SERIES: “GOD-GIVEN GUIDELINES FOR GROWING A GREAT CHURCH”
TEXT: 2 CORINTHIANS 9:1-15
TITLE: Guideline #9: “GIVE GENEROUSLY OF GOD’S RESOURCES”
(Bulk of material from Bob Russel’s When God Builds A Church and a sermon on this text also by him)
INTRODUCTION: A. Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash
1. I was forced to wash as a child
2. People who wash are hypocrites – they think they’re cleaner than others
3. There are so many kinds of soap, I could never decide which was right.
4. I used to wash, but it got boring.
5. I wash only on Christmas and Easter
6. None of my friends wash.
7. I’ll start washing when I’m older.
8. I really don’t have time.
9. The bathroom is too cold
--(Or too hot)
10. People who make soap are only after your money
B. Those excuses sound pretty silly when you’re talking about washing your body.
1. But to be honest with you, I’ve heard every one of those excuses used by people
who don’t attend church.
2. And #10 is a very popular excuse: The church doesn’t care about me. They only
want my money.
C. I’ve been preaching since I was 15.
1. I’ll admit in those early years that I didn’t preach very often
--Maybe once or twice a year
2. But the one thing that remained consistent through the years is that I have rarely
preached on money and finances.
D. Giving is a “dreaded subject” for several reasons:
1. The reputation of Television evangelists
--Television evangelists have a reputation for exploiting people financially.
a. That statement is not universally true, but it doesn’t really matter.
b. The media has so stereotyped televangelists that we want desperately to
disassociate ourselves from them.
c. Wayne Smith tells about a farmer who called the office of Southland
Christian Church in Lexington, KY where he was senior minister for 40 years.
The farmer asked to speak to the Head Hog at the Trough.
The receptionist said, “If you’re referring to our senior minister, you may
call him Brother, Pastor, even Reverend if you feel so inclined. But it would
not be proper to refer to him as the Head Hog.”
The farmer said, “I’m sorry. I’m just an old pig farmer and I just sold a few
pigs out of my herd. I was going to donate ten thousand dollars to the building
fund at your church, so I was hoping to catch him in the office.”
The receptionist said, “Oh….just a minute…I think I hear the Big Pig
coming down the hall.”
d. Since some preachers, especially televangelists, are perceived to be always
focusing on money, many preachers go to the opposite extreme of not wanting
to talk about money at all.
2. The fear of offending people
a. Sometimes preachers are afraid to talk about money because they’re afraid of
turning off any visitors in attendance at the services.
b. People have said: “I worked for months to get my friends to come to church
with me, and wouldn’t you know the day they came, you preached on money! I
tried to tell them you don’t preach often on money, but they haven’t come
back.”
c. I hate to hear that. I don’t like to lose anyone.
d. However, if they said, “You preached on the resurrection, and they didn’t
believe it,” or “You preached on disciplining your children, and they disagree
with you,” I wouldn’t stop preaching those biblical truths.
E. Several reasons why we should address this important subject:
1. God’s Word speaks often on the subject of stewardship
a. Acts 20:27 – “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.”
b. We need to do the same thing – proclaim the whole counsel of God
c. Jesus talked about stewardship more than any other subject.
(1). He talked more about handling your money than he did about heaven, hell, or
even loving your neighbor.
(2). He knew that “where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.”
--That’s what he said in Mt. 6:21.
(3). Brian Sluth, former president of the Christian Stewardship Association:
“There are 2,350 passages in the bible dealing with money and material
possessions – more than on any other subject – but it’s the least talked-about
subject in the church. The church has been silent for so long that people
don’t understand the responsibilities that undergird a generous lifestyle.”
2. Generosity Transforms People
--I have literally seen generous giving transform the lives of people.
a. There’s an old illustration about a technique they use in Africa to capture
monkeys. They put a banana in a small-mouthed jar chained to a tree. The
monkey will reach in to get the banana, and get his hand stuck in the jar.
Because he refuses to let go of the banana, he is captured. He could have easily
set himself free if he had just been willing to let go of his prized possession.
b. When people release their grip on the things of this world, they become liberated
from all kinds of bondage and snares
c. Talk show host Dave Ramsey once spoke about how different America would be
if all the Christians tithed.
-- He said, “There would be no more welfare in North America. In ninety days,
there would be no existing church or hospital debts. In the next ninety days,
the entire world could be evangelized. There would be prayer in schools,
because Christian would buy all the schools!”
d. How many times have good ideas been turned down and our vision limited
because we’re worried about how much it costs?
3. Generous giving is a positive testimony
a. Many people are afraid that preaching on money is going to turn off the world
--And sometimes it does.
b. But sincere efforts to help people overcome their addiction to the stuff of this
world will result in attracting people to Jesus Christ, and a congregation of
sacrificial givers is a powerful testimony to the community.
F. What our text teaches us about giving:
I. THE KEY WORD IS “GIVE”
A. The world’s advice is :save, invest, and indulge”
1. God’s instruction is to give it away
2. Admittedly, worldly advisors suggest that it’s good to give
3. The difference is that the world tells you to earn, and then to give out of your abundance.
4. The Bible instructs you to give first and then live out of your abundance
B. In the Old Testament, this principle is called the principle of the “firstfruits”
1. The first of the harvest belonged to God
2. The first of the spoils of battle belonged to God
3. The people gave to God first, then trusted God to provide the rest.
C. The difference between the Biblical teaching and the worldly teaching is faith
1. When we give away the firstfruits, we demonstrate that we’re trusting God to provide
2. It doesn’t take any faith to give God the leftovers
D. A man’s wife had a cat that irritated him constantly. He hated that cat. He hated having cat hairs all
over his coat. He hated stumbling over that cat in the dark. He hated being kept awake by the cat’s
squealing in the night.
When his wife went to visit her mother, he drowned the cat. When his wife came back and asked about
the cat, he said, “I guess the cat ran away.”
His wife was distraught and despondent over the loss of the cat. She pleaded with him to find some
way to have the cat returned, so he put out a $1,000 reward.
A friend of his told him, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever hear – offering $1,000 reward for a
cat you don’t even like.”
The man replied, “When you know what I know, you can afford to take the risk.”
1. Some people give the appearance of generosity when they’re not generous at all.
2. God wants us to give Him our firstfruits and He wants us to give in a way that demonstrates our faith.
II. A SUMMARY OF HOW WE SHOULD GIVE
--God’s instruction on how we’re to give can be summed up in three words:
A. First word: generously
1. 9:6 – “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap
generously.”
2. Paul’s not just talking about how we give to the church
--It’s teaching about being generous people in every area of our lives
3. It’s an attitude of the heart that needs to be demonstrated every day
4. Christian ought to be generous people
a. Generous tippers in restaurants
b. If we’re employers, should give generous pay and benefits to our employees.
c. We should be generous when helping a neighbor or family from church when they get hit with a
tragedy.
d. If you have extra furniture, don’t let it rot in the garage of the attic
--find someone who can use those things
B. Second word: quickly
1. Apparently, the Corinthians were reluctant to give
--They’d made promises but failed to fulfill them
2. Paul wrote to encourage them to quickly fulfill what they had promised.
a. 9:1 – “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints.”
b. That’s like your wife saying, “I know I don’t have to remind you that our anniversary is coming
up.”
c. Paul is saying: I don’t have to remind you, but I’m going to anyway.”
d. Christian people should be the first to give
--We shouldn’t have to be prodded all the time
3. What would have happened if certain people in the Bible hadn’t given when they did?
a. What if the man who owned the colt that was used for Jesus’ triumphal entry had said, “I’m going
to wait until I’ve ridden the colt a few times before I lend it to anyone”?
b. What if the owner of the house where Jesus and His disciples ate the Last Supper had said, “I think
I’ll host Jesus another time – after the holiday rush is over”?
c. If either of those people had delayed for a week, he or she would have missed the opportunity to
give to the Lord in a very significant way.
C. Third word: cheerfully
1. 9:7 – “ Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
2. Suppose it’s your anniversary, and your mate throws a brown paper sack in your lap and say, “Well,
there’s your anniversary present. I didn’t want t spend so much money but I knew you’d grip if I
didn’t So, there it is.”
--That gift, even though expensive, doesn’t mean very much
3. Now, I know that have to say no to some appeals
a. You can’t give to everyone
b. But if you say yes, go it generously, quickly, and cheerfully
c. If you have to say no, do it politely.
CONCLUSION:
Mt. 10:8 – “Freely you have received, freely give.”
Every time you give to someone in the name of the Lord, that’s a thank you note to God saying, “Thank you Lord for sending Jesus Christ to die for me. Thank You for being so generous to me.”
