Additional Verses 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Date Written: August 10, 2006
Date Preached: August 13, 2006
Where Preached: OZHBC (AM Service)
Series Title: The Grace of God
Sermon Title: The Grace of Giving
Sermon Text: 2 Cor 8:1-7; 9:6-8
Introduction:
The Grace of Giving In Scripture Jesus revealed that our Giving Is Ruled by Where our Heart is…
There was once this one church member who was a very rich but he had never been known for his generosity. His church was beginning a very large financial program to build a new sanctuary and so the committee resolved to pay this man a visit.
When they met with him, they explained that in view of his considerable wealth that they were sure that he would desire and love to make a substantial contribution to the new church building.
The man sat patiently as they spoke and when they have completed their presentation to him he said to them, "Well I can see that you believe that you have it all figured out!
But I want to ask you a question; in the course of your investigation did you discover that I have a widowed mother who has no other means of support but me?"
The committee was stunned, they said, “No, we did not know that!” The man continued, "Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband with five children and no means to provide for them?"
Once again they were shocked and said that they had no idea of the difficulties that this man was facing.
The man continued and said, "Well, did you also know that I have a brother who was crippled by an automobile accident and can never work another day to support his wife and family?"
The committee was now officially embarrassed as they confessed that they did not know that either.
The man then said, "If I won’t give them anything, why should I give anything to you?"
For some reason, people are very touchy when it comes to the subject of giving… you just let the preacher mention that he is going to preach on giving and all throughout the church the people begin to think or say things like:
“I cannot believe how obsessed this preacher is about money!”
“The only reason this preacher wants me here is to get my money!”
“How arrogant of this preacher, this is MY money, I worked for it and I earned it, he cannot tell me where to spend it!”
“I don’t like what this pastor is doing, so I am NOT going to give an offering or tithe!”
“I give $20/week and that should be enough, the church has enough money anyway!”
“I cannot afford to give to the church, have you seen the gas prices lately?”
All these negative attitudes rear their ugly little heads when the preacher just mentions the word giving in a sermon!
This morning I want to share with you that giving is not just tied to MONEY… but giving in the Christian context encompasses a wide variety of areas that many of us DO NOT consider!
Let’s go to our passage this morning…
2 Cor 8:1-7 (NASB)
1 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality
3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God
6 So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
7 But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
2 Cor 9:6-8 (NASB)
6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully
7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;
INTRODUCTION:
Let me give you some background information on this passage. Paul shared with the Corinthian church about the plight of the Jerusalem believers and how they had been persecuted for the sake of Christ and were so poor that many were going without food, shelter or needed medical treatments.
Paul took this need to the churches on his missionary journeys and challenged them to help out the believers in Jerusalem. Paul shares here with the Corinthian church that the churches in Macedonia had been willing to give… beyond ANYTHING he ever could have imagined them giving.
So this morning when we look at the context of this passage we can see and know that Paul is speaking about giving, and specifically Paul is speaking about the giving of money.
But the wonderful thing about God’s word is that it is timeless and it is relevant to ALL situations and circumstances of life… and it is not shallow, but it is deep in the revelations of God.
So this morning I am going to go through our passage verse by verse and we are going to see just what God has to say… so stay focused and take in the teachings of God today!
Now, in this passage we can see that the giving of money was important, but the giving of money was NOT the sole act of giving that is mentioned. In fact, when we read this passage, it actually implicates the true “spirit of giving.”
We find that this passage goes far beyond the mere giving of money. This ‘spirit of giving’ expressed by the churches in Macedonia reveals many attributes of a true and faithful believer who is walking upright with God!
I want you to write that down… A Spirit of Giving…
Now when you begin to look at this passage we and see that the giving of these believers was truly a WONDERFUL thing! But Paul emphasizes something here that many may overlook.
Paul shares in v.1 that it was NOT the believers who were willing or able to give, but it was the Grace of God being manifest through these believers in Macedonia… they could not have done this outside of the grace of God.
And that ‘giving spirit’ should be a major attribute in the life of ALL believers. This ‘giving spirit’ spoken of by Paul is fueled by the Grace of God in the life of a believer!
And this ‘giving spirit’ reveals first and foremost that the believer is willing to live as Christ has called him or her to live…
So write it down… The true Spirit of Giving comes only through the grace of God!
Do you remember what Jesus said about being His disciple? Turn with me to Mark 8:34 and read along with me,
“…And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me…”
Back to our passage this morning, in v.2 we read [read verse again] that this giving spirit reveals yet another aspect of the true believer…
2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality
It reveals to us that these believers did not take into account their own situation, but saw the need and simply gave to meet that need. Their focus was on God and God’s work and NOT on themselves.
So often today, we get caught up in our problems and self pity we fail to see an opportunity to minister to others. We have self-centered attitudes about money and that causes us to lose sight of what God demands of our life!
We have to realize that for those of us who claim Christ as Savior…our focus has to be on God’s Kingdom and it cannot be on our own personal desires!
So write it down… Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving deny themselves and seek out God’s Will.
Moving onto v.3…
3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
This spirit of giving that was flowing through the churches in Macedonia was one of excitement and a great desire to be a part of God’s plan and the advancement of God’s kingdom.
This spirit of giving manifested in the believers in Macedonia was revealed in their faith in God being put into action. God’s promise to His children is that He will care for us…that He would never leave or forsake us… and the believers in Macedonia trusted God, had faith He would keep His promise and their put their faith into action…
In the church today, unfortunately many of us only live a life of faith… when we can see what God is doing or what God is going to do… but people that is NOT faith!
The Bible tells us… “…Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…”
Heb 11:1 (NASB)
Are we ready to step out on faith and act… even when we do NOT see what God is doing? I want you to write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving are willing to put their faith into action.
Let’s move onto v.4…
4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
This verse is really an extension or completion of v.3 as we can see that the churches in Macedonia revealed an earnestness in their desire to serve… they revealed an earnestness in their FAITH in God and their desire to love others as God had loved them…
How often do our actions match our words as Christians? We say that we love someone, but do we TRULY love someone. How often do we see someone in need and say, “God help them” but we miss out on a great blessing because we do not use the resources God has blessed us with to help them…
Have you ever stopped to consider that they came across your path NOT just for you to pray for them BUT for you to also HELP them in their need?
Understand that in this verse we can see TRUE love being revealed and shown by one group of believers toward another. We are called by Jesus in John 13:34 to love one another so that the world will KNOW who we are… by our love for one another!
Do you love like that today? Does the world see Christ in your love for the saints? Write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving will love other believers and put that love into action.
Now in v.5 we can see another characteristic of the true believer…
5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God
Again we can see how this is another extension from the verses above it as we find that the believers in Macedonia were a great witness for Christ in their actions… both to believers and to the world around them…
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount He said, “…14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket , but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven…” Matt 5:14-16 (NASB)
The Macedonian believers took that teaching to heart and they refused to let their light be snuffed out or hidden… they shined their light so the world could see and take notice of the Christ who lived within them.
So often we find ourselves NOT shining forth Christ, but trying to dim our light so that we are NOT noticed. Jesus said let your light shine before men so that GOD receives the glory! Don’t allow false pride to dim your light… be like the apostle Paul and glory in the Cross!
Write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving share Jesus Christ BOLDLY to the world around them through their actions…so that the world will see GOD!
Let’s move to 9:6 and see what it says…
6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully
The agenda of the Macedonian church was NOT to become known as the largest giving church in Asia Minor. They were not looking to lead their association in missions giving…
We can see that their agenda was God centered and God based! They did what they did because of God in their lives and not because of anything else.
I want us to realize that true giving to God is not about who gets the credit… but it is about obedience to God’s call on our lives and the Kingdom being advanced!
Write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving have no personal agenda other than obedience to God’s call on their lives.
Let’s look at v.7…
7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We can see in this verse that the true spirit of Giving reveals to the world by way of outward expression of what has already happened in the heart of the believer…
In other words, the way we give to God reveals OUR heart. If we give liberally to God, we have surrendered our entire heart to Him, but if we give in a miserly fashion it reveals that we are holding back parts of our heart from God.
For the believer to hold back any of his or heart leads to only one type of life… MISERABLE! The stingy Christian is the miserable Christian! Give as God gave… don’t hold back… I am so glad that He did not cut corners on His plan of salvation for me…
I am so glad that God provided ALL there was to provide for me to know Him and come into His saving grace! Are you sold out for God or are you holding back?
Write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving are totally sold out to God and that is revealed in the way they ‘give’ to God…
Finally this morning I want to look at v.8…
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;
In this verse we can see the Apostle Paul bring out an important aspect of our Christian walk and that is that when we give with the true spirit of giving… it reveals our faith in God and it reveals our trust in Him to meet our needs.
In other words, it reveals that we rely on God and not on ourselves. In our world today, self reliance is the idol of choice for most believers! We cannot live the Christian life and rely on OUR power to do things… if we do we are doomed to fail!
But God is able to take us and mold us and His grace is sufficient for ALL our needs! So write this down…
Those who practice the true Spirit of Giving will rely on God alone and not try to live on their own power…
Conclusion:
This morning you have heard about the Grace of God as it applies to the true spirit of Giving in the Christian life. But I want to bring out one more important point and that is that the grace of Giving began not with us but with God…
For we see the Bible shares with us in John 3:16 … For God so loved the world that He GAVE…
God gave out of His love for His creation…
God gave so that we could know His love…
God gave so that we could know His mercy…
God gave so that we could know His forgivness…
God gave so that we could know His salvation…
God gave so that we could know His presence in our lives…
God wrapped Himself in flesh and came to earth to live among His creation and then He gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind…
God gave His life so that you could know eternal life with Him, so this morning as Bro Jerry comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation I call on you to answer the call of God this morning. He is calling you to surrender to Him… give your heart to him this morning, come as Bro Jerry leads us…
