Biblical Principles for Personal Giving

Transcript

GRM 1820
11/08/2015
Biblical Principles for Personal Giving
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Gil Rugh

We've been talking about the grace of God in our study in 2 Corinthians, so I direct your attention to 2 Corinthians 9. As we noted when we began our study that 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 use the word grace, translated in a variety of ways, but more often the Greek word for grace, charis, more often than any other chapters in the whole Bible. And he's talking about God's grace manifesting itself in the giving of our material possessions. Paul is heading up, if you will, a collection among the Gentile churches to help the poor Jewish believers in the church at Jerusalem. And this collection is not only to meet physical needs, but the Gentiles will be showing their appreciation and love for these Jewish believers and acknowledging the blessings they have received from the father of the Jews, Abraham, and the blessings promised to all nations in the Abrahamic covenant. And it's a way for them to express in a tangible manner their appreciation.

Paul has talked about this collection. He has moved through a variety of overviews and he has told them he is sending Titus and two unnamed believers with Titus to be sure the Corinthians are following through on what they committed to do a year or so ago. Because Paul will be coming down shortly, he is in northern Greece, in Macedonia, he'll be coming down to Corinth and he wants the collection to be already taken and done. The Corinthians should have been giving to this on a regular basis, week by week. Paul wants to be sure they have followed through on that.

As we talk about the whole area of material things, the Bible talks about these in a variety of passages. I just want to read from the Law, the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy, then we'll pick a portion from the gospels, then from the epistles to show that the overarching principles will remain the same. And we'll read from some of these passages and then the section before us, as we conclude 2 Corinthians 9 we will see that may relate to some of the passages we've looked at.

So come back to the Old Testament, to the book of Deuteronomy. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—the five books of the Law and the fifth being the book of Deuteronomy. We're going to chapter 6. This is the foundational point. As Israel is being organized as a nation, it began with the call of Abraham and the covenant God established with him. That's the beginning of the Jewish people. They come from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it's the line they must come through. And then while they go down into Egypt for 400 years of bondage, they grow into a mighty people. Then when they come out of Egypt in what we call the exodus, the Mosaic Law is given to them at Sinai. And that is the organizing of these people as a formal nation, if you will. They have a constitution now that will govern all areas of their life—civil, moral, religious. Even though the Jews didn't divide it that way, that's all included in the Law. And so this is part of that and God in this context instructs them. There will come a time when you go into the land I've promised you and you will be blessed greatly. And that will bring serious dangers to you. So just a reminder—material prosperity brings its own kind of danger.

So in Deuteronomy 6:10, “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Just as aside, we've talked about this on other occasions, we hear about being Abrahamic people in the Middle East, but the promises, the covenant with Abraham only pertained to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob. It is not enough to be a descendant of Abraham, you are not in the line of covenantal promise unless you are a descendant of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob. Paul makes that clear in Romans 9 when he divides between Jacob and Esau. So here he is talking about the descendants that God has called to Himself. “When He brings you into the land which He promised to your fathers to give you,” verse 10, “great and splendid cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things which you did not fill, hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards, olive trees which you did not plant. You eat, you are satisfied, then watch yourselves,” danger, “that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall fear only the Lord your God, you shall worship Him. You shall not follow other gods,” and so on. So you see God promises there will be prosperity, there will be blessings. Be careful that does not turn you aside from faithfulness to Me, devotion to Me, worshiping Me.

Come over to Deuteronomy 8, I've just limited these to these areas. Deuteronomy 8, pick up with verse 10. He is telling them about the prosperity they will enjoy when they come into what we know as the Promised Land. Then he says in verse 10, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware.” Here they have come in, now the pressure is off, they've come from slavery to prosperity. Talking about the good life, many good things to enjoy. Now “beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today. Otherwise when you have eaten and are satisfied, have built good houses and lived in them, your herds, your flocks,” your retirement accounts, your stocks, everything is doing well, “then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you from out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He led you through that wilderness.” Then down in verse 17, “Otherwise you may say in your heart my power, the strength of my hand made me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confer His covenant which He swore to the fathers as it is this day.” And if you ever do forget the Lord, you will perish, he concludes.

So the warnings of the danger of prosperity. As I've shared with you, studies have been done around the world and it seems as Christians flourish, the passion in their Christianity declines. It's hard to live a life focused on God and His truth in the midst of prosperity. There is just so much to enjoy, so many things to do. And we get caught up in God's blessings because He brought the blessings. He is going to bless Israel, He is going to bring them prosperity. The sad thing is God's blessings become a trap if we don't handle them biblically.

Come over to the New Testament, Matthew 6, this is in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, very familiar portion of Jesus' teaching in the gospels. Verse 19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy or where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is there your heart will be also.” A clear warning here again. We see God can bring prosperity, but I must never lose sight of the fact the treasure that is truly treasure to me is what I have in Christ. These material things will pass away, God has blessed me with things that I can enjoy and they must never become the focal point of my heart. And in prosperity that becomes a difficulty.

He warns in verse 24, “No one can serve two masters, you either hate the one and love the other, he'll be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” So in our prosperity we are warned. It hasn't changed in the 1500 years before Christ when God spoke to Moses, now Christ on earth is speaking and the same warning to God's people. Don't let physical, material things become the treasure of your hearts. They begin to control you, we begin to live in light of how much do I have? Will I have enough to have this kind of retirement? Am I secure in my future? I am perfectly secure because God has my future in His hands. That doesn't mean I shouldn't be wise and plan, Proverbs speaks to that and you look at the ant and how they prepare. I don't spend everything I have today without thinking I should save some for tomorrow to meet tomorrow's needs and so on. But I do have to be careful. Prosperity has a way of wrapping its tentacles around me, and the more I have the more I have to protect. And the more I have to protect, the more and the more. And even for us as believers we live in this environment, we are not to be conformed to it.

He goes on in verses 25-34 to tell them they don't have to be anxious about the future. “Don't be worried about your life, what you eat, what you'll drink, what you wear.” The birds of the air, God takes care of them; the lilies of the field, God clothes them. God can take care of you. And He concludes that at the end of verse 30 by saying, “You of little faith.” Shows how small our faith is, how weak our faith is that we have such concerns about these things. And we are bombarded in the world. The world is worried about the tomorrows. Jesus says don't worry about these things. What should we do? Verse 33, “Seek first His kingdom, His righteousness, all these things will be added to you. So don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

So in this whole discussion of material things we must keep things in perspective. We are blessed by God, He has caused us to be born in a country of prosperity, a country which we don't have to scrounge every day to just get enough to live. We are not in the midst of where war is going on continually, homes are destroyed and possessions are gone and we are just refugees trying to find a place of safety. There are believers in the world that can't conceive of how comfortable we are—be able to gather without fear, to open the Word of God. They are just things we begin to take for granted. In fact our prosperity is so great we can hardly fit time in to do it. Less time is better because I have so much going on. Prosperity has its trap and yet if you don't have much, that's all right, God will take care of you. We have the song, God Will Take Care of You. That's true, that's what Jesus is saying.

One more passage, 1 Timothy 6. We move along now, Paul is writing to Timothy who is at the church at Ephesus in what we know as Asia Minor. And in 1 Timothy 6:17, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world” to give it to their pastors. You may be using a different translation. “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God who richly supplies us all things to enjoy.” So he is not saying that possessions are wrong, that the riches are wrong. Where did they come from? He is the One who has supplied us with all these things to enjoy so I can thank Him and praise Him for His grace. Thank you, Lord, for bringing such blessings to my life, not only spiritual blessings but physical blessings. But there is a warning—I shouldn't fix my hope on that, it shouldn't cause me to be conceited. I am self-sufficient, I have made good business decisions, good investments. I'm a wise man, if others had been as smart as me they would have abundance, too. No, who gave me the power to make wealth, remember? Why was I born with a healthy body, why were you given that exceptional mind? “Every good gift, every perfect act of giving comes down from the Father above, the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow caused by turning,” James said.

Verse 18, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share.” He didn't say you have to give away everything so you are poor also, but you use your wealth wisely in the context of God's grace. And that being an instrument that you use to impact others. “Storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” Like Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of heaven, the righteousness that God provides. I allow Him to provide these things for me, I use the gifts He has given me.

So you come back to 2 Corinthians 9. Paul is going to encourage them in their giving. And you'll see some of these matters that we've talked about are really what Paul is talking about here. And there will be other passages that fit in. He picks up with verse 6. After having told them about the coming of Titus and the two men that will be with him and getting the offering ready and they'll help and encourage. Verse 6, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” And that's a principle throughout Scripture, comes from the agricultural background that people would recognize. If you don't put seed in the ground, you won't get any crop out of the ground; and if you only plant a little bit of seed, you only get a little bit of crop. Now we in Nebraska can see the fields of grain, the corn and so on. But if you only put a small amount of seed in, you don't get all that much. We have huge planters that go out and sow these vast amounts of seed so there will be a vast amount of crop, that's a very simple and practical point.

The background of it, come back to Psalm 11. You see what Paul is saying here is not new information. Now there is clarity that continues to come as we've moved along with God's revelation, but the foundational principles he is giving here were true back for his people in the Old Testament. Proverbs 11:24, “There is one who scatters and yet increases all the more; there is one who withholds what is justly due and he results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, he who waters will himself be watered; he who withholds grain, the people will curse; blessings will be on the head of him who sells it.” That principle of giving. Verse 28, “He who trusts in his riches will fall, the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.” Same principle.

Come back to 2 Corinthians 9. “He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully.” I recognize all I am and all I have are His, that's why we are called His slaves. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price. All that I have is His, He has blessed me. And not just for my selfish enjoyment, doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, He has given us all good things to enjoy, but not for my selfish enjoyment. But to be used for His purposes and His pleasure.

So we have to sow. Now the health and wealth preachers love this. Well, you have to sow seed to reap. But how do they use that? Paul is not using this to say you ought to give me that seed gift and then God will bless you. It's a selfish thing it's not the way the Scripture is talking about. So we have what they call seed giving and it always comes out if you plant a seed with me in my ministry, then God will bless you. God is telling them to sow their seed for the benefit of people on another continent. But it's according to His purposes and how God would use them. So be careful of the wrong use of Scripture. And just because I give generously doesn't mean or guarantee….so I'm poor, but I'm going to give a lot and I know then in the future I'm going to end up pretty comfortable and well off. Well, that's not the point here, either. This isn't a get rich scheme—give a lot of your money to God and that way He'll have to give you a lot more money and over time we have really a lot. The Macedonians have given liberally and they are still, as we saw in chapter 8, rock bottom dirt poor. But the principle is still true and there will be a bountiful reaping, there will be a harvest of righteousness, as he's going to talk about at the end of verse 10. So the principle is there and blessings of God will result in my faithfulness in this area in manifesting His grace and in other areas.

Verse 7, “Each one,” and the emphasis is on that each one, this is each one individually, personally, “must do just as he has purposed in his heart. Not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” So Paul expects everyone to be involved, each one is to do as he has purposed. It's an individual decision what I do. “Each one is to do as he has purposed in his heart.” It is a matter in my heart between God and me. So we don't say you have to give ten percent or you should give this amount. You purpose in your heart, you decide in your heart, you give thought and consideration to what would God have me do. It's a personal action, privilege as God puts it here. We make up our own mind here.

And the negative of that is you don't give grudgingly or under compulsion. I love that word translated grudgingly, for what it conveys. Lupes is the word. It means with grief, sorrow—I'm giving this but I'm crying on the inside. I mean, this really hurts. I guess I have to do my share but this is painful. This is never acceptable to God. So don't give that way, there is no benefit in it if you are trying to honor God or please God. “Don't give grudgingly or under compulsion.” Now we've noted through this that Paul has put pressure on in his own way, and pressure is good for us. There are certain things we should be doing as God's people, but then the responsibility for carrying it out properly is on us. So don't just do this because I am writing you this letter. He has challenged them, he has encouraged them. He has even put pressure on. When it comes to the bottom line, don't do it out of “ must do it, they are forcing me to do it. If I'm going to attend this church, I guess I'll have to do it.” No, you are not under compulsion in that sense.

Why? The end of verse 7, “For God loves a cheerful giver,” one who gives gladly. It's a joy, I give because I see God's grace working in my life, God has blessed me. He has given me the opportunity to be an instrument of His grace. It's the joy of my heart to be able to do this. That was the attitude of the Macedonians, remember, as we started in chapter 8—they begged us for this privilege to give. I mean, we really want to do it, there is no compulsion here, we want to. You have to let us do this, it gives me joy. And you know how it is, as the Lord has used you and you've given and it has been a blessing to someone else. And you go away and your heart is just overflowing. I am so glad I had that opportunity, so glad I used those resources that way. It's a blessing to you, it's a blessing to them. And “God loves a cheerful giver.” The word cheerful we read, it's the word we carry over in English as hilarious. But that's not quite the flavor, our English word hilarious. But it's a person who is joyful, glad, cheerful. It's a pleasant experience for them to give.

Come back to the Old Testament, back to Deuteronomy again, Deuteronomy 15. And here it's in the context of the sabbatical year and helping others in the land, we're not going to go into the context. But every seventh year, every seventh day was to be set apart for the Lord and every seventh year in Israel, the whole year was set apart and certain things were done. Verse 2 for example, “This is the manner of remission, every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor, he shall not exact it of his neighbor,” and so on. This was to keep poverty from totally overwhelming certain people in the nation that loaned money and I never make enough to pay it back because it takes everything I'm making, working and you are reduced to poverty. Then you have to sell yourself into slavery. So here there was this every seventh year, things are canceled. And if you did sell yourself into slavery to pay off a debt, you were set free, seventh year. But you didn't have to work all seven years because if you had only been in debt or enslaved for two years and the sabbatical year came up, you are free. So you can see someone would say, I'm not getting my just due out of this.

Verse 9, “Beware there is no base thought in your heart, the seventh year, the year of remission is near. Your eye is hostile toward your brother, you give him nothing.” Have to figure, we're almost up to a Sabbath year, I'm not going to help him out because I won't get it back. He'll be free of all obligations in this seventh year. That would be sin, it says at the end of the verse. Then verse 10, the verse we're looking at. “You shall generously give to him,” now note this, “your heart shall not be grieved.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament made a couple hundred years before Christ, the Septuagint, the word translated grieved is the same word we have translated grudgingly in 2 Corinthians 9 where we are looking. Don't do it with tears in your heart, painfully, sorrowfully. “You shall not be grieved when you give it to him because in this thing the Lord your God shall bless you in all your work and all your undertakings because the poor will always be in the land.” And you see here, God promises to bring blessing but He does not promise to remove all poverty. This is among His people Israel and how they conduct themselves. So we are available to be used as God's people and particularly in the lives of other believers. We are open to do good to all men but especially those of the household of faith. So you see that you give generously, you don't give with pain in your heart.

Come back to Exodus 25, and here they are taking an offering for the tabernacle that will be the center of worship for the nation Israel. And in Exodus 25, “The Lord spoke to Moses saying, tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me from every man,” so the individual, “whose heart moves him. Each one as he purposes in his heart.” God only wants what comes from our heart, a desire to please Him, a desire to honor Him, a desire that is an instrument that is used by Him. God doesn't need our money. Where did I get my material things? God prospered me and blessed me. Like He said, if I had a need, would I ask you? I own the cattle on a thousand hills, everything belongs to Him, He would just take it. He doesn't have to come begging to us. They're going to build a tabernacle, we're not going to get it done if you don't give. Please, please do what you can. No, you “take a contribution from every man,” it's a privilege, “whose heart moves him.” This is a work of God in the heart, and those whose hearts are submissive to God will be moved by God and do what God would have him do. Same principle we're talking about and we'll get to in more detail on God's grace motivating and providing for us.

Come over to Exodus 35 and we pick up in verse 5, “Take from among you a contribution to the Lord,” now note this, “whoever is of a willing heart let him bring it as the Lord's contribution.” Again, what does God want? He wants it out of the heart. This is to be a manifestation of His work in our life and it's an overflow of His grace, His working in our life that can be manifest in a tangible way.

So when you come back to 2 Corinthians 9, when a need is known there is certain pressure applied, but we don't want anybody to do what they do not believe God would have them do. It has to come from the heart. We want to honor the Lord with what we do, and we can do that with our material things as well as our immaterial things. Still in 2 Corinthians 9, verse 8, “And God is able.” We have that little song, God is able, God is able, a word that means He has power. We get English words like dynamite, dynamo. God is powerful, He is able, “He has power to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed.” And this one verse the word all in its various forms is used five times. “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always,” second one, “having all sufficiency in all things,” everything, “you may have an abundance for all good deeds,” every good deed. I mean you get the idea he is trying to stress the completeness. God is able, has power, He is strong enough, one person put it, to make grace abound, all grace abound to you. What does that mean?

We talked about we live in this envelope of grace, that everything in our life is a result of His grace at work in our lives. Now God's grace is what He gives to me, I don't have to work for it, earn it or deserve it. It's just poured out upon me and He pours it all out on me so it abounds and overflows. That's what He is able to do. So that I can enjoy the good life. No, those blessings do provide a certain enjoyment for me, but His grace abounds so that always having all sufficiency in all things, everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. I don't have to be so concerned about me that I miss the blessing of being used of God and have His overflowing grace flow out of my life. You know Jesus, that was the principle—he who is faithful in little can be trusted with much. I think that same principle he talks about. If you sow sparingly you reap sparingly. What can I be entrusted? That doesn't mean a person who has little is demonstrating God can't trust him with much. God tailors each situation according to what is best for us. I'm glad to know God just hasn't put me on the assembly line—there goes another one, stamp, keep them going. No, he tailors it for us.

It's like your children, each one is unique and different and so we work with them, their talents, their gifts, their abilities. We don't want them to feel they have to do what their sibling does or doesn't do. And God is working that way with us. And for some He chooses to give overflowing abundance of material things. We say Lord, I want to be one of those. My mother used to say I've been very poor. Her dad died when she was ten and there were seven kids in the family, so they were poor. She said, I've been poor and I've been well off; it's better to be well off. And we can appreciate that. I don't wish I were dirt poor, but I know what God does in my life is right for me. And if He does reduce me to dirt poor poverty, it's not because He has failed, it's because He is working His purposes in my life. And you know when you are poor you have certain challenges, like we read in Matthew 6, not to be anxious. The Macedonians who were so poor, pressure was I don't have anything to give to anyone, I hardly have enough for me. But God was maturing and developing them in that context. The Corinthians have much more, but they have their own danger. They don't have to be anxious about whether they will have enough to eat tomorrow, they had to be careful they didn't become attached in the wrong way to their things. So God tailors things for us and our purpose. But He is always able to make all grace abound in every situation. So he is telling the Corinthians, don't be afraid to be generous. Don't be afraid to be an instrument of God's grace where His grace becomes an opportunity to overflow from you into the lives of others.

Come over to Philippians 4, and Paul is writing this to the church at Philippi which is one of the poor Macedonian churches. And he says in verse 16, “Even in Thessalonica,” another city in Macedonia, “you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” This is a great blessing that you would do this for you. What you have sent, the end of verse 18, “is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” This is something that you have done that honors the Lord and is pleasing to Him. “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

That's basically what he is saying here, “God is able to make all grace abound to you,” then “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches.” We'll always have enough. That doesn't mean I can be foolish, doesn't mean I shouldn't use the mind God has given me. But I have to be careful. I find the more I get the easier it is to be selfish and that's the trap of abundance. That's a danger we have to be aware of. We are prosperous. Enjoy the grace of God, enjoy using the grace of God for the benefit of others.

“As it is written he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever,” a quote from Psalm 112:9. Don't be afraid, my God will supply all your needs. “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” A reminder, God is in charge of the whole process. Where did you get the seed to sow? From God, He's the One who supplies seed to the sower. Where did you get the power to make wealth? Why were you born with a mind that functions coherently? Where did you get that thinking that enabled you to do this? Have a body that would stay healthy enough to accomplish what you did? And on it goes. Why were you put in a situation where . . .? Who did that? He who supplies seed to the sower. Don't forget where it all begins, where it all comes from. And the result of it, the bread that will come out, bread for food. He will multiply your seed and increase the harvest. And you know what the harvest is—of your righteousness. Your righteousness. I thought I just had to have the righteousness of Christ, but there is the practical righteousness. Remember in Revelation when we see the saints having been judged? They are in white garments which are the righteousness of the saints in their faithful service. We have a harvest of righteousness, manifesting the righteousness of God at work in my life as a recipient of His grace, and His grace flowing out of my life into your life, into the lives of others. That's the point, that's the principle that is working here.

You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. We are enriched for all liberality. Again, doesn't mean we don't enjoy, He's given us all good things to enjoy. We can't say, I can't enjoy this, it's not right. No, I thank God for what He has given me to enjoy, but I best be careful that I just don't think He keeps giving me more and more and more so I can have more and more and more for me. He enriches us for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. What is the result of the offering Paul is collecting? These people in grace pour out a gift that is a result of God's working in their lives. Paul is, as we talked about, the go-between to transport that manifestation of God's grace in their lives to others and it results into recipients of that grace giving thanks to God. And really, when you have that privilege you end up thanking God for giving you the privilege and opportunity to be liberal in giving. And those people who are the recipients in Jerusalem will be giving thanks to God for His grace in meeting their needs through you. And it just goes on.

“For the ministry of this service,” a word that often is used of religious service. We get liturgy from this word. “This ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.” Two things are happening. It is meeting physical needs. Definitely. People have something to eat, clothes to wear. But it is doing more than that. “It is overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.” That's what we want to do, don't we? We want to help people honor God, give Him praise, give Him thanks. This will result in thanksgiving because those Jewish believers in Jerusalem are going to see this is the hand of God at work. Thank you, God, for providing for us; thank you, God, for putting it into the hearts of those Gentile believers to help us. And we realize and they realize, so we are helping people praise God and give Him thanks.

“Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ.” I mean, this will be a testimony to the reality of your conversion, this is what Paul wants to accomplish on that deep spiritual level. The Jews will appreciate the work of the Gospel in the hearts and lives of these Gentiles. And the Gentiles will appreciate the part these Jewish believers have in their salvation, the Gospel of the Jewish Messiah. It's their obedience to their confession of the Gospel, it flows out from what Christ has done in their lives.

“For the liberality of your contribution to them and to all.” You make the decision but the pressure is there. It ought to be liberal, the liberality of your contribution. He didn't say whatever you give, little or small, will be fine. Compared to what you have, it ought to be liberal. The Macedonians may not be giving nearly as much as you, but it was liberal compared to what they had. So these Jewish believers in Jerusalem, this wasn't a token gift, those Gentile churches, they have gone beyond. Their liberality testifies to their obedience to the Gospel of Christ.

“While they also by prayer on your behalf yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.” You see how we just keep going back and forth and around here? There is a tie. You as a result of God's grace overflowing in your lives are giving to them so they can be the beneficiaries of God's grace through you and they are expressing thanks to God for supplying through you and they pray for you. It's a natural thing. Somebody who is so generous to you, meets needs and you end up praying for them. Lord, bless them, honor them for their generosity, their kindness, their thoughtfulness. They will be praying for you, they will yearn for you. The bond is established so we'd love to meet those Gentile believers in Galatia and Greece that have been so generous and helped us. They have a bond established that if they do meet they say it's finally so great to meet you.

“Because of the surpassing grace of God in you.” Isn't it amazing, we keep talking about this grace of God in you and it's all about giving money. We as believers, we keep talking about this, but we see ourselves immersed in God's grace. And everything in our lives, down to the mundane dollars are used in the context of God's grace, whether I'm enjoying the blessings He has given me is because of His grace. If I'm being used of God even with my material things in other people's lives, it's God's grace. And so it becomes all about Him and what He has done, the surpassing grace of God.

And how else are you going to end this discussion but “thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” That's what it is all about. You get the idea. I thought this was about money and you put pressure on for the money and we have to have the money. He's talking about God's grace. That word thanks as we've noted, translation of the basic word grace, if we were reading this in Greek we would appreciate that connection. It's thanks to God. How do you give thanks for something undeserved and unmerited? His indescribable gift. That takes us back to 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich yet for your sake He became poor so that you through His poverty might become rich.” And our generosity in the material realm is the reflection. That's what he said in verse 13, “They will glorify God for your obedience to you confession of the Gospel of Christ,” the Christ who sacrificed all. His glorious riches because I in my poverty could only become rich through His poverty. So thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. How do you measure it? How do you describe it? It is overwhelming. So our lives lived, our whole life a testimony of God's grace.

I noted seven things because seven is the number of perfection. This is the last perfect sermon I will preach. I didn't say it was the last sermon. What happens when we give biblically? Just a reminder from these verses.

It pleases God, verse 7, “God loves a cheerful giver.”

It manifests righteousness, verse 7, “it increases the harvest of your righteousness.”

It meets material needs, verse 12, “you are supplying the needs of the saints.”

It causes thanks to be given to God, verse 12, “through many thanksgivings to God.”

It causes prayer to be offered on behalf of believers, “they also by prayer on your behalf,” verse 14.

It evidences and manifests God's grace, “the surpassing grace of God in you.”

It causes God to be glorified, verse 13, “they will glorify God.”

It's not just money, not just material things. It's the opportunity to be reminded of God's overwhelming grace poured out upon us in every area of life and to be reminded every area of our life is to be a manifestation of that grace. We are available, at His disposal, and that means all that I am, all that I have is to be used for Him. And I'm ready, Lord, use me in the greatest possible way for your grace to flow out of my life to impact others so that all of us together will give you praise, thanks and honor. All because we give thanks to God for His indescribable gift that makes life really worth living and possible for living in the realm of grace.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your grace, the riches of Your grace manifested to us in Christ Jesus. Lord, we can never grasp the fullness of this grace, the magnificence of this grace, but we live enveloped by this grace as Your children all the time. You are the God who is our sufficiency, You are the God who makes us sufficient, You are the God Who cares for us today as You did yesterday and You promise You will do every day in the future until we are gathered into the glory of Your presence. May our lives be a testimony of this overflowing grace, individually and as a church family. We pray in Christ's name, amen.