(Note to the reader: In preparing this sermon, I based my work in part on a chapter in Charles Swindoll’s book "Improving Your Serve" (Word Publishing 1981) called "The Servant As A Giver". )
Today, I want to talk about the subject of giving, as a characteristic that Christians need to have.
Giving is a broad topic, so I want us to focus particularly on 2 Corinthians 8 (turn there)
-In the passage, Paul is describing the generosity of the Macedonian church. I want to observe the way they gave as a model for how we should give.
1-2 (Read aloud) – Though it might not be the first thing that jumps off the page, first I want us to notice that They Gave Anonymously
-Paul doesn’t note any particular households or locations within Macedonia that gave the most. No one got any extra credit from anybody. This was one church giving to another church.
ILLUS: In one of his books, Charles Stanley quoted a poem by Ruth Calkin called “I wonder”
You know, Lord, how I serve you
With great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly I speak for You
At a women’s club.
You know how I effervesce when I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study
But how would I react, I wonder
If You pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day
Month after month
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew
Phil. 2:3-4 says, “Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.”
-Did you notice Paul used the word NOTHING. Nothing means Nothing. Zilch, Nada, Zero. As a Christian, do NOTHING out of selfish ambition.
-People who are not acting out of selfish ambition care about good being done, not about themselves getting the credit for doing it.
2-3a (Read aloud)
This is a fascinating passage when we stop to consider who was doing the giving.
-These weren’t wealthy Christians with plenty to spare.
-These were people working hard labor and minimum wage jobs to get by. They barely had what they needed, and certainly nothing extra.
-It was realistically one group in poverty giving to another group in poverty.
-The givers needed it as badly as the receivers, but even so, they gave Generously
As Christians, our giving is to be done anonymously, but the fact that people don’t know who’s giving what doesn’t mean we aren’t expected to give with generosity.
Mark 12:41-45 is maybe the most familiar passage to us about giving.
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on.”
-The message of this passage is pretty unmistakable.
-I wish I could read it and say “The problem with the rich is that they were putting in too much…Jesus preferred the penny over the bags of gold. As long as I throw in my $5, I’ve done even more than I have to.”
-This is not one of my favorite stories. The reason is that it’s so easy to understand, and the message is inescapable: I need to stop being so selfish. I need to stop being so generous towards myself and start being more generous towards God and other people.
-Christians are to give generously
3-7 (Read aloud)
The Macedonians gave anonymously and generously, but they also gave voluntarily.
-I know it says it, but I have the hardest time imagining people in poverty begging to give to others. People with plenty have a hard enough time motivating themselves to give, much less people with nothing to give.
-It is important for our well being that we make an effort to give to others without being coaxed or begged to do so.
ILLUS: I have a friend in Nashville who had two very different sets of grandparents. On his father’s side, his grandfather had worked in factories, and had spent all his life saving money vigorously. They seldom traveled, though they bought a nice farm and a large house in another state. They stayed cold in the winters and hot in the summers, trying to save money on energy bills. They were kind to their children and grandchildren when they made the trip to visit the grandparents, but gave them very little, and gave little to anyone else. They had numerous enemies, and few friends. One would get the impression that they were poor, when in fact, they were millionaires.
On the mother’s side, the grandparents were quite different. They were not wasteful or extravagant with their money. They saved for retirement, but retired to a smaller house, closer to their family. Their money was tighter, but it didn’t stop them from being generous. They often traveled to other states to watch the grandkids play ball. They gave money regularly to church, and the grandfather was an elder there. When the grandmother’s sister died, she received a large sum of money from her sister. She kept some for security, and then did something nice for each of her grandkids, saying, "I’d much rather be able to see my family enjoy it, then hang on to it until I die." Nearly every week, they would try to cook big meals and invite the whole family.
When the wealthier grandparents died, they were alone, paranoid, and depressed, rotting away in a nursing home. There was some sadness, but few tears shed. There was a large sum of money inherited by the children, though it didn’t mean much. Most of what was left was regret that the family hadn’t been closer.
When the more generous grandparents died, they didn’t leave much behind, but no one cared about the money. They were deeply missed, many tears were shed, and the memories were cherished. The only regret was that the grandparents wouldn’t be around to make more great memories.
-As Christians, we want to be good stewards of what we have. However, a good steward is not defined as “a person who hordes every cent.”
-Giving voluntarily makes the quality of life so much better. We aren’t going to take money with us anyways.
-There is good reason why the word “miser” looks so much like the word "Misery".
9:6-8
God loves a cheerful giver.
-I always wrestled with this passage. “I’ll give if I’m supposed to, but I can’t make myself be happy about it!” How can I be a cheerful giver?
2 suggestions
1. Get involved in how your donations are being used.
ILLUS: after Senior year of high school I went to Honduras with a group of 70 teenagers from 4 states.. While there, we worked with three different churches. We worked with a medical center. We build 14 houses for poor families. It was a fantastic experience. All the kids went home excited about mission work. We were thinking about what we could do to keep helping. One man who went was talking with a local preacher who was only making $300 per year as a preacher. The man said, “My family and I decided that we were going to stop drinking cokes and stick to water, and with the money we save, we are going to double his income and personally give him $300 more per year.” Another youth group decided that since the parts to build a one room house cost $700, then they would work together as a youth group to build a house for someone. The teenagers, with no contribution from any adults, through part time jobs and fundraisers got over $700 together to build a house for someone the next year in Honduras.
-If you are not as enthusiastic as you think you should be about giving, get involved in some of the ways the money is being spent.
-Go next year on the Mexico mission trip, host a youth event at your house or help organize one, come visit me or the elders, and talk to us about ideas and dreams you have for where our church can go.
-It is much easier to give of your money and your time to something that you understand and believe in.
2. Find a way to give that makes you happy
As I was studying for this sermon, I serendipitously found a passage in the Old Testament that astounded me.
(turn to) Deut. 14:22
Remember, in the Old Testament, God commanded people to tithe. This section is dealing with tithing.
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then…
Pause right there! What would you expect God to say?
-Everyone always said that in the Old Testament, God is always angry and smiting people and commanding people around.
-You have been blessed, you’ve saved up your 10%, but the temple is too far away to get the donation there on time. What would you have expected God to tell them to do?
“Save up the extra money it costs to make the trip, make the trip without spending one penny of the tithe, and then after you have given your tithe, sacrifice two extra goats for your tardiness for the Lord is most displeased with you.”
Or “You must give 20% instead of 10%, and spend one month as unclean because you didn’t get your tithe to the temple in a timely fashion.”
Look at this!
24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.
-Boy, I wasn’t expecting that!
-God didn’t make them save every penny and get interest or take a vow, or deny themselves anything!
-God told them to use the money to go where he designated, and have a big feast to reflect on how much God had blessed them.
-God doesn’t sound stingy here, does he?
He didn’t command them to be happy about giving, he told them to give in an enjoyable way!
ILLUS: When I was 15, I was serious about playing the guitar. I had my dad’s old one, but I wanted to get a better one. I had my eye on a yellow Gibson Explorer. I mowed grass all summer and saved and saved, and calculated that I only needed $30.11 to have enough to get that guitar. My dad had a best friend at work named Ben. Ben was a big black man with a shaved head, and was intimidating looking if you didn’t know him. But Ben had a golden heart, and made a habit of doing nice things for people. He often came to my ball games. When he found out that I had been saving for that guitar, and how much I lacked. He called me and said, “Hey Mark, I here you’re saving for a new guitar, and I wanted you to know that I’ve got about $30.11 worth of yard work that needs to get done at my house, and I was wondering if you’d be interested.” I still have that guitar today, and play it often.
-It is important to give money at church, but don’t limit your giving to just what you put in the tray.
-Giving encourages others, it inspires others, and it sets a good example for younger people.
We’ve talked today about the way in which Christians are to give, but have you ever stopped to think why it is that we give?
I can give you direct commands from the Bible.
I can show you approved examples in the Bible of people giving, and setting money aside on the first day of the week.
I can coerce you, and beat you on the head with scriptures, but there is a much better reason Why we should give.
John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only son that whosoever believes in him not perish, but will have eternal life.”
-For God so loved the world that he GAVE
-Do you realize that THE MOST YOU WILL EVER BE LIKE GOD IS WHEN YOU ARE GIVING
-What makes God so great is the fact that he gives so much
-When I am giving generously and lovingly and joyfully, that is the closest I’m ever going to come to being like God.
