Graceful Giving

0:58And those chickens laid eggs. But they wouldn't give them away. Even close relatives were told, you can have them if you can pay for them. And as a result, some people labeled the Spurgeons as being greedy and grasping. And they accepted the criticisms without defending themselves. And only after Susanna died was the full story known. All the profits from the sale of eggs went to support two widows who were in need, who were elderly. That were in their church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Because the Spurgeons were unwilling to let their left hand know what their right hand was doing, they endured these attacks in silence throughout their lives.

1:44They gave sacrificially, not taking the proceeds from the egg cells for themselves, but they desired to demonstrate God's grace with generosity. Charles and Susannah Spurgeon lived out the biblical call of graceful giving. In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is admonishing and encouraging the believers in the Corinthian church. He explains why he had to chastise them in a previous letter and then encourage them to continue to grow in spiritual maturity. Chapter 8 seems unrelated at first glance because Paul moves from admonishment and encouragement to clear and practical instruction.

2:28But when you give it a closer look, Paul is doing what all good pastors should do: connecting the truth of God's work and word to the actions of God's people. In Acts chapter 11, when he was still called Saul, the apostle was involved in the collection of funds from churches throughout the known world for the benefit of Jewish Christians in Judea. Look at Acts chapter 11 with me. Now, in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem. To Antioch, and one of them named Agabas stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. This took place in the days of Claudius.

3:10So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Many Judean brothers and sisters in Christ were often prohibited from work in Jerusalem and in the surrounding area. They were shut out of employment by Jewish leaders and employers, and therefore they were unable to provide for their own families. Throughout their missionary journeys, Paul and Barnabas would continually collect relief funds for these Judean Christians. And this is the cause which Paul is referencing and encouraging the Corinthians in their giving here in chapter 8. Paul believed that changed people should live changed lives.

4:06And in the text we're looking at this morning, that means changing the way we give. Paul wanted the church in Corinth, people who had experienced the grace of Jesus and being saved by his atoning death and resurrection, to become a people who extended grace to other believers. We will see that grace-filled people should. Be involved in graceful giving. So, what is graceful giving? Well, that's what Paul's going to define for us in these 15 verses here that we're reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. We're going to see six different characteristics of graceful giving. And by God's grace, we will see them, and then we will desire to apply these characteristics in our own giving. Graceful giving means, first and foremost, that we give in spite of our circumstances. It means we give in spite of our circumstances. Look at verses 1 and 2. I want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.

5:18For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. Paul is writing this letter from the Roman province of Macedonia, which is north of Greece. And there are several area churches that are beginning to experience intense persecution from both the Roman government and just the culture, the pagan culture that's around them. Churches in Philippi, in Thessalonica, in Berea, they're all mentioned. The New Testament and elsewhere, as faithful communities of believers who would endure for the sake of Jesus. Corinth is farther south. It's located on an isthmus that's connecting Greece to the rest of the archipelago. And they just haven't yet had the privilege of enduring this type of intense persecution that's being experienced by these churches in Macedonia. Their time was coming soon, but that's not really the point of this text. Paul wants the Corinthians to observe the severe circumstances of the Macedonian churches. Those brothers and sisters are enduring what he calls a severe test of affliction and extreme poverty. He doesn't get any more specific than that, but whatever the circumstances, it doesn't sound ideal for generous giving. Amen?

6:55And yet that is exactly what is produced. The text says that their abundance of joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. This makes no sense in our world, right? The world would tell us that the Macedonian people are victims. They're unable to contribute. But in God's economy, joy is in abundance for those that are in Christ. And joy is a dynamic commodity that. Produces supernatural faith, which yields supernatural generosity. How many of us have been guilty of making excuses for avoiding this type of graceful giving? I know I have.

7:44I'm in college. I'm not working. I'm not working full-time. I'm, or we're in debt. I'm getting married. We don't make enough money. We have young children. We have teenagers. We're paying for college. We're paying for a wedding. We're funding our retirement. Listen, whatever our circumstances may be, they aren't any harder than what the Macedonian churches endured for the sake of the gospel. Their abundance of joy in what Christ has done for them overshadows what may prevent them from being generous with what they have.

8:30Graceful giving means giving in spite of circumstances. Secondly, graceful giving means giving enthusiastically. It means giving enthusiastically. Look at verses 3 and 4. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. We can give away all sorts of possessions in all sorts of amounts and for all sorts of reasons. And we can do that without real Christ-centered enthusiasm.

9:18God wants the kind of giver that's found in the next chapter. If you look over in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, the point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. We can give out of guilt, we can give out of desperation, we can give out of peer pressure. There's all sorts of reasons, but God wants our passion and he wants our affection. He loves a cheerful giver. Listen, the Macedonian churches, despite their affliction and poverty, were literally, as the verse says here in the text, they were begging for the opportunity to give.

10:21Paul was there with them. He could testify to what these brothers and sisters had and what they didn't have, and that they knew what they had. I didn't have. And they knew what was required of them, and they also did not need to be encouraged to give cheerfully. What about us? Do we lack enthusiasm? Do we complain as we write the check? Do we look at our means and scan our budgets for reasons to not give with our whole heart?

10:58I know I've been guilty of that. And if you have too, may we allow God to expose where we aren't trusting Him, where we aren't choosing joy in our abundance of blessing. Graceful giving means giving enthusiastically. Third, graceful giving means giving as an act of worship. Look at verses five through seven. In this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 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.

12:00Also, the reason the churches in Macedonia, according to Paul, were able to cheerfully give in spite of their circumstances is because the first thing that they gave to the Lord was themselves. That they understood what Paul meant in Romans 12 when he says this: I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Now, in Romans chapter 12, you have to understand the context there. Paul has spent the entirety of the first 11 chapters of Romans explaining what the gospel is and its implications to you and me, or for you and me. He explains in Romans 1 through 11 how we are predestined and how we're called and how we're justified and how we're sanctified and how one day we will be glorified because of the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. 11 chapters. And it's not until he gets to chapter 12 that he gives a real imperative to be worked out in the lives of believers. And that imperative is this.

13:31Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. When we submit ourselves to the Lord, we are giving ourselves as a living sacrifice. In the Old Testament, God's people were required to give their first fruits, their very best, in livestock, in grain, in wine, in all their possessions to the Lord. And in the new and better covenant, God gives us His best, His Son, on our behalf. And in doing so, He makes us His sons and daughters. We can give our lives because of what Christ has done. Lives hidden in Jesus as a sacrifice, not to save anyone, but to glorify our Savior, Jesus.

14:32In giving our best, our very lives to the Lord, we are offering up everything, including our finances and possessions. And we're giving those things up for God's glory. And when we give ourselves and all that we have to the Lord, Paul calls that in Romans 12 our spiritual worship. The Macedonian. Churches are noted by Paul for worshiping God by giving themselves first and then generously giving financially. He then says he's going to send Titus to the Corinthians to help encourage them to follow through with their worshipful giving. Then Paul challenges the Corinthians in verse 7 to view giving as an opportunity to demonstrate excellence in Christ.

15:26He says to excel in giving is just as glorifying to God as excelling in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in love. Let me ask you: is giving a regular part of our spiritual discipline and worship? Do we equate centering our affections on Jesus through generously giving to the ministry of the body on the same level as exercising faith? Is edifying giving equal to edifying speech in our lives? Is growing in our capacity to give equal to growing in our knowledge of God?

16:16Are we financially faithful as we are faithful in being honest and truthful? Paul doesn't differentiate graceful giving. From godly worship, and neither should we. Graceful giving means giving as an act of worship. Fourthly, graceful giving means giving as the Lord gave. Look at verses eight and nine. 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.

17:13Paul says that the veracity, the genuineness of the Corinthians' love for the Lord and others can be evidenced by their generosity in giving. For Paul, love is so much more than a feeling. Love is a verb. For those of you that grew up in the 80s and 90s, you are thinking about D.C. talk right now. Love is a verb. Kids, ask your parents. He says as much in describing God's ultimate act of love in Romans chapter 5. When he says in verses 7 and 8, for one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

18:05God's ultimate demonstration of love is in giving. The giving of his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. And Jesus' giving of his life was by its very nature sacrificial. Listen, we just spent a month. I just spent this past weekend with Stacy putting up all of our Christmas stuff. I was the Grinch. We stole Christmas back. And it's gone for the next 330 days. That's the way it is. But we spent this last month, and I was reminded of this as I'm putting away this giant Christmas tree and all the wreaths and all the stuff. My wife does it up right in our house when it comes to Christmas. But it is a lot of stuff. And I'm thinking about that like we've spent this whole month celebrating the King of kings coming to earth.

19:01And he does so not in all of his galactic majesty, but he comes as a lowly child, born in a manger. Paul describes Christ's sacrificial nature in Philippians 2, which echoes verse 9 here in 2 Corinthians. When he says this in Philippians, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who. Though he was in the form of God, he 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.

19:44To give as the Lord gives is to give sacrificially. Our gifts should cost us. To give to God's work means we're not giving to something else. Usually, something pleasurable, something that could make life easier, something that could make our loved ones more comfortable, something that could make us more accepted in our workplace or in our school or in our apartment or in our neighborhood. Jesus, in his infinite power as the second member of the Godhead, didn't have to deny himself any of those things, but he did.

20:35He loved his father, and he loved us that much. The Lord gave sacrificially and out of love. Graceful giving means giving as the Lord gave. Fifthly, graceful giving means giving willingly, means giving willingly. Look at verses 10 through 12. And in this manner, 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.

21:36In verse 6, back up in verse 6, Paul says that he's sending Titus to make sure the Corinthians make good on their previous promise to give generously. Now, nowhere in this text is Paul coercing the church to do anything. Also, there's no amount of giving that's named here. What does that tell us? Well, I think it tells us two things according to these three verses. Number one, it tells us that Paul wants them to give willingly to avoid hypocrisy. He says in verse 11 that he wants their desire to match their completion. The Corinthians had already pledged their gifts. Paul is sending Titus to come alongside them to protect their witness. He doesn't want them to become untrustworthy. He wants their yes to be yes. Amen?

22:32So that whether they're sharing the gospel or sharing their gifts, people can trust them at their word. The second thing that Paul, I think, is trying to tell us in these three verses is that he wants the Corinthians to willingly give in proportion to what they actually have, not what they might want to give if they had the means. Paul is all forgiving, but he's not forgiving what they don't have. You can't sacrifice what you don't have. Going into debt or stealing to give makes as much sense morally and spiritually to Paul as saying that you're going to give something you have and never actually giving it.

23:16Paul doesn't want the Corinthians to get caught up in comparing material gifts any more than he wanted them to be caught up in comparing spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians. He wants God's people to be graceful givers. And graceful giving means giving willingly. Last point. Graceful giving means giving by faith. It means giving by faith. Look at verses 13 through 15. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness, your abundance in 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.

24:19When the Macedonians gave, they gave in faith, trusting that God would provide for their needs. Paul is not asking the Corinthians to do anything more or less than that. He essentially says, you have plenty. The brothers and sisters are in need. Give to their need, knowing that the day is coming when you will be of similar need, and God will use your brothers and sisters in Christ to meet your needs. Paul wants the Corinthians to trust the Lord, and he does this going so far as to even quote Exodus 16, if you look there in the last verse, verse 15.

25:04Reminding them that just as the Lord provided for his old covenant people in the wilderness with literal manna from heaven, he will take care of his new covenant people in Corinth. Church, we can give in faith as well. Amen. He will always be our Jehovah Jireh. God. Our provider. Generous giving means giving by faith. This is not an easy message because I know I have so far to go in becoming a generous, graceful giver. Now, I have a ways to go in a lot of areas in my life, but giving has to be one of those areas where I am continually confessing my need for Christ-likeness. I'm repenting from sin and walking in faith. Whether we like to admit it or not, the affections of our heart and our attachment to money and possessions are intrinsically linked.

26:23I was reminded of that this week when I read this quote from this great pastor and author, Kent Hughes, when he so masterfully observed this. There is no way to grow to spiritual maturity without committing your finances to the Lord. Jesus can have our money and not have our hearts, but he cannot have our hearts without our money. May Christ, through his Spirit, Command our hearts in making us into graceful givers. Let's pray. Father, you are good and you do all things well.

27:18And you tell us in your word that because of that, our lips shall praise you. Father, I fear sometimes that in my own heart and life that I may praise you with my lips, but my heart is far from you. Father, you're not desiring just my stuff, my money and possessions, things that really don't in the end belong to me, but really belong to you in the first place. But God, you want my heart. You want our hearts.

28:11And that is the center of graceful giving. Father, I pray, Lord, that the way that we handle our possessions, the way we steward our wealth, Father, that it reflects a heart. Of people who have been redeemed, who have been shown grace through the work of your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us, God, reveal in us, in our own hearts, where, Father, we complain, where we're greedy, where we look at our stewardship really being more owners than stewards, not recognizing that you're the giver of all good gifts.

29:21Father, we ask that you would change our attitude and the way that we give, but God, we ask first and foremost that you would do that by changing our hearts. Help us to realize and recognize that the work of your Son Jesus on the cross is vitally connected to how we view giving. We praise you in Christ's name. 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.