Learning To Be A Cheerful Giver

Title: “Learning to Be A Cheerful Giver” Scripture: II Cor. 9:7

Type: Expository Where: GNBC 11-21-21

Intro: When I was in HS one of my best friend’s mother was driving their new car. A warning light came on the dash board: CHECK ENGINE. Now my friend’s mother was a brilliant woman. Professor of nursing at local college. However, was not mechanically oriented. Tapped her finger on the dash and assumed the warning light was a fluke. Fifty miles later she painfully realized it was not a fluke. The car was out of oil, and the engine was blown. Warning lights on our dash board should not be ignored. At least it should signal a call to Greer Motors! We read in Scripture that the Christian is to be a generous individual: time, talent, treasure. This time of year there are countless appeals to being generous with the “treasure” God has given us. There are countless opportunities to which we may give financial support. How are we to make that decision? How do we stay open to God’s plan and not be stingy, while remaining both discerning and cheerful?

Prop: Exam. II Cor. 9:7 we’ll notice 4 Warning Lights that will help us to be both discerning and cheerful givers.

BG: 1. Besides Philemon, II Cor. is the most personal, least doctrinal of all of Paul’s letters.

2. II Cor. 8&9 – Paul is appealing in II Cor. for the Church to send a financial gift to the impoverished church at Jerusalem. He encourages the Corinthian church to emulate the example of the Macedonian Church ( Greece) who was very poor, yet raised a generous gift for the Jerusalem Church.

3.Message is not about tithing. This is giving. Attitude.

Prop: Exam. II Cor. 9:7 we’ll notice 4 Warning Lights Which if heeded will help us to be both cheerful and discerning givers.

I. 1st Warning Light: Action Check: “Am I Giving?”

“Each one must give…”

A. Notice an Important Assumption the Apostle Makes.

1. Paul makes an important assumption that the Christian is to be a generous person who will give to the needs of the saints.

a. NASB – “Let each one do…” “Let each one give…”Now, as we keep this in the context of the passage, it is a reference to the fact that the Apostle wants each Corinthian Christian to consider what he or she can or should do to help alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters. First question to ask ourselves: “Am I ever giving, anything?”

b. The idea here is that each Christian has a duty to search his/her hear to see where and how God wants us to use our resources for His Kingdom’s sake.

2. Let me clarify what is being spoken of here is not the Tithe.

a. The Tithe is the first 10% of our income that Christians are to dedicate to the support of the local church. Like llamas and alpacas, tithes and offerings are grouped together a lot, but they’re definitely not the same thing. A tithe is a specific amount (10% of your income) that you give first, and an offering is anything extra that you give beyond that. To be VERY clear…in this passage, Paul is not talking about tithes. He is talking about taking up a special offering of support

b. Illust: A New Testament teaching on giving which may be helpful to you is found in 1 Corinthians 16:2: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” This passage brings out four points: we should give individually, regularly, methodically and proportionately. Each believer is to give. The giving is regularly – the frequency by which you are paid. It is planned. Just like paying our mortgage or rent or car note. We plan to pay our tithe. An it is proportionate: Whether one makes $250 a week or $2500 per week. The % is the same.

B. What if I am not Giving?

1. This passage should serve as a warning light to the condition of our heart or the emphasis and value we place on stuff.

a. Illust: Just like how my friend’s mother’s dash light was an early warning to avert disaster, this verse can help serve as a warning light for the disaster that comes to lives when we place an emphasis on mammon, money, or stuff. Illust: Thanksgiving is this week and then Christmas Season. One of my all-time favorite stories/movies to read or watch at Christmas is: “Ebenezer Scrooge”. The very name “Scrooge” has become synonymous in the English speaking world with a stingy, nasty, miserly individual. As a young man he fell in love with a young woman named Belle and proposed marriage, but gradually his love for Belle was overwhelmed by his love for money. Belle realized this and, saddened by his greed, left him one Christmas, eventually marrying another. Like Ebenezer, we need to beware lest our lives are consumed by a love for money or stuff. When we tithe and give offerings we learn valuable lesson: Money is not our security.