The Impact of Cheerful Giving
2 Corinthians 9:10-15
I want to address some verses out of this chapter that quite frankly don't get much recognition when it comes to the study of stewardship, but that I feel helps us to understand some key points on this important topic. This is the chapter that reminds us that God loves what kind of a giver? A cheerful giver. But let it also be said that He taketh from a grouch! "And our Lord is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work" (v 8). I want to read some verses that I hope can put everything into the right perspective this morning, and that is What Matters Most.
2 Corinthians 9:10-15
9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have [sown] and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
9:11 while [you are] enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God,
9:13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for [your] liberal sharing with them and all [men,]
9:14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
9:15 Thanks [be] to God for His indescribable gift!
I want you to see the,
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Incredible provision vv 10-11
Three categories of words to the righteous that I want you to see,
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Paul references the faithfulness of God in the past as he prays for the future of the Corinthians v 10. "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food…." That's none other than our Lord! Even as we saw from David's Spirit-inspired pen last week; God cares for His own! Hey Church Family, you heard this last week, but some of you have already forgotten that we serve a faithful God! If He cares for the sparrows (and He does), then how much more does He care for you!
Apparently there were some Corinthian believers that struggled with the nature of our Lord to provide. So, Paul reminds them, and I remind you. All that you have is not by your prowess and wonderful intellect. God is the provider and owner of it all. But I want you to see the point that Paul is trying to make out of the providing nature of our God,
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God's provision to us is always for a purpose vv 10b-11. What do I mean? Note three purposes:
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Must be sown. In this prayer, Paul prays that the seed that God has provided would be multiplied only after it has been sown - an increase of the fruits of the righteousness of the believers. I want you to understand that a sower is not a sower until he has the nature and practice of sowing. And the only way that seed can be multiplied is if it is sown. You farmers know this well. You plant one kernel of corn in the ground that will grow up into a corn stalk with ears of corn that will have hundreds of kernels of corn! There must be that grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies before a handful of wheat can be harvested later. Paul realized that, and he simply reminds the Corinthians that to have and never plant, never does any good.
Along these lines the Lord spoke through Hosea (10:12), "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."
You say you have talents, but if you never use them (sow them), they'll never amount to or account for anything. We all have time, but if it is never sown in areas that have eternity in mind, it will never amount to anything. You say you have treasure, but as long as it is hoarded by self (and not sown for eternal purposes), you'll never know the multiplication that Paul spoke of here. But there's more, God's provision,
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Must be shared v 11. When God blesses, it's for the purpose of sharing. Paul said it like this, "while you are enriched in everything for all liberality…." That is, God blessed so they could in turn be a blessing - to meet needs by sharing with others. Paul shared the very same point with the believers at Ephesus. He reminded them that they were to have jobs so they could not only provide for their families, but that they could also have something to give to those in need. But there was another purpose of God's provision to them,
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Thanksgiving. Paul shared that he was thankful to God for the generosity of the Corinthian church. Here's a question to ask yourself, "Is there anyone that would express thankfulness to God because of you and your generosity?" Please do not forget that giving reaps an eternal reward. So don't be afraid to give to the Lord's work. But I also want you to see the,
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Important service v 12
Three categories of words to the righteous that I want you to see,
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Note Paul's word that he used here in reference to giving. He used the word, "service." It literally means, "priestly service," so once again, Paul lifted the offering to the highest level possible. He saw this collection as a "spiritual sacrifice" presented to God, the way a priest presents a costly sacrifice on the altar."1 In my reading in the Old Testament this week I was once again made aware of the seriousness of the sacrifice that was made as well as the importance that the priest was to give to each sacrifice. It was a huge deal! And Paul brings that emphasis to the offering that the church at Corinth gave. And might I add that it is still just as big a deal today! Brother and sister, many may think that the offering is nothing more than a money raising scheme devised by the church to get your money. Far from it. It is an important, an extremely important, mode of service, of worship, to our Lord! It is a sacrifice that when offered cheerfully and with no strings attached honors and glorifies God!
And that leads to an understanding of the results of the service,
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Their service had two wonderful benefits:
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It supplied the needs of the saints. In this particular case, Paul is referencing the Corinthian believers giving in order to help the Jewish believers in Jerusalem who were suffering as a result of the famine in the land. Do you realize that the Gentile believers could have given a number of excuses for not giving? "It's not our fault that they had a famine and are poor!" Or, "The churches closer to Judea ought to give them help." Or, "We believe in giving, but we think we should first take care of our own."2 But Paul shares that growing believers won't look for excuses to NOT give, but rather they look for an opportunity. "If there is a need to be met, the grace-controlled Christian will do what he can to meet it."3
Not only were the needs of the saints supplied but also,
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It led to an overflowing of thanksgivings to God. Can I put it another way? Yes, a physical need was met, but it was God that got all of the glory! Here were these poor and famished people, yet when they received a gift that met a real need, they started thanking God for them. Again, the point is made, "when you give, it will cause people to thank God for you. It is God who will get the praise and the glory."4 Is anyone thanking God for you?
There's a third point that I want you to see, and this is what brings it all together. Notice the,
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Indescribable gift vv 13-15
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The indescribable gift is none other than the gift of eternal life only in Jesus Christ. Two points I want you to see regarding this gift,
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It was a gospel they professed v 13. Paul said that others saw the confession of the gospel by the Corinthian church! It was something they were willing to express to others! But also,
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It was a gospel they practiced v 14. The exceeding grace of God in these folks oozed out of them in action! And it always does.
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But this gift must be possessed before it can be professed or practiced v 15. You can talk about salvation until you are blue in the face. You can come to church week after week and still not have a personal relationship with Christ. Case in point is Lisa Lovin whom you saw go through the waters of baptism this morning. Here's a young lady with wonderful intentions, a lot of church attendance - but never with a personal possession of this indescribable gift called salvation. That is, not until Thursday morning - and then everything changed!
Can I ask if there has been a change in you? Can I ask if you are so deeply moved by the indescribable gift called salvation? Maybe you would be like Lisa who said, "I just don't understand why God would want to forgive me or accept me, because of the wrong I've done." That's why Paul called it an indescribable gift! That's why his letters flow with amazement at the incredible grace of Almighty and holy God! There are a lot of things about salvation that I still don't understand, but I know that I have personally experienced and live daily with that indescribable gift. Can you say that?
I have another part to the invitation this morning. And it's for every believer in this room. What motivates me to give? It's because of the indescribable gift that God gave to me and to you - His Son. And just how great a sacrifice was that? In chapter 8, Paul wrote these words (v 9), "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."
The indescribable gift was also the ultimate gift. "Regardless of how much you are giving, you cannot give like God gives…. He came not only to live but to give His life in death for you. He came to die on a cross. He came to be brutally killed in order that you and I might have eternal life. He made His soul a sacrifice for sin for you and for me."5 What He did is What Matters Most to me and I pray it does for you as well.
We have been working toward this very day for a few months preparing you our Church Family to join us in a most exciting journey as we not only understand what matters most, but that we continue to fulfill it as a church. You have heard messages, received mailings, had lessons in Sunday School - all pointing toward a challenge to you and to me to pray and to trust our Lord in what He calls us to do. All of that is to get us to this most important time today.
As we invite you to make a commitment in this capital campaign there are several things that you need to understand.
1. This commitment is to be over and above your regular giving. Some may think that what they need to do is split their regular giving - part to go to the capital campaign, and part to the general fund. That's NOT what we are asking you to do. If every person did that, the ongoing daily ministry of Maysville Baptist Church would be crippled almost instantly. The tithe goes to the regular ministries of Maysville Baptist Church - AWANA, Sunday School, the electric bill and phone bill, salaries, maintenance, etc.
2. The commitment we are asking you to make is over a three-year period. So much more can be accomplished over a three year period than over a one year period. Even small commitments every week add up to significant dollars in three years.
3. We have also asked you over the past few weeks to give much prayer and consideration to this commitment. It's not a decision that we want you to make on a whim. It's not something that we want you to be coerced into doing. We simply want you to be obedient to what God tells you to do.
4. We have also challenged you to make this giving a sacrificial gift. I'm telling you that when we understand and are convinced of what matters most, nothing else will matter. That is, do your priorities reflect your commitment to God's church? Please understand that we have never expected equal giving, but we are asking for equal sacrifice. I read again this week about the widow who gave at the temple. She gave the least according to monetary standards, but she gave the most when it came to what was left over. Jesus said that most that gave that day gave from their leftovers. Not the widow. She gave all she had and had none left over.
I realize this morning that probably most of you, just as was shared with our leadership that have already given us their commitments, have come with two numbers. You have one number that you feel that you and your family can give. And then there's another number that God has given to you. That's the one where you have questions and uncertainties about how it is going to be fulfilled.
I want to ask you to take the envelope out from underneath the chair on the end of the row and take one envelope and pass the others down. I want you to open it up and inside you will see a piece of paper that says, Commitment Profile, at the top. If you looked through your packet of information that you received in Sunday School, then you saw this very same piece of information. A simple description of this paper is what it will take for Maysville Baptist Church to reach its goal of $1.5 million. I am very happy to tell you that we have already secured most of the top commitments from our leadership - but there's room for more! Listen, our debt is $3.2 million, and the sooner we can get it paid down, the sooner we can move on to our next project - a new sanctuary facility that will seat 2,500 along with some more educational space! And the more commitments now, the more it will help us to continue to fulfill our commitment of What Matters Most - Loving God, Loving Others, Serving the world. If that means more Sunday School space now, we'll do it. And by the way, the Refuge will allow us to have 240 each Sunday School hour every week. If that means preparing now for that future facility, we'll do it.
I want you to look at this commitment profile. A couple of things I want you to notice. First, there is a category for every person in this room. You may say that you don't have many resources, there's a place for you. God may have blessed you with many resources, there's a place for you. And there's a very good chance you already know where you are on this page. Can I ask you to consider what it would take for you to move up to the next category? For some of those, it may not be much, but for others, it could mean a whole bunch. Here's the challenge. What if every person or family increased their commitment by $1000 over three years? Do you realize that with 400 families in our church that would be $400 thousand extra!
I've asked you to pray and before we have a time of completing the commitment card, we're going to pray again. But I want to try and put everything into perspective before we pray. What Matters Most? It's simple. It's loving God, loving others and serving the world. You see, those are the things that will last forever. And as you have heard me share before, I earnestly desire for my life to make an impact long after my days on earth are done. I want to invest for eternity. And we do that when we focus on loving God, loving others and serving the world.
I want to make sure that you are asking the right questions this morning. Instead of asking, "What will these uncertain times permit me to do?" ask, "What does God want me to do regardless of the times?" You see, rough times can get us to focus on our circumstances, when all the while we need to be focused on our Lord. Instead of asking, "How much will this cost me?" ask, "How many can be reached?"
Do you realize that since September of last year that we have baptized _99+_? On top of that, the Lord has brought 77 others to unite with our church. In just under one year, the Lord has allowed us to see just over 200 go through the waters of baptism! By the way, that's how many our old building held - packed out. I want to tell you that you are a part of a God-work and this is an invitation to join Him - with your time, your talents AND your treasure.
Bonnie and I have prayed seeking God's face in what He wants us to do over these next three years, and He's called us to make a sacrifice. God willing, in addition to what we do every month, we're going to delay purchasing a car for a year and give that payment to What Matters Most. Right now, I don't know how that's going to happen, but we just believe that's what He's called us to do. I'm asking you to join us in making a sacrificial commitment over and above what you are already giving.