INTRODUCTION
• A preacher wanted to see if a farmer in his congregation was willing to support the Lord’s work. So one day he challenged him with some direct questions. "If you had two farms" he asked," would you be willing to give one to God?" "Why, certainly!" replied the man. "I only wish I were in a position to do so." The minister then asked, "If you had $10,000, would you give $5,000 to the Lord?" Without hesitation the man responded, "How I’d love to have that kind of money! I’d enjoy giving generously like that." Then the preacher asked this pointed question: "If you had two pigs, would you give one to the church?" The farmer hesitated for a moment and then blurted out, "That’s not fair. You know I’ve got two pigs. - Our Daily Bread 1998
• Today we are going to deal with a subject that affects each one of us in a profound way. It is a subject that stirs up a wide range of emotions in people ranging from joy to anger.
• Today I want us to take a look at the subject of giving.
• This is an important subject. It is also a touchy subject.
• Did you know that money is important to God? It is the second most talked about subject in the Bible behind love. Why? I believe our attitudes about money are a gage of where we are spiritually.
• In 2002, 6% of born again adults tithed. This represents an 8 percentage point decline from 2001, (14% of born again adults tithed) and a 6 point decline from 2000, (12% of all born again adults). (2003) (www.barna.org)
• When we do not understand the principle of giving, we not only hurt the operation of the kingdom of God, but we also cheat ourselves out of many blessings that God wants to give to us.
• Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 9:5-15
SERMON
I. THE PRINCIPLE OF PLANTING (6)
• In verse six, we find a very simple principle. If you want to reap a harvest, you need to plant some seed.
• My father-in-law is a farmer. Each year when it comes time to plant, they order the appropriate amount of seed to plant and after preparing the soil, they plant it.
• After the appropriate amount of rain, sun and time, they fire up the combines for what they hope is a large harvest.
• Verse six tells us he who sows (plants) sparingly, will also reap (harvest) sparingly. This makes a lot of sense.
• Looking at my father-in-law again. What if when it came time to plant he decided he was not going to purchase any seed to plant? What would happen when it was time for the harvest? NOTHING.
• What if he said, “Seed is expensive so we are going to purchase only 25% of what we need to plant?”
• What would happen at harvest time? There would be a small harvest.
• What if he decided to dream about having a great harvest, but that is all he did? What would happen when it was time to harvest? NOTHING.
• In verse six, we are told if we sow bountifully, we will also reap bountifully.
• When is the harvest? We reap benefits now and we will also reap benefits for eternity.
• READ Matthew 6:19-21
• All of us are planting seeds. The question is where are we planting them? When you want to raise corn, you plant corn. When you want beans, you plant beans. What kind of harvest do you want?
• READ GALATIANS 6:7-8
• Are you planting seeds to the flesh, so that you will reap a material harvest or are you planting seeds to the Spirit to reap a harvest for eternal life?
• Where would we be today if in 1969 the people of Auburn Christian Church decided not to plant the seeds necessary to make this building a reality? Think of all the people we have won to Jesus over the years since. Would we have reached them with the status quo?
• What if the Church had not decided in 1972 to go to the Faith Promise method of raising funds for the Missions program? How many people worldwide have been won because of the $400,000 we have sent to the mission’s field since?
• Given the fact that according to the Barna study only 6% of Christian tithe is it no wonder why a lot of churches struggle.
• In our lives, we will reap the harvest for which we planted for. If you sow sparingly, you will not have much of a harvest.
II. PROPER PLANTING REQUIRES THOUGHTFUL PLANNING (7)
A. Purposed in the heart.
• EACH CHRISTIAN is to give. The beginning of verse 7 is all inclusive.
• Verse seven indicates that our giving is to be planned.
• Purposed- each is to make up their mind after serious thought. We are not to give on a vague wish or from a passing impulse nor for the outcome of an emotional rush, but we are to give with a deliberate resolve.
• This means that we are not called to answer EVERY single request for help. We are to plan what we are going to give and joyfully give it.
• I hope that you are planning on how you are going to participate in the Faith Promise Rally next week. I hope that you are stirred to give, but I also hope you are planning on what to do.
B. Not grudgingly or under compulsion
• We are not to be forced into giving. We are not to give out of guilt or out of just some emotional overflow that causes us regret later. We are not to be sorry that we parted with our money.
• Under compulsion means giving under pressure. We are to give because we love Jesus and we know it is the right thing to do!
C. Cheerful giver
• A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church "Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself," she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. "Well," said the little girl, "I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did." Bits & Pieces, February 4, 1993, p. 23.
• The word for “cheerful” is the word we translate hilarious. Giving should be a joyful experience.
• How many of you feel joyfully happy when you give a loved one a gift? This is the kind of giver God wants us to be.
• You feel joy over giving to people you love because you love them.
• The key to the joy is love. If we love God, then giving to Him is a joy. For me writing out the offering check each week is a joy.
• I have told people if they hate to give, God does not need their money, they can keep what they reluctantly hold on to and God can bless someone who has the right heart.
• Part of planning to give is making sure our heart is right about it.
III. GOD PROVIDES THE SEEDS WE ARE TO PLANT (8-11)
A. God has the power to provide for our needs (8)
• I believe the thing that holds many of us back from giving as God wants us to is that we are afraid we will lose something because of giving.
• We think that when we give something away, it is gone.
• We need not worry about losing out because God will make sure we have all sufficiency in everything and not only that, but we will have enough of an abundance to do good deeds.
• Sufficiency means being independent of external circumstances, especially of the services of other people. The word "sufficiency" is the same word used in 1 Timothy 6:6 translated "contentment". It speaks of being able to do with a small amount of the things of this world.
• LUKE 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
• There are some things this church is going to need to do in the very near future to enhance the ministry of the church.
• In 2003, the church had income of about $110,000 with Faith Promise included. We have about 61 homes represented at church on a given Sunday.
• According to demographic data I have, the median income in Auburn is $33,000. Based on that number, if we all tithed, we would have a budget of about $210,000 per year. (33,000 x 10% x 61 families).
• The money is there for us to be about to do some things we need to do to help us carry out our ministry in an even greater way. We all just need to realize that God has provided it
B. God takes care of those who are generous (9)
• Look at verse 9.
• Psalm 112:9 is the verse quoted by Paul. God takes care of those who respond to Him freely and joyfully. This Psalm describes the character of a righteous man. One characteristic of a righteous man is that he "scatters abroad". This denotes giving liberally to the poor. Scatter is the opposite of sowing sparingly. He is a generous giver.
• GIVER TO THE POOR- Poor= a person with whom life and living has been a struggle. It does not include people who are lazy (See 2 Thessalonians 3:10). A charitable person takes care to see that his benevolence is not just scattered thoughtlessly to anyone who will receive it. It is to go to those who are truly needy.
• RIGHTEOUSNESS ABIDES FOREVER- In the context, righteousness denotes doing what is right for another man. Psalm 112:9 backs Paul’s contention in this passage that God takes care of the generous person and bestows blessings upon him. Forever includes now and eternity.
C. God will provide enough for our needs and the needs of others (10-11)
• Generosity doesn’t ruin those who practice it. God can and will reward a generous person.
• SUPPLIES- Original word denoted a person who undertook defraying the expenses of the chorus of the Greek theater. The word was expanded in meaning to deal with any such lavish act. The fact the word is a present tense verb tells us that this is something that God is doing in the here and now.
• AND BREAD FOR FOOD- God will not only give us the means to be generous, but He will give us the means to sow again and will make sure we are taken care of.
• Generosity begets generosity. PAY IT FORWARD ILLUSTRATION
IV. THE PURPOSES BEHIND PLANTING (11-15)
A. God will be thanked (11b-12)
• When we give, it is so that God will be thanked. We are to give in the name of Jesus. People should know we do what we do because of our thankful heart toward God for what He has done for us!
B. To take care of the needs of God’s people (12)
• We have let the government take over something the church should be doing. We are to help take care of the needs of others. We are especially called to take care of those who are a part of the household of God.
• GAL 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
C. God will be glorified through our obedience (13)
• Jesus calls us to be benevolent and being that way is one way we show people we are being obedient to our calling.
D. Prayers will be lifted up on our behalf and unity will be promoted (14)
• Have you had a person help you out? Did you thank God for them, were they a part of your prayer life, did you feel closer to them?
• I remember when our home church, 1st Christian Church in Vandalia Missouri sent food to us for weeks when Robyn was bedridden. They drove 30 miles most everyday to take food to us. I felt so united to that church.
• When we help others, it promotes unity. When Ruth and Abel came to visit us, it was the first time I had met them, yet because we support the missions program, I felt like I had known them all my life.
CONCLUSION
• God has called us to be cheerful givers. We are to plan our giving and examine where our benevolence goes to make sure it is being used wisely.
• The way we handle and look at money says a lot about where we are spiritually.
• When we give, we will receive in proportion to our gift and the heart behind our giving.
• God loves a cheerful giver. What kind of giver are you? When it comes time to harvest, will your wagons be full?
• When I decided to put God first in my finances, God blessed me more than I could believe. I challenge you to do the same.
