Celebration of Disciplines | Gratitude That Leads to Generosity
Celebration of Disciplines: Part IV
Gratitude that leads to Generosity
2 Corinthians 8:1-12 (ESV)
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—
5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter, I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.
12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
2 Corinthians 9:1-2 (ESV)
1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,
2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.
2 Corinthians 9:11-13 (ESV)
11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.
I thank God even in this time of Pandemic, the Lord graciously provided for us and protected our church. BCI, steadfastness through God’s grace allowed us to continue our ministry. God has blessed BCI and used our church despite the disruption in our church ministry life. At the same time, our church continually is a channel of God’s blessings in our community and in other parts of the world by His grace. We will not stop, we will not quit, and we will continue the work on what Jesus Christ entrusted to BCI, because I know deep in my heart that God has a great plan and future for this church. Amen!
Here is why we exist. Who remembers BCI’s mission statement “To Lead People in a Life of Commitment and Productivity in Jesus Christ”? That's the reason for this building. That is the reason we broadcast our activities and have events as a church in our community. And that's the reason for the Love Offering—and with no other reason than to give God the glory, to serve our great God, and to tell others about what a wonderful Savior we have and serve.
This morning, I would like to talk to you about God’s plan for our giving. Our foundation on the subject of money must be biblical. Before we dive into our main study. Let me start with these statements of principles.
· Money is a good measurement of our spirituality. It is because the way we handle and view our money is an indication of our Christian stewardship of life.
· Money is neither good nor bad in itself. Corrupt people can use it for evil purposes, while good people can put it on righteous causes, usefulness, and purposes.
· Money is morally neutral, but what we do with money reflects our internal morality. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34).
· The Bible also does not forbid us in possessing money. But it does forbid us to love it. Here is the warning, “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:10).
Paul urged Timothy to “instruct those who are rich (Ephesus is a wealthy city) not to be arrogant or put their hope on their wealth” (v. 17) of 1 Timothy 6. Paul is saying, don’t be proud, and don’t trust in your money but use it for good and be generous. If you have affection over it, there is a tendency that you will pursue it more than anything else, including God.
Money is a gift from God. He likes us to prosper, not just for our own consumption but to bless others as He blessed us.
Like the Parable of the Rich Man in Luke 12:20, the Bible also gives guidelines on how we use our treasures/money. It is to be used to provide for the needs of our family (1 Tim. 5:8), pay debts (Rom. 13:8), and save for the future (Prov. 21:20; 30:25). And the most important part is believers should be ready to give for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. This willingness to give is very important to know. Why?
It is because some Christians view giving as another obligation. Here is the truth: There is a great opportunity and privilege in giving. How come? I believe giving is the pipeline that brings God's promised blessings to His people.
In Luke 6:38, Jesus promised, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you”
Let me give additional verses in the Bible about God’s promises on giving. “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).
Acts 20:35 is significant because this is the only direct quote from Jesus' earthly ministry recorded outside the four Gospels that addresses the issue of giving:
“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35).
The point is this. No matter how many verses I read to you about God’s promises, it is really a question of faith. It’s a question of trust. It’s a question of belief. You either believe it, or you don’t. If you do, you give because giving is more blessed and giving causes God to give back in greater abundance.
Generous giving to God results in greater giving from God. The promises associated with giving should excite believers to be sacrificially generous givers.
Sadly, the powerful lure of the world's advertising, self-indulgence, and lack of faith all hinder believers from experiencing the full blessings of giving.
But now—there is a greater reason for giving than to meet a need. I believe in giving to meet the needs, but there is also a greater reason for giving, and that is the grace of God.
As we come to 2 Corinthians chapter 8, we are introduced to some believers who lived and understood the promises of God. They know they were secured for their future that they could give generously in the present. They were the Macedonians, the churches of Macedonia. These churches will provide for us an excellent model for Christian giving.
The two chapters before us, chapter 8 and chapter 9, will lay out the pattern for giving. These will tell us many principles related to giving, and we are going to learn many of those principles this morning.
The beginning of these two chapters looks at this model group of Christians in Macedonia and how they gave and set the example for Christian giving. Now let me give you just a brief background. Paul is urging the Corinthians to give for the need of the church in Jerusalem. And what was the need?
The church in Jerusalem has thousands of people in it. The first church, obviously, was born on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2). However, just like any other churches today, there were very poor and destitute members. The early church was also made up of pilgrims who had come to visit Jerusalem for religious events. Many of these pilgrims heard the gospel; they have been saved, and probably many never went home. During famine, many of these people have no jobs or no livelihoods, and no homes (or would lose their homes). So, the church people in Jerusalem had to take care of them.
On the other hand, the church at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea—those three cities where the churches in Macedonia were located—turned out to be the excellent models of Christian giving. They gave and supported the church in Jerusalem. These Macedonian churches learned that any earthly possession could be turned into an eternal wealth because whatever is given to the Lord’s work becomes eternally significant.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV) said,
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
Right now: How is our attitude and view as far as giving to the Lord?
Here are the three principles of giving with gratitude that leads to generosity through God’s grace.
The first principle is how the local churches of Macedonia encouraged the Corinthian believers in their generous and sacrificial giving—and I know that this will encourage us as also.
1. THE MOTIVATED GIVING
What motivated them was the grace of God at work in their hearts in demonstrating and producing this kind of generosity.
A. Poverty is not an encumbrance in giving – The churches in Macedonia were generous even in their “extreme poverty” (v.2-3). Their affliction, challenges, and poverty were not hindrances to their generosity. They gave with joy in their heart.
Even though these churches in Macedonia went through some tough challenges and afflictions. Their giving is prompted beyond anything we can imagine.
B. Pressure is not an encouragement in giving – Some people think Christian are being forced or manipulated to give. But in Macedonian churches, it is the other way around. They were begging the apostles to accept their generous and sacrificial offering – (v.4) Despite of their generosity they were pleading for the church leaders to accept their gift to God’s ministry.
Let me tell you a story of the church of Chuck Swindoll in Texas. 3 years ago, my family and I visited a friend in Dallas, and we attended their service on a Sunday. One of the leaders in the church was reporting a fund raising project for the kids’ playground, and they needed $100,000.00 to build that playground near the church. The leader said they were able to reach and exceeded their target amount. And the leader said stop giving. It is more than enough.
C. Performance is not an excuse in giving – The Corinthian church (or churches) had been faithful in their ministry, but Paul encouraged them also to be faithful and generous in their giving – (v.7). Indeed, God's grace had produced those virtues in them, and Paul urged them to overflow through their giving.
D. Power is not enforced in giving – It is not a matter of legalism, because true generosity is motivated by love. (v.8). Giving must be voluntary. It is the fruit of love. But it is also a moral duty, and the unwillingness to give is a proof of the absence of the love of God within a person’s heart (1 John 3:17). Still, giving is one of those duties where the performance of which others cannot enforce as a right belonging to them. It must remain at their own discretion. A person who wants to give is a person who had experienced the love and mercy of God and had seen what Jesus Christ has done for him or her.
2. THE METHOD OF GIVING
How should we give, and why do we give?
A. Marked by Performance – (v.11) Don’t just promise to give, but act upon it.
11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.
I remember a story. There was this couple who owned two cows, they said one cow for the family and one cow for the Lord. One week later, one of the cows died. After knowing that the cow died, the farmer said, “Oh no! The Lord’s cow died.”
B. Measured by Providence – (v.12) How much should I give?
12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
God is not asking us to give what we don’t have, but what we have. This principle is summarized like this: “Not Equal gift but, equal sacrifice”. Giving is not a matter of what you have; it’s a function of the heart.
Do you remember the Samaritan widow mentioned in Luke 21:1-4 and Mark 12:41-44?
Mark 12:41-44 (ESV)
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
3. THE MANIFESTATION OF GIVING
A. Giving will encourage the Believers
2 Corinthians 9:1-2 (ESV)
“ Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,
for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.”
B. Giving will enrich the Giver
2 Corinthians 9:6 (ESV)
“ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”
Giving is like sowing seeds. Brothers and sisters, you will not out-give God. What farmer weeps when he puts his seed in the soil? If you sow bountifully, you're going to reap bountifully. This is the law of the harvest. It is the principle of multiplication. It's one of the greatest things that God ever did and established in the universe.
There is a double blessing. There's the blessing when you give; and then, there's the blessing to those who receive—a double blessing. The time your gift gets to the recipient, it's already second-handed. It has already been used. There is a blessing in it. You encourage the saints. You enrich the sower.
I'm telling you that God has a plan. God wants to bless us. God doesn't need anything. It’s because "The earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1).
C. Giving will exalt the Savior
2 Corinthians 9:11-13
“You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God which For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints but, is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all.
The greatest goal of any human endeavor is that God be glorified (1 Cor. 10:31). The blessings will come to the Corinthians' generosity, and it will bring glory and thanksgiving to God. In verse 12, it’s not just supplying the needs of the fellow believers, but through your generosity, it will bring honor and glory to God from the saints.
When the Jerusalem saints received the Corinthian believers' gift, they too would praise and exalt God for motivating the Corinthians to this generosity.
But when humans are ungrateful, God is deeply grieved and offended by those who do not honor Him or give thanks to Him.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
The Corinthian believers’ obedience proved the genuineness of their confession of the gospel of Christ. Their good works did not save them but gave evidence that they possessed a living faith, not a dead faith that is unable to save (James 2:14-26).
For those people who heard the quality of giving by the Corinthians' it will give thanks and glorify of God.
Friends, gratitude does not always come naturally. That’s why the Bible is continually telling and reminding all of us to be disciplined about giving thanks through generosity.
Martin Luther knew when he said, “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed into God’s hands, that I will always possess.”
Now let me ask you again. How is our attitude in giving to the Lord?
I hope and pray that the church in Macedonia & Corinthians will helped us change our perspective and attitude towards giving.
- Pastor Roldan Manlapig