The Ohio Independent Baptist, August 1965

Are we like BOTTLES in the RAIN? By Rev. Glenn Greenwood H ave vou ever watched en1pty bottle in the rain? ., In a 111atter of n1oment , the bottle are full. What will the bottle do with the rain? Will they eek to communi– cate the content to other ? Of cour e not! The only po ible way for anyone to profit i to extract the content hy force again t the bottles' wi ll . Thi God doe.c- by mean of evaporat ion. In a few day , the ground can be in need of moi ture, but the bottle are not iintere ted in con1- 111unicating in order that the ground can have it need 111et. A bottle pa·., ively receive. but never comn1unicate . I t wa right here that a great piritual truth wa forced upon me. Could mo t of u be "Bottle in the rain?' Are we guilty of ju t receiving but never giving? Do we con1municate or hare w,ith other what God freely give u•"' ? There i a ble ing in receiving, but it i n1uch more ble sed ,to give than to receive. (Act 20: 35) Have we found this to be true? Take, for example the Gospel that we have freely rece ived . It ha more th 1 an "ati fied our hungry ouI·~ but what are we doing with it? God has deposited Hi Word in the church which i Hi body. If God wanted Hi truth pre erved He would have deposited it in a barrel. It i virtually impo sible to con1municate the Go pel to the end of the earith in a barrel but ea ier if in a body. Wor hip i not im,ply a rituali tic confes ion, but it i a redemptive communica– tion. If God's Word is in an "i olation ward ', 1t is there becau e we have failed to 1 hare it. Are we bottle in the rain? What aboL1t finance ? Have you ever noticed the c1nphasi God pLtt on money and material things in His Word? The philo ophy of our age i·3 get all you can and can all you get. The Bible teaohe the contrary. "Give and it shall be given unto you... (Luke 6:38) Only as we give are we in a po ition to get . 'The liber,aJ ')OUI hall be made fat and he that wa.tereth ha'll be watered also him~--eJf." ( Proverb l 1: 25) "Sow bounti- fully and reap bountifully.' ' ( II ori nthian 9:6) giving and receiving are Siamese twin . Have you ever noticed the number of mi applied verses 1n the Bible? " B L1t n1y God hall upply all yoL1r 11ectl according to Hi s rich~ in glory by C'hri t J e us. " Glenn Greenwood TH[ OHIO INDCPENDENT BAPTIST ( Phili,ppian 4: 19) On what ba i can we clain1 thi':) pro111i c? I thi for all bel,ievers? Of cour c not! lt applie~ to tho e who con1mL1nicated and ihared with Paul o that hi need wa met. "Notwith•"tand,ing ye have well done, that ye did con1municate with my affliction. Now, ye Philippian , know also that in the beginning of the o pel, when I de,parted from Macedon ia, no ch urch communi– cated wi,th me a concerning giving and receiving but ye only.' (Philippian 4: 14-15) After we have fulfilled thi part, ,then God will fulfill Hi and upply our need . You have u,pplied my need , now God hal l upply your . A elfi h or tingy Chri ti,an can not clai m thi·" precious pron1i e. Much of what God give u tick to our finger . Ren1ember , we are only steward , not owner , of ma– tePial po e ion . ·'Di tributing ,to the nece ity of the aint " wa·"' the n1otto for the Philippian church. (Ron1an 13: 13) The word di tribute mean communicate. Race prejudice i Problen1 No. I for our politician today. Comn1unica,ting and haring leap over the race barrier. The Corinthian Church wa mad e up of entile believer who con1municated and hared material need with Jewi h believer at Jeru alem. ' 'While by the experi– ment of thi n1·ini itration they glorify God for youT pro– fes ed 11bjec 1 tion unto the Go,--·pel of Chri t, and for your liberal di tribution unto them and unto all men ." ( 11 Corinthian 9: I 3) The Go ,pel j the an wer 1 to ,the race problem. A ew Te ti,an1ent prie·3t , we 111u t bring acrjfice to God. "But to do good and to communicate forget not: for wi,th uch acrifice God i well plea ed." (Hebrew 13 : 15) Sharing or con1municating i a acrifice that plea·3e God. Are we •plea ing Him? Or ,are we prone to forget a our ver e ugge t ? Never forced to give God never force u , to give. The ble i,ng i pro111i 'ed a we give willingly. "Ready to di tri1bute willingly to con1n1unicate." ( I Timothy 6: J 8) Lt i not taking by force from the have to give to the ,have not . The believer freely hare and communicate becau e only a we give can we get; and the greate t b]e ing i in giving. 'Freely ye h·ave received, freely give.' (Matthew J0:8) Thi i God' law wove,n in both Old and New Te tan1ent . Many carn,al believer rea"on thi way: '" If I give any more 1 will be poor and need help. " Not o. Only a we w 1 ithhold will it lead to poverty. 'There i that withholdeth n1ore than i meet. b11t i,t tendeth to poverity :· ( Proverb 11 :24) A tream of water give off water in the forn1 of evapor– ation and never com,pl,ain , becau e ooncr or later it receive it back in the forn1 f rain. The trean1 had to oive before it cou ld get. The problen1 i n t <lo we have O omcthing to give bLtt the rcadine and willingnc -- to "'hare . It i a problem of the will n t wealth . It l ~ 11 t "Do I have it to give?" bt1t H An1 I willing? Do we lack fL1nd to do an<l go where we want? We ha\ e t1n1e and money for every thing we want and will. It 1 only 1n the I .. orc.1' \vork where we find a d ficit. Ho\\ eager ar · \\ c to give in ortler that HL ,~lork can pro e ti anc.l pro. per') Bottle~ n.evcr give LI p the c nten ts \\ 1 tll i ngl,·. c.l e tr.a~t anti tlraw 1t OLtt against their ,vill . Mi·')\ionary canc.tidatc , ha\' heen acccr>tetl h, 1111,s1on agcncic\ anti c lau11 f 1nancc l11ncJ r thc111 t1 111 going to the f iclu It l'i not a proble111 ot the f ina11Cl: bttt of tht: ,, 111 . r c we \\ illing to gt \ c s ) th, t the\ can g ) '> \V rth\ ( ' hristian cntcrJ)t t\c~ · tit lt:r g1 O"i'>l\ bcc,ttt\C 111 'it ( ' hr1st - 1ar1s pa"ic;ivcl)' rcccl\'C but ne, t.:1 Ct)t11111t1111c,\tc r ~ht1re i11 or tier tl1,1t ~t1cl1 Gotl <1J)11oi11tctl cntcr1>rt"'c"' ·a11 111 vc ,, 1t)1 l!,l~C Ill fCH l1i11g Olli gcc1c1 ,\t)t)fl \\ 1 itl1 tll' Jtl ~pcl ( ~111 it ll\.! tl1at \\C arc l'lottl~~ 111 tl1e rai11'! AUGUST, 1965 PAGE J