2 Corinthians 9:10–15 (NKJV)
Ever wonder how family fights begin on Thanksgiving? (show picture of pie with slice out of the middle).
In fact we often think of Thanksgiving as a day of excesses.
You Know You Overdid Thanksgiving When....
Paramedics bring in the Jaws of Life to pry you out of the EZ-Boy.
You receive a Sumo Wrestler application in your e-mail.
Pricking your finger for cholesterol screening only yielded gravy.
We have a feast right after worship this morning. There will be plenty. All are invited and we always have more than enough. We live in a land of plenty and we truly have much to be thankful for. Today passage deals very much with thanksgiving. But in ways you do not expect.
As we are so thankful for all the ways God has blessed us, If we are truly thankful, we need to be faithful in being a blessing to others. In 2nd Corinthians, the subject of chapters 8 and 9 is Paul organizing a collection for the poor saints in Judea. There had been famine, plus the Christians there were under persecution from the Jews. Paul was urging the church at Corinth to be generous in their gift. Our passage today come right after that well known passage we quote all too often:
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV) So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
We love to quote that because that gets a lot of us off the hook in giving more. I’ll only give what I can joyfully give. More on this later. But this follows what is said in verse 6:
2 Corinthians 9:6 (NKJV) But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
This known as the Law of the Harvest. You sow little; you reap little, Sow more; you reap more. What a minute, you say, isn’t this a sermon about giving thanks? What’s all this about giving? Hold that thought. Bear with me and you will see.
Giving is the language of love. How do you show love? By giving, giving affection, giving to meet material needs, giving gifts to the object of your love. True giving is about the attitude of the heart. God set the example; God showed us His love. You know the verse:
John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God so loved that God gave. We are the object of His love. Now staying with the farming analogy, Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 9:10 (NKJV) Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
We understand farming, and the Sunday School answer to a growing crop is that God has caused it all. We would be very right in saying so. God provides the seeds, he has given us the fertile soil and sends the rains to water the crops. God cause the plants to grow. The seeds we sow are often material things. The monetary gifts we give, we help folks in need so we can plant a spiritual gift. The seeds we sow are in righteousness. We need to see that like crops in the field, all righteousness is from God. We have none of our own. The righteousness we possess is only that which God works through us. We sow the seeds of God’s righteousness. And that all things good are from God:
James 1:16–17 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
The only truly good things we do is only what God does through us. We sow the seeds of God Goodness and God’s righteousness.
"supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness," God’s righteousness and God's goodness which we sow in others, we pray that it will bear bring much fruit.
Hosea 10:12 (NKJV) Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
We sow in righteousness and goodness because of where our treasures are. They are not of the material things of this earth, but those things that are above. This often involves the use our material goods goods which are also a blessing from God. We eager use these material things because of where our hearts are, or where our hearts should be.
Matthew 6:21 (NKJV) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We give because of the out pouring of God’s love and righteousness in our lives for others. And the principle of the harvest applies here: the more we sow, the more we will reap. That brings us to:
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NKJV) while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
The more we give, the more we can give. Not just money, but also of our time and talents. The church in Corinth was generally speaking, a well to do church. Paul expected them to share in God’s blessings with those who were in need. This resulted in: "thanksgiving through us to God." Will others will be giving thanks to God for our generosity?
2 Corinthians 4:15 (NKJV) For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Can you begin to see the connection? If you see nothing else this morning, make careful note of this. Giving Thanksgiving to God goes hand-in-hand with giving glory to God and giving praises to God. God will provide the means for us to be generous, which will bring thanksgiving, glory and praise back to Him. Not only from us but because of our generosity, from others as well. I really believe this is what Jesus had in mind when he said:
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
What we do with the material things that God has blessed us with then becomes a litmus test for our relationship with God. Remember the parable of the rich man that Jesus told? (Luke 12:16-21) The rich man built bigger barns to store all His crops and goods. He said to himself, "Soul, I have laid up for many years, now take your ease and eat, drink, and be merry." That night God called that man for his soul and essentially said to him, “what good is your stuff to you now?” Jesus concluded the story by saying:
Luke 12:21 (NKJV) “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
That rich man could have easily stored His crops and goods in the months of the needy, thus building himself riches in heaven. Then God has a way of not only blessing the gift but also blessing us materially in such a way here on earth so that this generosity may continue. In other words, the more we give, the more we are able to give more.
2 Corinthians 9:12 (NKJV) For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God,
The administration of this service. The Greek words used by Paul for "service" here is related to the priestly service done in the temple. This service was to meet the needs of the those Christians in Judea. It was also a service to God. In Paul’s day, the rich in the Greco-Roman world were expected to contribute to the common good of the community in which he lived. In returned the people would pay him honor and he would be remembered after death. But in these gifts for the benevolence of the common good was also a spiritual offering, resulting in:
"abounding through many thanksgivings to God."
Throughout the writings of Paul, anything that resulted in the giving of thanksgiving to God was of great importance. The gift to the poor Judean Christians was so much more because it resulted in thanksgiving that brought praise and glory to God. Not to speak of mending the rift that existed between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. These gifts help tear down those barriors. What did this gift show? Love. People will know they were followers of Jesus, by the way they have love for one another (John 13:35).
2 Corinthians 9:13 (NKJV) while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
The gift was a proof of their confession. They did not just say that they loved Jesus, they showed their love in real and tangible ways. Proof that they were not just giving lip service, but when they confessed that "Jesus is Lord," they meant it. The result of their obedience was that God was glorified. What else was the result for their generosity?
2 Corinthians 9:14 (NKJV) and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
Isn’t that interesting.. Those poor saints in Judea praying for the rich church in Corinth. Yet I have received email from shoebox recipients and compassion children that Ellen and I sponsor saying they are praying for us. Ther poor reciepiants of our gifts praying for us form the other side of the globe. This thanksgiving, I want to change things around a little. Consider for a moment: What thanksgiving is being offered to God because of what we allowed God to do through us? When give thanks for all God has blessed us with, it should result in our wanting to give, wanting to be generous, wanting to be more God-like in our contributions. Remembered John 3:16 - For God so loved that He gave. So Paul breaks out in praise.
2 Corinthians 9:15 (NKJV) Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
All giving is done in light of this. The word thanks here is the Greek word “charis” which is usually translated “grace.” Grace back to God for His indescribable gift! Grace as thanksgiving. We bless God with our giving him honor and glory for what he has done for us. And what gift is Paul talking about here?
Romans 11:33–36 (NKJV) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
For God limitless wisdom and knowledge? For God’s unsearchable judgments? God is so much above us. Knowing us better that we know ourselves. Yet, in context to this passage today, I believe that what Paul had in mind was the gift of how Jesus became sin for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In Philippians 2:7 Paul writes that Jesus emptied Himself of all His glory and became poor for us to that we might become rich in Him.
This thanksgiving, I want us to think about how our response ought to be in light of God indescribable gift for us. How do we return thanks? Does our thanksgiving to God result in our motivation to give in reply? Are we letting our light shine so others will give thanks and glory and praise to God? It is all about how God is leading us. Leading us to be more like Jesus. And how did Jesus love us? He gave Himself for us. Our we following His example in giving of ourselves to other?
