the evening. It is that act in fellowship with Christ by the Spirit, of receiving from the Lord “seed,” morsels of truth and life, to be given to others. It is that act of consistent reception, while abiding in Christ, of the life-giving words of the Spirit to give to those in need. This is what we see in the example of the Lord Jesus in the gospels. He received constantly, specifically, and appropriately, from His Father, an endless supply of “seed” (truth and life), that He gave to those around Him. The result was that LIFE was truly born in the heart of those who would receive, and believe, by the Spirit.
Dear Father, give us to live “unsparingly,” not in the sense of randomly living independently of Thee, feverishly going about seeking to serve, but choosing to abide in the Lord Jesus, to receive from Him that which He will give. Give us grace, not to put a limit on what You will do in and through us, only keep us under Your blessed authority, submitted entirely to You, so that You can give to us eternal “seed,” that will produce Life in others by the Spirit, for Thy glory and honor. In Jesus’ name, we thank Thee, Amen.
Love, Dad