“Treasuring God’s Provisions”
Acts 4:32-37; 2 Cor. 9:1-15
There’s little that is more deflating than giving someone a precious gift and having them say, “Oh, I was really hoping for…” and they mention something else. There is little that is more discouraging than giving someone a precious gift and having them say, “Oh, this is so wonderful. Nobody will ever touch it but me! It’s all mine!” Yet just how do you react to the provisions God has graciously given you? Paul wrote (2 Cor. 9:8) that “…God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need…” What do you do with all that God has given you? How do you treasure God’s provisions?
Paul teaches us what treasuring God’s provisions looks like. He begins, by pointing to THE PRINCIPLE OF RETURN. Look again at verse 6: “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” It is a law of life; it is reality. GOD HAS ESTABLISHED A METHOD. A farmer, for example, knows that the more seeds he wisely sows, the greater will be his yield. Any good sales person knows that the more contacts she makes – the more phone calls, visits, and letters – the more sales she will make. In building relationships the more friendly and loving we are the more friends we will have. Certainly financially it is also true – the more we invest wisely the more we earn.
God’s method in all of life is that WHAT WE RECEIVE IS PROPORTIONATE TO WHAT WE GIVE. Listen to the testimony of Scripture: Proverbs 3:9-10 – “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine;” Proverbs 11:24ff. – “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed;” Proverbs 19:17 – “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.” What we receive is proportionate to what we give!
Paul’s whole discussion actually began in chapter 8. He was thanking the church in Macedonia for sharing their resources to relieve the hard times in Corinth - even though they had little to share. (8:2-4) “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” As he reflected upon it Paul said that their giving was really a sowing, their sharing was really investing, and that in giving this way they experienced high returns.
Abraham Lincoln discovered the same principle early in his life. He operated a little country store with a man named Berry. The day came when they knew the end of the sagging business was in sight. Said Lincoln, “I wouldn’t mind so much if I could just do what I want to do. I want to study law. I wouldn’t mind so much if we could sell everything we’ve got and pay all our bills and have just enough left over to buy one book, Blackstone’s commentary on English law, but I guess I can’t.” About that time a strange looking wagon came up the road. The driver drove it up close to the store porch, and the man looked at Lincoln and said, “I am trying to move my family West and I’m out of money. I’ve got a good barrel on here that I could sell for fifty cents.” Lincoln’s eyes looked at the wagon and then settled on the wife, face thin and emaciated, who was looking up at him pleadingly. He reached into his pocket and took out what he said was his last fifty cents. All day long the barrel sat on the porch and Berry kept chiding him. Late in the evening, Lincoln looked down into the barrel and saw some things on the bottom. As he pulled them out he was petrified – among them was Blackstone’s commentary. Lincoln later wrote: “I stood there holding the book, looking up toward the heavens. There came a deep impression on me that God had something for me to do and he was showing me now that I had to get ready for it. Why this miracle otherwise?” God’s method – what we receive is proportionate to what we give. How do you treasure God’s provisions? The principle of return.
According to Paul God not only established a method but GOD ALSO DESIRES A MINDSET. Verse 7: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” For God, motivation is the key; the heart is what counts. We are to give freely, willingly, cheerfully – from the heart, not just from the wallet. We are not to give, says Paul, under compulsion – do not give just because people or organizations keep bugging us like persistent beggars, or because we get all choked up at some emotional appeal. Nor are we to give when we’d rather not – God has made it very clear throughout His Word that He desires not so much what we bring as how we bring it. For God the greatest gifts are those that are given most whole-heartedly. As he says in Exodus 25:2: “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.” IT IS NOT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BUT OF JOY; NOT THE SIZE OF THE CHECK BUT OF THE HEART. As someone once said, “Giving loses all its fragrance when the incense of a free and joyful spirit is wanting.” Maybe that’s why the word Paul uses for “cheerful” giver is the word from which we get our word “hilarious.” The mindset of giving is an hilarious joy. In 9:7 Paul wrote, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” God desires that we give cheerfully. We are to give from our own hearts, according to what we have.
A businessman, a lawyer, and a Christian missionary were traveling in Korea. They saw in a field by the road a young man pulling a plow, while an old man held the handles. The lawyer was so stunned he took a picture. “I suppose they are poor,” he remarked to the missionary. “Yes,” he said. “That is the family of Chi Noui. When the church was being built they had no money, so they sold their only ox and gave the proceeds to the church. This spring they are pulling the plow themselves.” The lawyer and the businessman were silent for some time. Then the businessman said, “That must have been a real sacrifice.” The missionary responded, “They did not call it a sacrifice. They thought it was wonderful that they had an ox to sell.” The mindset of giving is an hilarious joy.
God is never concerned with equal amounts – His concern is equal sacrifice. And SACRIFICE OFTEN MEANS GIVING UP SOMETHING WE LOVE FOR SOMETHING WE LOVE MORE. When I was entering my senior year of seminary training, I realized I needed to give up something I dearly loved – doing play-by-play of high school football and basketball games. It had begun to interfere with my studies and training. It hurt to give it up. But I gave it up with joy because I loved Jesus more and He needed more of me. The mindset of giving is an hilarious joy. How do you treasure God’s provisions?
Paul’s second truth is that treasuring God’s provisions involves the POWER OF RICHNESS. Hilarious giving is made possible because of God’s grace. We often talk about matching funds, but here we meet up with MATCHING OF GRACE. Verse 8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work,” Notice the superlatives: all things, all times, all you need, every good work! God does not ask us to give what we do not have; He asks us simply to give back what He gives us! If we are moved by love to share, we will not lack the means to be joyful, hilarious givers. God delights in giving - His desire is to bless the families of the earth. It is his nature to do so. He loves cheerful givers because they reflect his heart; they are in tune with his purposes; they are in the flow of God’s rhythm for life. So He matches what we give and need with what he gives. WE GIVE, NOT FROM OUR LACK BUT FROM HIS ABUNDANCE.
Dr. Daniel Pearson was, as a child, poor. He worked his way through college, living in an attic room and cooking his own frugal meals. He was a school teacher, studied medicine, and later was a farmer and a lumberman. He was also blessed with a wife whom he said wanted him to make money to give away. They did so – they systematically gave to young people who were struggling for an education and their wealth increased at a marvelous rate. Ultimately his gifts were invested in the endowment of 47 colleges. He died, in monetary terms, a poor man – in one of the sanitariums he founded. But in his lifetime gave away over 6 million dollars. But he once said, “I have had more fun than any other rich man alive. They are welcome to their automobiles and steam yachts. I have discovered that giving is the most exquisite delight in the world. I intend to die penniless.” Talk about the matching of grace! It’s part of the power of richness. How do you treasure God’s provisions?
A second part of this richness, according to Paul, is THE MULTIPLICATION OF GENEROSITY. Verses 10-11: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” As the New English Bible translates it, “You will always be rich enough to be generous.” Again, Paul’s example is of the Macedonian church who pleaded for the opportunity to give in the midst of their poverty; they believed they were rich enough to give! And now Corinth would be giving to relieve the famine in Jerusalem.
The whole key is to realize that, whether we have much or little, GOD ENABLES US TO BE GENEROUS. Generosity is an attitude of heart and mind; it’s a matter of what we do with what we have. Can you think of any investment with a greater return rate? God matches and multiplies what we give. How do you treasure God’s provisions?
We treasure God’s provisions through the principle of return, the power of richness and – third – the PROMISE OF RESULTS. The rest of the chapter demonstrates the impact of giving in three ways.
In verse 12 we discover that OUR GIVING SUPPLIES THINGS FOR SAINTS. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people…” What we give meets the needs of others less fortunate than ourselves: the hungry and undernourished, the orphaned and homeless, the victims of fractured relationships and broken homes, and he lost and wandering. We let others know that they are loved. This is the life we see in the early church. (Acts 2:44-45) “All believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had needs.” (Acts 4:32-37) “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” What are your possessions and goods, your houses and plots of land, you can sell? How do you treasure the provisions of God?
I have, through my years of ministry, had the privilege many times of delivering to people in need special gifts and money from the church. I can guarantee there is no greater joy than seeing the reaction of those receiving the gifts! It is what the church is all about. It’s what the church budget is all about. “The church budget is more than a set of figures or a list of expenditures. It is actually (ministry). It is the pastor preaching, (people) visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, bringing hope to the hopeless. It is the Sunday School teachers (and Children & Worship Leaders) teaching the Word of God to each new generation of boys and girls. It is the (musicians leading worship) to the glory of God. It is the church building standing as a lighthouse in the midst of a dark world. It is missionaries sent to places in this country and in foreign lands to tell the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. It is Christian literature and Bibles in the hands of those just learning to read. It is schools, hospitals, and children’s homes ministering to those in need. Most of all, perhaps, the budget of our church is the total expression of our love for Christ, our compassion for the spiritual and physical needs of all humanity, and our realization that God chooses to use each of us as his instruments of love and grace. Our giving supplies the saints.
Secondly, according to verse 13, OUR GIVING SUPPLIES THANKSGIVING TO GOD. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” When we give, the first response of the receiver often is, “God is so good!” An Olympic runner brings glory to her country, a salesperson brings glory to his company; a generous giver brings glory to God! In the first church I served there was a family which loved to sing, although they were always hesitant to do so in public. I encouraged them to do so more often and they eventually did. They finally cut a record and in their dedication they thanked me! I was stunned – I was also humbled because they spelled my name wrong in that dedication! But I remember thanking and praising God for using my simple words of encouragement to such a powerful end. Similarly our giving will always supply thanksgiving to God.
Then, in verse 14, Paul says that OUR GIVING SUPPLIES TIES OF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. “And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.” We give, and those who receive pray for us and care for us! It really is true that we cannot out-give God! One way or another we always get back more than we give! The greatest way to unite our hearts with each other and with Christians around the world is to give – and activate the cycle of prayer!
The important thing to notice is that Paul begins and ends it all by pointing to Jesus. In referring to the generosity of the Macedonian churches he wrote (8:5) “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” Then he ends in 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” The cross is God’s gift above all gifts! For in the cross God proved that He so loved us that He gave his one and only Son to die for us. Paul begins and ends with grace of God in Jesus Christ! So we treasure God’s provisions by being generous. God holds our life – we don’t need to; God possesses our life; we don’t have to; so we can share our lives extravagantly with happy, hilarious, reckless abandon because in losing our lives, we will find them! No generous Christian will ever be a loser. IF WE FIRST GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD THEN ALL OTHER GIVING IS EASY. As an unknown author penned: “Go share with thy sister and brother thy bread. For giving is loving,” the angel said. “But must I keep giving again and again?” My peevish and piteous question ran. “Oh, no,” said the angel, piercing me through, “Just give till the Master stops giving to you.” How are you treasuring God’s abundant provisions? How will you, from now on, treasure God’s abundant provisions?
