Offering Our Whole Lives to God

1:08And the crowd gathers and the missionary is telling these compelling stories of God's work among the poor and what he's seen and experienced. And Mark Twain is getting more and more excited. The longer this guy talks about what he's seen and experienced, the more he wants to give. He said that he wanted to give all $400 in his wallet, which keep in mind, This is a long time ago. That's a fortune. He wants to give all of that money. But unfortunately, the missionary speaker droned on and on, and it got hotter and hotter in the room. And he says, My enthusiasm went down, down, down, $100 at a time, until when the plate was finally passed, I stole 10 cents out of it.

1:59Today, in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, Paul is going to begin one of the greatest extended teachings on giving that we find in Scripture. And I believe that if we will hear and apply God's word over the next few weeks, we can look forward to greater freedom and joy that comes from giving in the way that he describes. What we're going to learn in the passage today is that out of gratitude for the gospel, we offer ourselves first to God and then to others.

2:33Let's take a look now at the text. Before he gets into this section of scripture, I want to remind you that since the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul hasn't mentioned the offering for the saints in Jerusalem a single time, but we know from how many times he does mention it in his letters, it was really important to him. And when Paul and Barnabas, before they set out on their first missionary journey, you may remember that the first thing they do is they go to Jerusalem and they meet with the church leaders there, specifically. James and Peter and John. And they did this because they understood that the support of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, that was critical to their mission, but it was also critical to the unity of the church as a whole.

3:16And so James, Peter, and John bless their mission to the Gentiles. They extend the right hand of fellowship. And then we find this in Galatians chapter 2, verse 10. Take a look. Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. Now, for many years, the Christians in Jerusalem had lived under intense persecution, and a famine in the land made that situation even worse. So, in keeping with his promise to the church leaders in Jerusalem, Paul led all of the churches that he planted, these Gentile churches, to help these struggling brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.

3:52Because not only is that a loving thing to do, but that is a tangible display of unity between these churches, Jew and Gentile, ethnically different, culturally different. That was important. So, back in chapter 7, Paul commended the Corinthians for the way they responded to his letter, and he noted that they displayed a godly grief that produced a repentance that led to salvation. So, here in chapter 8, what Paul is going to do is he's going to say, look, here is a concrete way that you can live out that repentance. You can provide the relief that you promised to the saints in Jerusalem.

4:30So, in order to accomplish that goal, he highlights the generosity of the churches in Macedonia. That's a term that we're not as familiar with, but all it means is that region in northern Greece. So, in the book of Acts and in the New Testament, this is going to refer to the churches in Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea. So, he speaks of their generosity, and look what he says in verse 1. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.

4:58Now, note, three times in this passage, he's going to connect the grace of God back to giving. That's a very important connection for us to understand. Because as we get into chapter 9, what Paul is going to say is that Christian giving is distinct in the sense that it is generous, it is voluntary, and it's cheerful. Generous, voluntary, and cheerful. And I think for a lot of us, you know, myself included, our natural inclination is to be tight-fisted with our money. We hang on to it out of fear or worldly desire or whatever else. But the grace of God, as Paul mentions it here, this is what empowers us to become the kind of generous, voluntary, cheerful givers that the Macedonian Christians were.

5:45These believers were obviously very poor. That was probably the case to begin with. But there was also something else going on because he refers in verse 2, take a look there, he says, for in a severe test of affliction. We don't know exactly what that was. It may have been persecution because of their faith. It may have been a famine that had made its way over there. But a severe test of affliction goes on, and it results in, look at what he calls this, extreme poverty.

6:16It results in extreme poverty. That means rock-bottom destitution. These Christians in Macedonia, they have nothing. And yet, Paul writes that out of their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I just want you to look at and notice the word play there. You've got abundant joy and you have extreme poverty. You have a situation where their cup is basically empty, and yet it's overflowing in a wealth of generosity.

7:02It was so generous that Paul says in verse 3 that they gave not only according to their means, but beyond their means. And how did they do this? He says it was of their own accord. So these people living in rock-bottom destitution, they're under no obligation to give, and yet they give of their own accord. They voluntarily give to help alleviate the suffering of these brothers and sisters. Sisters in Jerusalem. It was their choice to sacrificially give in that way.

7:36So their giving is generous, it's voluntary. And now take a look at verse 4. He says, What did they do? Begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. Wow, these Macedonian Christians, they're going through this severe test of affliction, they're in rock-bottom destitution, they're so poor, and yet they begged Paul to let them participate in the collection for the relief of the saints. I don't know that I've ever begged to give my money away. And yet, that's what these believers are doing. Usually, when we hear the word beg, it's in the context of somebody asking someone else for money.

8:18And yet, these Christians, they're begging for the privilege of giving their money away. They begged for the privilege of participating. They were cheerful givers. But the question is: how is that possible? How is it possible for believers who are going through such a severe test of affliction, going through so much difficulty, to give this way, generously, voluntarily, cheerfully? Look at verse 5. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God, to us.

9:02We have to remember that not only are these believers extremely poor, not only are they going through this severe test of affliction, but these people are ethnically and culturally different. It is almost certainly the case that they had never met these Christians in Jerusalem. And because of the first-century world that was not connected, travel was not easy, people didn't have money to go places, it was likely that they would never, ever in their lives see these people, meet these people, hear from these people outside of giving them the money that they barely had to give.

9:42They did that by giving themselves first to God and then by the will of God to Paul and his team, to others. It reminds me of the challenge that we find in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5. Take a look at this verse and just let's be challenged afresh by these words. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

10:16When we know and believe that God is never going to leave us, never going to forsake us, we can be free from the love of money. We can be content with what we have. We can hold our money and our resources with an open hand. Be, as Paul tells Timothy, generous and ready to share. But, friends, that is such a hard thing for us to do in our culture. We're probably the number one hobby at this point in 2020 is shopping.

10:47We have replaced so many hobbies over the last 50 to 100 years with shopping. I'm from the Dallas area. I know many of you are from the Dallas area as well. What is there to do in Dallas? They now have the Perot Museum. I was just talking about the Institute for Creation as well, the ICR that's up there as well this morning with the family. But, like, what is there to do in Dallas? There's nothing to do except go out to eat and shop. It's still better than Houston. But there's nothing to do there. And my point here is that it's really hard for us to be free from the love of money. It's really hard for us to be content with what we have when all that we experience all day long is advertising in various forms, which is pointed at us directly to say what you have isn't good enough. Your clothes aren't new enough. Your car is not new enough. Your house isn't big enough and nice enough. All of that is directed at us becoming discontent and then looking for things to spend money on. We're not generous and ready to share as a result. So only when we give ourselves first to God can we be ready then to give ourselves to others like the Macedonians did. Because when we give ourselves first to God, what we're doing is we're acknowledging that we are not owners, but stewards. We are managers of all the things that God owns for his glory.

12:06So, in view of the example set by these believers, Paul then says in verses 6 and 7 that they charged Titus to do what? To complete among them this act of grace because they already excelled in so many other grace gifts from God. He says in these verses in six and seven, verse seven particularly, look, you already excel in these other gifts, in faith, in speech, in knowledge. On top of that, you are earnest and we love you.

12:36So, Paul says, because you already excel in all of these other spiritual gifts, isn't it interesting that giving is listed in this section with spiritual gifts? He says, I want you to excel in this act of grace also. The gracious act of generous, voluntary, cheerful giving. So, church, this passage provides us an excellent opportunity to evaluate our own giving in light of the example that the Macedonians set for us. Would you say that your giving to the poor or to missionaries or to the church is generous, voluntary, and cheerful as theirs was?

13:23And if it's not, we might have to consider whether or not we have truly given ourselves first to God. Whether we've acknowledged that he is the owner of everything that we have and enjoy in this life, and that we are managing his resources for his glory. Because only when we acknowledge that we have gotten everything that we have from God, everything is a good and perfect gift that comes down from him, only when we realize that and acknowledge that can we then become the stewards that we are called to be.

13:53And that realization that God is the giver of all the good gifts that we have, that changes the question from how much do I have to give to how much do I get to give. So, now, beginning in verse 8, Paul is going to add the example of Christ to the example of the Macedonians, which strengthens his exhortation to provide relief to the struggling Christians in Jerusalem. So, let's pick up in verse 8. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 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.

14:52I want to put up the NIV's translation of verse 8 for you, because I think it's maybe a little bit more clear than what we read in the ESV. Take a look at what it says. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. He's saying that he wants to test the Corinthians' love by comparing it with the love of the Macedonian believers. Now, your initial reaction might be: now, hang on a minute, that sounds like Paul is promoting some kind of rivalry, some kind of competition. That doesn't seem like a very godly thing to do.

15:32But, friends, I don't think Paul is promoting rivalry or competition between these churches. I think he's holding up the Macedonians as an example that is worthy of imitation, worthy of following. Because remember, in the letter to the Hebrews, what are we exhorted to do? Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. That's what we're commanded to do, to stir each other up. Some translations say to spur each other on to love and good works.

16:04So, kids, you often hear in school that it's really important to surround yourself with good examples, good friends who are going to lead you to make good choices. And I think for all of us, adults and kids alike, it's really important that we surround ourselves with other believers who are stirring us up to love and good works, who are spurring us on to do those things that we're called to do in Scripture. That's positive peer pressure. That's a very Good thing because we need to be stirred up to doing the hard things that we are called to do in Scripture. And so, to help us do that, he points us to the example of Christ in verse 9. This is one of the greatest short gospel presentations in all of Paul's writing. Why should the Corinthians excel in this act of grace, this act of sacrificial giving? Look at verse 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the foundation that though he was rich, Jesus was rich.

17:17Because he is the eternal Son of God, he is the owner of all things. Listen, as Paul describes in Colossians 1, what Jesus is to creation. Take a look. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. So, friends, everything was created by, through, and for Jesus. And because he is the creator of all things, Things. He is the owner of all things. He is infinitely rich and has eternally been infinitely rich, and he has no need of anything.

18:10But it says that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor. Nowhere is that more beautifully described than in Philippians chapter 2. Take a look at the screen. Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

18:53Jesus was infinitely rich, and yet for our sake, he became poor. He humbled himself by laying down his rights as the eternal son of God and took the form of a servant. A poor carpenter's son who had no place to lay his head, who humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. And I think it's so interesting that in basically every culture around the world, we celebrate rags to riches stories. And yet in the greatest story ever told, the main character goes from riches to rags so that other people could become rich.

19:32Why does Jesus do this? Look at how verse 9 ends, so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. The authors of Scripture talk about the inheritance that we're going to receive as God's children. And it's important to remember that an inheritance only goes into effect at death. So through humbling himself, through the death of Christ on the cross, we inherit immeasurable riches. We inherit all things, which, according to Peter, are imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, and are kept in heaven for us.

20:14How amazing is that? That the Son of God, the Son of the King, became poor and gave up his life so that we could become rich, sharing in his inheritance. So, church, when you look at these two examples, you look at the example of the Macedonians, and that is just remarkable. Their sacrificial giving in the midst of these crushing circumstances is something to be celebrated and imitated. But if giving is the act of grace that Paul calls it in this section, then the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has got to be our foundation for giving as well.

20:53It is the foundation for everything in the Christian life. Friends, why do we forgive? We forgive because we have been forgiven much in Christ. Why do we serve? We serve because Jesus became a servant for us. And why do we give? We give generously, voluntarily, and cheerfully because Jesus generously laid down his life for us. He did so voluntarily. No one took his life from him, he said, but he laid it down of his own accord.

21:34And he did so cheerfully. He did it as Hebrews talks about for the joy that was set before him. We know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's that grace that's the foundation for all of our giving. Join me in verse 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. 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. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

22:30So, a year earlier, the Corinthians were the first church out of all the Gentile churches that expressed the desire to give financially to help these struggling believers in Jerusalem. And I want to remind you of what we covered at the end of last year. This is at the very end of 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Look at how he closes the letter. He says, Now, concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

23:10So, the Corinthians a year ago expressed a desire to help, to give in this way. And then, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and gave them instructions for how to do that. But then, over time, they stalled out on actually raising the funds and delivering them to their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Some of you guys might be familiar with John Akuff. He's written a number of best-selling books and has a popular podcast as well. A few years ago, John wrote a book called Finish: Giving Yourself the Gift of Done.

23:46It's a good read, and in the book, he deals with this near-universal human phenomenon of starting things but not finishing them. And he has a statistic in the book that, according to research, 92% of all All New Year's resolutions fail. 92%, y'all. I would have thought it was two-thirds, maybe three-quarters, but it's almost all of them. Almost every New Year's resolution fails. The reality is this: most worthwhile things in life are hard. It's hard to earn a degree. It's hard to lose weight and keep it off. It's hard to wake up early to read your Bible and pray. And it's hard to give.

24:36I wish that weren't the case, but it is. And I think for most people, we intend to give far more every year than we actually do. So what stops us? What gets in the way of giving? Well, in the book, ACOF builds off of this principle that I think is attributed to Voltaire, the philosopher. The perfect is the enemy of the good. The perfect is the enemy of the good. So we get a bad grade and we drop the class or we drop out of school altogether because now it's no longer perfect.

25:16We miss a day at the gym or a week at the gym, and so we just quit the gym. We start a devotional plan at the beginning of each year and we get going for a little while, but in February, we get into Leviticus. Leviticus and Numbers, and then we get discouraged and we give up. And I think with giving, it's the same thing. Perhaps we haven't been giving as faithfully or as consistently as we want to give, and we start thinking, well, I'll start over next year, or I'll start over once this season is over, or once I graduate, or once I get that promotion. And what's happening to us in all of those cases?

25:54The perfect is becoming the enemy of the good. We convince ourselves that there will be this perfect time to start working toward that goal. We convince ourselves that there's a perfect way to carry out that perfect plan. But deep down, we know that next week, next month, next year isn't going to be any better. It's not going to be any better to start working toward our degree or to start losing weight and getting in shape. It's not going to be any better to start a devotional plan or to start giving. And Paul knew this as well. And so take a look at what he says in verse 11. Look what he writes. 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.

26:41You see what Paul is saying? He's saying, don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. You wanted to give. Great. Finish what you started, not out of what you don't have. Finish it out of what you do have. Because as he says in verse 12, if you're ready to give, it's acceptable. Acceptable based on what you have, not on what you don't have. Paul's not saying that we burden ourselves, we put ourselves in financial hardship or insecurity so that others can live in comfort or luxury.

27:16We don't call others to sacrifice so that we can live in luxury. But what do we do? Look at verse 13. Paul says, For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness, your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.

27:51So Paul is saying, friends, that we are all a part of the body of Christ. And when one part of our body is suffering, our entire body is suffering. So right now, at the present time, the Corinthians were living in material abundance. The Jews had been there before, hadn't they? The days of David and Solomon, I mean, they were the richest kingdom on the face of the earth. They'd been there before. Well, the Corinthians were there now. They were living in material abundance. But the Christians in Jerusalem, they were in material poverty.

28:25But also right now, the Christians in Jerusalem were living in spirit. Abundance. They had all of these amazing leaders. They had most of the apostles, most of the early deacons, most of the early men and women who were leading in the church were in that area or right around it. They had this abundance of spiritual resources, but the Corinthians, by contrast, were in spiritual poverty. They hoped for a visit once every few years from Paul and his team or Apollos or whoever else might come by, but that was it. And so, what he's saying is that the Christians can serve one another by contributing out of what they have, whether it's material abundance or spiritual abundance or anything else. Look how Paul explains this in Romans 15.

29:15This is written after 2 Corinthians. He says, At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia, that's where Corinth is, have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, remember, where did the gospel come out of? Came out of Jerusalem. They ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

29:49So, church, this is how the body of Christ should be operating. That's true whether we're talking about individual Christians helping each other out or whether we're talking about... Churches helping each other out in times of need. We are the body of Christ. We're one body of believers. So when one part rejoices, we all rejoice. When one part suffers, we all suffer. So I think we need to ask ourselves: you know, am I viewing the church for what it is, the body of Christ, or am I viewing it more like a country club where I can participate when I want to, kind of take and receive as much as I want to, but I don't do any more than that.

30:38The gospel requires us to see the church for what she really is: the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus, as a display of God's glory before the watching world. Friends, I think for some of us today, as we read this passage, you might be realizing that you have offered many things to God over the years: your time, your resources, your money. You may have given generously, voluntarily, and cheerfully of all of those things, but you've never offered yourself to God.

31:23Your generosity will make a difference. I would never tell you otherwise. Your gifts have almost certainly done good. Good in this life. Whether you've given to the church or you've given to other institutions, organizations, nonprofits, your giving has almost certainly done good in this world. But you have to understand that your giving will not make a difference in eternity if you don't offer yourself to God. No amount of offerings can make up for our sin. God isn't after our stuff anyway. Remember, he owns everything. He's not after our things, he's after our hearts.

32:06So I want you to remember what Paul wrote in verse 9: that Jesus was rich, and yet he became poor for us so that through his poverty we might become rich. All things were made by him, through him, and for him. And he laid down his life on the cross. He died, was buried, and rose again so that you could have eternal life. But, friends, you have to take hold of that eternal life. You have to repent and turn from your sin. You have to receive Jesus by faith. And so, my prayer today is that especially if you've been offering many things in your life to God and to others, but you've never offered yourself, that this morning would be the time that you offer yourself, your life to him. And so, do that. Today. Don't put it off.

33:04If you're already following Jesus and you evaluate your own giving, you might realize that you're not excelling in this act of grace. And if that's true for you, I think that's true for me. I think that's true for all of us. If that's true, we have to remember there's not going to be a better time to begin. Sacrifice is always inconvenient. If it was convenient, it wouldn't be sacrifice. So let's do what Paul does. Let's stir one another up. Let's spur each other on to love and good works by calling each other to pair our good desire to give that the Corinthians had. Let's finish that and bring it to completion in the sacrificial act of giving to the poor, to our missionaries, to the church.

34:04Because out of gratitude for the gospel, we offer ourselves first to God and then to others. Let's pray. Father, I think there are a few topics that make us as uncomfortable as giving. And I think that's probably telling. We would like to think that we are immune from the wealth and the prosperity and the affluence that we have enjoyed for a long time here in America. We would like to think that while other people that we see on TV or hear about on the internet or whatever else, they're affected by wealth, but we are somehow above that.

35:05But I think the reality is that all of us have been impacted by the affluent culture that we live in. And we've been told that it's unwise, even foolish, to invest in eternity, to give to causes, people, organizations who can't really pay us back, or at least not pay us back in the same way. And as a result, we hold on tightly to our money and our things. And so, Lord, I pray today that you would begin to loosen the grip that we have on our things and our money, and to loosen the grip that our money and ourselves. Our things have on us so that we would be generous and ready to share, so that our giving could be voluntary and cheerful.

36:12Because you told us that wherever our treasure is, that's where our heart's going to be. So, God, help us to invest in your kingdom so that our heart, what we love, what we think about and pray about and hope for, that will be your kingdom and its advancement in this world. We thank you for your word, for the challenging example of the Macedonians, and most of all for the person of Jesus, who gave up everything so that we could inherit eternal life.

36:51In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.