HOW PAUL MOTIVATED CHURCHES TO GIVE
1. He thanked them when they did give.
(Phil 1:3 NIV) I thank my God every time I remember you.
(Phil 1:4 NIV) In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
(Phil 1:5 NIV) because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
(Phil 1:6 NIV) being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(Phil 1:7 NIV) It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.
(Phil 4:10 NIV) I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
(Phil 4:11 NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
(Phil 4:12 NIV) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
(Phil 4:13 NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Phil 4:14 NIV) Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
(Phil 4:15 NIV) Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
(Phil 4:16 NIV) for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
(Phil 4:17 NIV) Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
(Phil 4:18 NIV) I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
2. He cited their past records in other areas of Christian living and service.
(2 Cor 8:7 NIV) But just as you excel in everything??in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us ??see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
(2 Cor 8:8 NIV) I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
3. He boasted of the giving of one church to encourage another church to give.
(Rom 15:24 NIV) I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
(Rom 15:25 NIV) Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the
saints there.
(Rom 15:26 NIV) For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution
for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
(Rom 15:27 NIV) They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
(Rom 15:28 NIV) So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
(Rom 15:29 NIV) I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
(Rom 15:30 NIV) I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love
of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
(Rom 15:31 NIV) Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,
(Rom 15:32 NIV) so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
(Rom 15:33 NIV) The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
(1 Cor 16:1 NIV) Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.
(1 Cor 16:2 NIV) On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
(1 Cor 16:3 NIV) Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
(1 Cor 16:4 NIV) If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.
(1 Cor 16:5 NIV) After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you??for I will be going through Macedonia.
(2 Cor 8:1 NIV) And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
(2 Cor 8:2 NIV) Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
(2 Cor 8:3 NIV) For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
(2 Cor 8:4 NIV) they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
(2 Cor 8:5 NIV) And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
(2 Cor 8:6 NIV) So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.
4. After boasting of the giving of one church to encourage a second church to give, he challenged the first church to live up to his boasting.
(2 Cor 8:10 NIV) And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.
(2 Cor 8:11 NIV) Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.
(2 Cor 8:12 NIV) For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
(2 Cor 8:13 NIV) Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
(2 Cor 8:14 NIV) At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality,
(2 Cor 8:15 NIV) as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."
(2 Cor 8:16 NIV) I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.
(2 Cor 8:17 NIV) For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to
you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.
(2 Cor 8:18 NIV) And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.
(2 Cor 8:19 NIV) What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as
we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.
(2 Cor 8:20 NIV) We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.
(2 Cor 8:21 NIV) For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
(2 Cor 8:22 NIV) In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often
proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
(2 Cor 8:23 NIV) As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
(2 Cor 8:24 NIV) Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
(2 Cor 9:1 NIV) There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints.
(2 Cor 9:2 NIV) For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.
(2 Cor 9:3 NIV) But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
(2 Cor 9:4 NIV) For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we??not to say anything about you??would be ashamed of having been so confident.
(2 Cor 9:5 NIV) So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
5. He emphasized Jesus= teaching that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
(Acts 20:35 NIV) In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
6. He gave God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, as the supreme examples of giving.
(2 Cor 8:9 NIV) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
(2 Cor 9:15 NIV) Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
7. He pointed out generally that giving Apays off.@
(2 Cor 9:5 NIV) So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
(2 Cor 9:6 NIV) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
(2 Cor 9:7 NIV) 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 Cor 9:8 NIV) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
(2 Cor 9:9 NIV) As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
(2 Cor 9:10 NIV) Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
(2 Cor 9:11 NIV) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
(2 Cor 9:12 NIV) This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
(2 Cor 9:13 NIV) Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
(2 Cor 9:14 NIV) And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
(Gal 6:6 NIV) Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
(Gal 6:7 NIV) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
(Gal 6:8 NIV) The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
(Gal 6:9 NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(Gal 6:10 NIV) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
(Phil 4:19 NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ Jesus.
8. He taught them specifically how to look at giving in the light of the Second Coming of Christ, heaven and eternity.
(1 Tim 6:17 NIV) Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
(1 Tim 6:18 NIV) Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be
generous and willing to share.
(1 Tim 6:19 NIV) In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
(Luke 16:1 NIV) Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
(Luke 16:2 NIV) So he called him in and asked him, ’What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
(Luke 16:3 NIV) "The manager said to himself, ’What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg??
(Luke 16:4 NIV) I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
(Luke 16:5 NIV) "So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ’How much do you owe my master?’
(Luke 16:6 NIV) "’Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. "The manager told him, ’Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
(Luke 16:7 NIV) "Then he asked the second, ’And how much do you owe?’ "’A
thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. "He told him, ’Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
(Luke 16:8 NIV) "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had
acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with
their own kind than are the people of the light.
(Luke 16:9 NIV) I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
(Luke 16:10 NIV) "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
(Luke 16:11 NIV) So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
(Luke 16:12 NIV) And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
(Luke 16:13 NIV) "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and Money."
(Luke 16:14 NIV) The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were
sneering at Jesus.
9. He backed up what he said by his example.
(Acts 20:32 NIV) "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
(Acts 20:33 NIV) I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
(Acts 20:34 NIV) You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
(Acts 20:35 NIV) In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
(1 Cor 9:1 NIV) Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?
(1 Cor 9:2 NIV) Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
(1 Cor 9:3 NIV) This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.
(1 Cor 9:4 NIV) Don’t we have the right to food and drink?
(1 Cor 9:5 NIV) Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas ?
(1 Cor 9:6 NIV) Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
(1 Cor 9:7 NIV) Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?
(1 Cor 9:8 NIV) Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
(1 Cor 9:9 NIV) For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
(1 Cor 9:10 NIV) Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
(1 Cor 9:11 NIV) If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
(1 Cor 9:12 NIV) If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
(1 Cor 9:13 NIV) Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?
(1 Cor 9:14 NIV) In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach
the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
(1 Cor 9:15 NIV) But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.
(1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
(1 Cor 9:17 NIV) If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
(1 Cor 9:18 NIV) What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
(1 Cor 9:19 NIV) Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
(1 Cor 9:20 NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
(1 Cor 9:21 NIV) To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
(1 Cor 9:22 NIV) To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
(1 Cor 9:23 NIV) I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
(1 Th 2:9 NIV) Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
