Series Subject: Commitment to the Church
Theme: Serving God Through Giving Pt.1
Text: 2 Cor.8: 1-15
Introduction
A. Last Thursday, we have witnessed the strong bond of the believers in this city; they came together in one accord, united to proclaim that Jesus is the Lord and the King of General Santos. I was really blessed to see the unity of God’s people. I know God was so delighted and was greatly glorified to see that His people were one in proclaiming His Lordship. I believe God is going to bless His people in this city with great abundance in affirmation to their unity. I am certain that God is going to do something to manifest and display His presence, His love, His grace, and His awesome power through His church here. Do you want to be part of God’s moving? When He works in His own special and mighty way, would you be with Him?
It’s my conviction my friends that God is preparing our congregation –us to be part of what He plans to do to His church in this city. That’s why, it’s no accident that God has been leading us to learn His Word about commitment, to Him first and then to His family, the church, to make us ready in what He is doing in the midst of His people. We should not be left behind, doing nothing on the fringe, because we belong! We should be part when God makes things happen. So be prepared.
B. Last Sunday we talked about commitment to one another. And we realized that as one in the family of God we have a duty to provide encouragement, to pray, and to share with one another. The word of God has reminded us of the truth that each believer is called, needed, gifted, equipped, and plays a significant role to help build up the body of Jesus. That’s why I’m just very eager today to say to you that each person inside this room is ordained by God to help build up the church. Each of us here is needed. Every contribution we extend for the building of the body of Christ is very important.
Now let’s open our Bibles to 2 Cor.8; 1-15. I’d like to speak from here the idea of serving God and the church by our commitment to giving.
C. There was a preacher who was trying to get his people to be more enthusiastic about the ministry of their church. The preacher said in his sermon: "If this church is going to get anywhere, it has to learn to crawl." The people responded, "Let it crawl, pastor, let it crawl!" Then he said, "And after it learns to crawl, it has to learn to walk." And the people said, "Let it walk, pastor, let it walk!" Now the preacher got excited and said, "After this church learns to walk, it has to learn to run!" The people shouted back, "Let it run, pastor, let it run!" Then excited with the response of the people he said, "And if this church is going to run, it’s going to take money!" And the people said, "Let it crawl, pastor, let it crawl.” My friends, if we are going to be with God in the building of His church, we are going to be ready with our heart and with our purses as well. The ministry of building up the body of Christ needs a generous heart and a giving hand.
Well, the subject of giving to the church is something that makes church people uncomfortable. And many pastors tried to shun from preaching to their congregations the subject of giving, afraid that they might be misunderstood by the people, afraid that people might develop malicious impression and perception about them and the church. But what does the Bible say about serving God through giving? God’s people must know, understand and give based on what the Word of God teaches. In our passage, the apostle Paul laid out the reasons that, if understood well, lead every believer to give with a joyful heart.
I. SHARING THE GRACE OF GOD (VS.1-7)
To encourage the Corinthian church to follow through with their promise to help the church in Jerusalem, Paul made mention of the giving of the Macedonian churches to help ease the financial and economic problems of the believers in Jerusalem. Looking at their situation, it would not appear that God had blessed the Macedonian churches because they too were suffering poverty and afflictions. But throughout all the problems in that region, the churches in Macedonia felt the grace of God shining upon them.
They were said to have given even “beyond their means” because they were overflowing with joy over the grace they received from God –the grace of salvation. And they didn’t forget that they owe their experience of God’s grace to the church in Jerusalem because of its missionary work. They received the grace of God through them, now they were more than willing to share it back in the form of sacrificial help.
Take note: Paul used the word “grace” to describe the offering given by these churches in Macedonia for the church in Jerusalem. I believe Paul intentionally constructed his statement that way to emphasize the principle of sharing God’s grace through giving. When we give, we are sharing the grace of God.
First, your giving to the church is your kind of affirmation and response to the grace of God. It gives a testimony of your understanding, reception, and faith in the grace of God for your salvation. Christian giving testifies the truth of salvation by grace.
Second, your giving will help the church to fund its needs for it to be doing effectively with its primary task to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. When you give to the church, you help it out to become a channel through which God extends His grace of salvation to people who are yet in darkness of sin. Christian giving is an opportunity to be part in the program of God to save sinners through His grace.
II. SURRENDER OF SELF TO GOD (v.5)
Verse 5 tells us the secret why the Macedonian churches were so eager to give in spite of their own problems and poverty. They were so zealous that they even begged Paul to help out. What’s the secret? They first gave themselves over to the Lord. The primary direction of their devotion was to God. They gave out of their great devotion and total submission to God. Their giving comes from a surrendered heart.
One Sunday morning, an old woman fainted and struck her head on the end of the chair while the worship service was going on. The congregation quickly called an ambulance to get her to the hospital. As they strapped her to a stretcher and got ready to head out the door, the old woman regained consciousness. She motioned for her daughter to come near. Everyone realized she was calling her to convey her final words. The daughter leaned over to listen to her mother anxiously.
Do you wonder what that old woman whispered to her daughter? She whispered: ‘My offering is in my purse, take it and put it on the offering plate.’ There’s only one thing that is most important to this old woman –her devotion to God that even at the brink of death, she wanted to confirm it by giving.
Christian giving confirms the reality of our submission to God because it translates our devotion into something tangible and verifiable. Christian giving gives us the opportunity to prove the veracity of our love and devotion to God.
Did you notice that until that day we gave our lives totally over to Jesus, we didn’t like to give? We wanted to give God but the minimum. Only when we started to love and trust in Him that we learned to give sacrificially. And as our relationship to Jesus grows, our desire to do more for Him also grows. Certainly, one thing that will grow as we grow in Christ is our giving.
III. THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS (v.9)
Now Paul reminded the Corinthian believers that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the example of what it means to give. In verse 9 Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.” His further elaboration on this is found in Philippians 2. He said that our Lord Jesus gave up all His glory to come to earth, to suffer and to die for our sins. He gave up what He had, and because of the sacrifice He made, He gained much more. We see a good motto here: no giving, no gain. Without Jesus sacrificing His life for us at the cross, we would have no chance to know and experience eternal life. We greatly and eternally benefit from the giving of Jesus. And even now, we are seeing and experiencing the results of His sacrifice in our lives. Salvation is not just about going to heaven; it is about being blessed NOW! Wow!
Now, what kind of example does Jesus Christ our Lord gives us on giving? Did He give Himself half-heartedly? Did He give an 80% effort? No! He was 100% committed to what He was called to do. He was 100% committed in providing the way of our salvation. He could have ended all of His suffering with one word, but He did not. He saved us by losing His own life. He gave us eternal life by dying.
Looking at the example of our Lord, there are things that excite me here about giving. First, the prospect that other people would benefit eternally from my giving is really very exciting and is indeed worth giving. I could imagine how great will be my joy when I see people in heaven, and realize that they were there because I gave something which led them to know and accept the Savior. That would be an eternal honor and joy. So when we give to the work of the Lord, we are doing an investment that gains eternal harvest in other people’s lives.
Second, giving gives us the opportunity to be like our Lord by doing what He loves to do, and to be identified with Him in His commitment and work. I believe, or should I say I hope, that every believer’s utmost desire is to be like Jesus. Then every Christian must have the joy to give
I still have many things to say about Christian giving, about serving God through giving, but for now, let’s just end our message here. Next Sunday, God willing, we will continue on in this subject. Finally, let me say this to you: “Giving is something that is between you and God. I do not want to know what you give. I do not want to tell you or demand what you must give. But I do want you to experience the joy and blessings that comes with giving.”
