2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Where Giving Begins
Woodlawn Baptist Church
January 8, 2006
Introduction
Today we are going to begin a three part series of messages about giving as it is taught by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8-9. January is a wonderful time of year as it brings in a new year with new possibilities, new hopes and expectations and renewed commitments. Like many areas of our lives, we make commitments to ourselves and to God to do a thing like lose weight or pray more, but then as time goes on we lose momentum. This month as we renew our commitments to the Lord in the area of missions giving and to giving in general, I want you to pray with me that we would be a people who are willing to be sensitive to God’s leadership and how He might be directing us.
If you are a guest with us today, I want to invite you to spend some time with us and prayerfully consider joining with us as we labor for the Lord to reach our world for Christ. If this is your first time with us I do not want you to go away with the idea that all we talk about is money. Of necessity we do and will talk about money, and I have tried to make it a practice to spend every January dealing with this particular subject, but ultimately I know that anyone’s financial support of this ministry is a matter to settle with the Lord in accordance with His Word.
If you have your Bibles with you today I would like for you to turn to 2 Corinthians 8:1-7. This is not the first time Paul has addressed the matter of money to this congregation. In his first letter to them he addressed their need to be faithful to support the work of the ministry. He told them that they needed to be receiving offerings on the first day of every week. Everyone was to participate by setting aside a portion of their income before they assembled together, so that when they did assemble together they would be prepared to receive regular, sufficient offerings to carry on the work.
I also want to point out that the passage we’re going to deal with doesn’t have anything to do with tithes. If you are unfamiliar with the term, a tithe is an offering that is equal to 10% of your income. As a child of God and particularly as a church member, it is your privilege and responsibility to give a tithe of your income to the Lord as an act of faith and worship. That’s the beginning place. If you are not currently giving a tithe, then that is where you need to begin. Having said that, our passage today addresses special offerings over and above your tithe, given as God leads you to carry out His work.
That’s what Faith Promise Giving really is. It is you giving some amount of your income in addition to your tithe to support the mission work being carried out by your church body. It might be an additional percent or two, or it might be more than that. You might give $1 each week in addition to your tithe, or you might give $20 a week. It is between you and God.
Now, for many people, regardless of whether we’re talking about the tithe or this increased giving for missions, giving is a difficult matter. But today I don’t just want to talk to you about giving. I want to talk to you about giving sacrificially. The difference between giving and sacrificial giving is that when you are giving sacrificially you really feel it. Paul makes an appeal to this church to give sacrificially and generously, and uses the Macedonian churches as an example. Today I want to share with you five lessons from what Paul was trying to teach the Corinthian believers and make an appeal to you to trust God and give sacrificially and generously, not only for the support of this church and its ministries, but also for the sake of every missionary and mission church we support through Faith Promise.
Give! Even When It’s Difficult
“Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”
The three Macedonian churches we know about are the churches at Thessalonica, Berea, and at Philippi. In all three of these places the believers faced severe persecution. As they turned their lives over to Christ and began to experience biblical life change they realized what it meant to suffer in the name of Christ. Jesus said that we ought not be surprised if the world hates us. It hated Him too.
Imagine what it would be like to try to build a church in a community of Muslims where the message would be unwelcome, the break from tradition would be seen as heretical and blasphemous, and the call to repent and trust Christ would be received with outright hatred. That’s what the churches of Macedonia faced. They were not well received, and as a result they began to suffer persecution. The persecution led to being ostracized from their very own communities. Christians could not work, could not buy or sell or trade for goods. They were not allowed to participate economically, socially or politically, and as a result they found themselves in deep poverty. In fact, the word poverty in verse 2 means that they were beggarly poor.
These were people who had nothing, and yet Paul said that they gave. They didn’t just give, but they gave generously. I frequently hear people say they cannot give. They talk about being broke or being poor, but I want to tell you that those are just excuses. I know your circumstances can be very dire and you might not be able to see how your next bill is going to get paid, but you can still give to the Lord and His work.
Remember the story about the widow?
“Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want (her lack, her poverty) did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”
What’s the point? Give! Don’t just give when your circumstances are good; give even in the most difficult times of your life! If you can’t give then I want to tell you your god is too small! Why? Because you have allowed your human understanding to become your god. Give even when it is difficult.
Sacrifice! The Results Are Liberating
Here is one of the most paradoxical teachings in all the Bible. It is by letting go that we receive. It is by giving up that we get. It is by sacrificial giving that we are set free from the effects of being stingy. When the churches of Macedonia were under severe persecution and they gave in spite of their poverty, Paul said that abundance abounded. You see, their joy increased. In fact, the word abundance means superabundance: overflowing and pouring out. They didn’t begin to grumble and fight and have disagreements about money – they found great joy in meeting the needs of others. If you complain about ministry being expensive you ought to consider what a blessing it is to have those expenses to pay. I’ve preaching in some dead churches where there are no expenses, and I hope to God ours never becomes one of them!
Not only was their joy increased, but their abundance abounded unto “the riches of their liberality.” Now don’t confuse what Paul said. He did not say that their abundance abounded unto riches. He said that it resulted in the “riches of their liberality: simplicity, freedom.” They were set free!
How many people do you know who are bound to their stuff? Are you? How can God bless a people who are building more barns when there is a world around us in great need? Can God be glorified in this? But when we are plunged in the midst of adversity and want and we give in spite of our circumstances God has a way of growing something beautiful out of it.
Sacrificial giving does not depend on wealth – it is a matter of the will when we place our faith in the God who owns it all! If and when we begin to understand that God would have us to live on less so that His Word might be preached around the globe, the joys we might experience! If you want to experience great joy and know the freedom that can only be found in Christ, then let go! Let go until you begin to feel it, until it hurts, until you think there’s not enough to be giving the way you’re giving. Give that way and the song, “nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling” will take on a new meaning! Let go until there’s nothing else to cling to except Christ and see how God will bless!
Jump In! Don’t Wait For An Invitation
2 Corinthians 8:3 says,
“For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves.”
The phrase “willing of themselves,” means that they gave this offering of their own accord. In fact, the first part of verse 4 says, “praying with much entreaty that we would receive the gift.” They were begging Paul and his companions to take money from them. They were so dirt poor and in such dire circumstances that the missionaries did not want to take their money, but the Macedonian believers insisted!
Paul testified in verse 3 that they gave to their power and beyond their power. In other words, they didn’t just give what they were able to give; they gave more than they were able. It is difficult today to get the average Christian to give even what they are able to give. But it is in trying to do what we cannot do that we best do what we can do. You see, we have become accustomed to giving out of our abundance rather than our of our deep poverty, and we have allowed our comfort levels to dictate our obedience to Christ rather than hearts of love and concern for the lost.
Christian liberality does not wait to be urged! It seizes eagerly on the opportunity to give. This was true of the Macedonian believers and should be true of us today. God is not honored when someone has to twist and pull and beg and plead for a dollar given to missions, but when it is given from willing hearts…now that is a different thing. Don’t wait for an invitation to give to missions. It is your opportunity to join God where He is already working.
Join In! You’re A Part Of Something Big
The last part of verse 4 says, “and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” Two words I want you to notice here. The word “fellowship” is the word for communion, or partnership. The word ministering is the word for aid, or relief. Let me give you the Higgins paraphrase of verse 4,
“They pleaded with us that we would receive their offering and allow them to partner with us in sending aid to the saints.”
One of the greatest truths in all the Bible is that each of us is given the opportunity to be “laborers together with God.” Each of us has the privilege and the opportunity to partner with God in His plan to give the gospel to the world. All of us cannot go into all the world and preach the gospel, nor would we if we could. All of us cannot give hope to all the sick and afflicted and hurting. We cannot all meet all the needs of our world, but we can have a part in all these activities by giving to other men who are already reaching parts of the world for Christ. As we give, the grace of God flows through the lives of thousands of people all over the world.
That’s what Faith Promise Missions is all about. It’s not about having big budgets or padding someone’s pockets. It’s about you and me working together to do more than we could ever do on our own. God called us to reach Denison – but He called us to do more than that. We are to reach our world for Christ, and there are fields that have never been worked, men who have never been supported, missions that have dreamed big dreams, and it is our privilege to see beyond ourselves to help meet those needs: the needs of others. We’re a part of something big! Let’s make our giving match up to our purpose.
Surrender! It’s Where It All Begins
Let’s read verse 5. Paul said,
“And this they did, not as we hoped (or expected), but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible bears this simple message out: it is in recognizing that if I belong to Christ then everything I have belongs to Him. God does not desire your offerings, nor does He necessarily need them. His work will continue whether you choose to participate or not. What God really wants is all your heart, soul and mind. He wants you! Your offering is simply a reflection of how much of yourself you have given Him. Let me say it another way. If you are stingy in your giving, it is evidence you have been stingy in giving yourself to God. Those who are liberal in their giving as compared to their income are also liberal in offering themselves to God.
“The Macedonians made this offering an occasion for the dedication of themselves. They felt that their offering would not be an offering to God unless it came from dedicated lives. Therefore, “First they gave themselves to the Lord,” [Sacrificial giving] begins with surrender to Christ. That is the source of giving.
I told you at the outset of my message that my appeal to you today is to trust God and give sacrificially and generously for the support of your church and its ministries and also for the sake of every missionary and mission church we support through Faith Promise, and perhaps today the Holy Spirit has spoken to your heart about doing just that, but before you do, have you given yourself to God?
There are some of you here today who have never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. More than anything else God wants a relationship with you through His Son Jesus Christ. That’s why He sent Him to live and die for you. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, it is not money that He wants from you. It is not even a good, clean life that He wants. What He wants is for you to come to the recognition that you need Him more than anything else on earth. He wants you to turn away from trusting yourself or your good works. He wants you to stop trying to deny His existence and turn to Him in faith, believing that His death on Calvary was for you.
Today you can give yourself to God by repenting of your sin and asking Him to save you. “Save me from what?” you might ask. He wants to save you from hell, the place of eternal punishment for those who reject His sacrifice for your sins. He wants to save you from sin, from death, and from a wasted life. God has created you for a wonderful purpose, has promised you abundance that you can’t even begin to dream about and meaning to life that you’ve never imagined. Don’t worry that you know Christians who don’t seem to have it all figured out – we’re all on the journey together. None of us have arrived, and it’s not the destination that is so exciting as the journey getting there. Put your faith in Christ today.
Now, let’s read verses 6-7,
“Insomuch that we desire Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”
Verse 6 simply says that Paul was sending Titus back to Corinth to help the church. The Corinthian believers were very proud of who they were. They talked about the great faith they had. They were proud of having been blessed with so many of the spiritual gifts. They thought themselves to be a great church.
To this self-proclaimed great church, Paul wrote, “see that ye about in this grace also.” In other words, “If you’re such a great church, then put your money where your mouth is.” Paul always wrote about a show-me kind of faith. “You say you have faith; show me.” Some of you today say you believe in missions; support it. You love missionaries? Then help support them.
We’ve all heard the song, “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.” Then let me challenge you here: “If you’ve really given your life to God then your checkbook will surely show it.” If you’ve not really given your life to God, let it begin there today.
I want to ask each of you to take one of the Faith Promise Commitment cards that has been provided for you, but I don’t want you to fill it out until you have spent some time this week in prayer, and your prayer needs to begin with this matter of offering yourself to God. You are not ready to put a dollar amount on the line until you have come to terms with whether or not you have laid your life at the altar as a living sacrifice to God. You settle that matter first and then you can seek God’s direction about a dollar amount to give.
