[1]As an experiment I’m also uploading the powerpoint slides You can see them by clicking here [1]. Please leave a comment if you’d like to see this more often! (Clicking will open another web site in your browser)
Or try this …
I want you to imagine that you’ve recently lost your favourite Aunt. Aunt Agatha meant a great deal to you, she gave you treats when you were a kid and her support has meant a lot to you at special times in your life. She loved you and you loved her and you feel her loss.
One morning, a couple of months after the funeral you get a letter from Peasmold, Grunthuttock and Snodgrass solicitors and to your astonishment you’ve been left two million pounds by your maiden auntie.
Question – what would you do with it? Tell the person sitting next to you …
This morning we’re going to consider what the Bible has to say about the one thing that is behind 2 Corintihians 9 but never mentioned by name – money. I want to be sure that every gift that comes to Victoria (and the other ministries we are committed to) is give, administered and delivered in as Godly and as spiritual a way as possible!
At this point … <ppt>
Paul is organising a collection for some impoverished Christian in Jerusalem. Obviously there were no inter-bank transfers so in order to get it to them he needs someone to carry it.
In the ancient world that could be quite a risky process.
8:17 Titus … is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.
What a wonderful way to be described! But who is he?
- It might be Luke. In the book of Acts (which Luke wrote) there is a change at this point in Luke’s write-up. Instead of talking about ‘we’ he switches to talking about ‘they’ – so he has left the party – possibly to go to Corinth
- Alternatively it might be Barnabas because of the way Paul describes him and again the dates might fit.
But whoever it is, He’s a man with an honoured reputation in the churches. He’s someone who can be trusted. They wanted to avoid any kind of criticism of the way they handled these gifts of money and valuables.
Money is always a touchy issue in church and for Christians
Partly because we know that Jesus was so radical when he came to talking about the place of money in our lives
It’s got to have a place, obviously, we can’t do without it, but he recognised, as Paul does here, that it can have a vice-like hold over us that, if we’re not careful, can dilute God’s work in us.
In the sermon on the mount Jesus basically said 3 things about money –
- First, that it money can exercise power over us
- second, why money exercises power over us
- and third, how to break that power and be free from its all-encompassing grip.
And that is a vital aspect of any church’s handling of its money.
Administration with excellence
And here Paul, in a very practical way, is showing us how to put those principles into practice.
21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
They wanted to handle money with excellence.
My friends I see this week in week out in Victoria
- You need to know that our finance team go to great lengths to make sure that our finances are handled scrupulously
- and although you’ll hardly ever see them on this platform, they deserve congratulation for the Godly way they handle our money!
- They take pains to do what is right!
- They administer with excellence
Administration with attitude <ppt>
Now it wasn’t only their administrative handling of the gifts that Paul wanted to be done with excellence, it was the attitude with which it was brought – that too should be characterised with excellence:
22 we are sending … our brother who has often proved to us in so many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
What confidence it that? It’s the confidence that the Christians in Corinth will give sacrificially to God’s work! – that’s why he’s being sent!
And now in a few simple verses Paul tells them how they are to give
- There are some wonderfully liberating principles for us here too.
How to give <ppt>
Start with the negatives – what does inadequate giving look like
Don’t do it like this! (vv5, 6 & 7) <ppt>
v5 … not as one grudgingly given.
Literally, not given out of covetousness or greediness
Our motive for giving should never be to see what we can get back in return
v6 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly
Don’t give stingily, but liberally! It’s the picture of someone sowing on their farm or in their garden – sow a minuscule amount seed and you’ll only reap a tiny crop!
v7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
Don’t let your heart give out of ‘ought’ but out of love. And for some of us that’s conscious decision
Just think about this ‘inadequate giving’ for a moment.
- There is a common feature in each of these descriptions – an attitude of stinginess – an attitude of holding back –
- there’s a hidden agenda that says ‘how much can I hold back and still get away with feeling that I’ve done my bit’
- While it’s true that, even with this attitude, there is still stuff being given, gifts being handed over, it’s also true that the frame of mind behind it carries the heart of the miser.
Think about the word “sparingly,” v6.
- If I say, “Spare my life!” I mean, let me keep it; don’t take it from me.
- If I was to say ‘Spare no effort!’ I mean, don’t hold back on effort. Give all the effort you can!
Paul said, “God did not spare his only Son, but freely gave him up for us all”. God did not hold him back. He didn’t keep just for himself. He shared him.
- Now the Bible says, over and over again, that’s how we’re to live
Be as much concerned with attitude as amount. <ppt>
Conversely
Do it like this! <ppt>
generously
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
In the original text ‘generously’ is the word often translated ‘blessing’. It’s the Greek word from which we get our term ‘eulogise’ – to acclaim, to bless, to applaud, to celebrate
- Whoever sows to bless and to benefit, will see blessing and benefit come out of their generosity!
- And that brings the applause of our heavenly Father!
And that’s the way we’re to do it!
We are to give (money and time and resources) in such a way that our heavenly Father will eulogise about us!
- And, although I don’t get involved with the details ot our church’s finances, I know enough about the giving here at Victoria to know that our heavenly Father does a lot of eulogising!
- He brings a lot of blessing because of our sacrifice.
Many of us who give to Victoria (and to other organisations) through the bank – it’s a very effective way of giving, if we’re tax payers we can reclaim the tax on it, (please do that!)
- but let’s acknowledge that it does have one slight down-side. If you’re anything like me, you can forget that we’re doing it!
- I can lose the physical sensation of giving something away and in so doing, say to the Lord “I want you to know that I don’t regard all my possessions as my own!” “I’m only giving you what is yours anyway!”
So let me make a suggestion – give through the bank – that proportion of your income you’ve decided on (for many of us it 1/10 although I know there are some of us who can’t possibly go there! – you decide! God knows your heart as well as your circumstances!)
- and then, whenever you can, use the Sunday offerings too.
- When you do that, you’re making a powerful statement to all of God’s people and to heaven itself that “I want to give to advantage God’s kingdom, bless God’s people, provide adequately for God’s work”
- and I’ll trust Him for the blessing that He promises will follow.
Our giving rests upon the great truth that God is a bountifully blessing God
Cheerfully
Verse 7 says, it should be “cheerful”
v7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
So giving bountifully means giving cheerfully and willingly from a heart that wants to share things.
Giving that glorifies God comes from a heart whose basic desire is to give and share as much as possible instead of to keep and hold as much as possible.
- It’s as though there was a magnet in the soul that used to be turned so that it pulled possessions into itself; and now something has happened to turn it around to the other pole so that it pushes things out toward others.
What’s the difference?
So what’s the fundamental difference between the two
The attitude of our hearts – and it’s also our view of who God is and what He’s like!
- One person sees God as essentially as taker – so asks the question “what how much can I keep back” while
- the other sees God for who he is – a giver so he or she asks “how can I benefit God’s work the most. He has given to me and I want to return the love by giving to him and His work.”
There is a world of difference between the two!
A spirit of love, cheerfulness and generosity does something in the heart of God
v8 And (because you’ve given cheerfully and sacrificially) God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written (in Psalm 112) “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
God acts in grace towards us when we give to him
Now I must issue a caveat her and say something to correct a misapprehension that can arise from this
- There are some Christians who argue that if I give sacrificially, God will give more back to me in financial prosperity.
In other words – if you want to be rich, you must give to the hilt –
- give till it hurts (they say)
- give till you jeopardise your own finances
- and God will bless you as a result
- And usually they quote the best two or three cases as supporting evidence for this.
I believe we should give in such a way as to exercise faith, but
Beware prosperity theology
This is ‘prosperity theology’
- Stories of people on the bread-line giving their hard-earned money to support some wealthy preacher who uses it to bolster his ministry and (in the worst instances) uses it only to line his own pockets.
People like this often use the same buy-line
- give to me and God will give to you
- become a Christian and your business profits will go through the roof.
- You will hear this from some TV evangelists
I have to tell you that to become a Christian is no guarantee of financial success.
- if God does bless you financially then praise him for it
- and if he doesn’t we are to praise him and lean on him in our reduced circumstances
- and I can’t help feeling that it’s the person in the latter category often teaches me more about the grace of God than the first one!
There have been times when Rosi and I have given, knowing that we could scarcely afford it, and been amazed to see God’s provision in return.
- either in money or in goods or time or an unexpected encounter with God some other way
- But beware! This does happen sometimes, but it should never be our motive!
- to give 10% in order to get back 20% runs counter to the whole message of the Bible!
Giving is a spiritual release mechanism!
What does generous, cheerful giving do for us? It goes a long way to releasing us from the grip of materialism!
Jesus warned us about materialism in Luke 12!
- He told a story about a man who had got a bumper harvest from his farm.
- The only way to store this harvest was to tear down his barns and erect larger ones.
- God looked at this man and said “you idiot! – today your life will be required of you”
Materialism = an inordinate dependence on money and material things.
And Paul could see how many of th Christians in Corinth were already discovering release from materialism’s grip
v13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
Giving, not grasping, is an integral part of the Christian gospel
E.g. Children of Israel
When they were in the wilderness the Children of Israel had a miraculous provision of food from God – they called it ‘manna’ and each person was only allowed to collect a certain amount each day – an ‘omer’
- Today, of course, we get our food from the supermarket and, according to our means some can spend lavishly while others of us find it a struggle.
But the principle of consuming only what we need still applies
- Beware the addiction to luxury!
John Calvin <ppt: spoof>, <ppt: image>
“The Lord has not prescribed to us an omer nor any other measure according to which the food for each day is to me regulated; but he has commended to us (modesty) and temperance, and it is forbidden that anyone should go to excess, taking advantage of his abundance. Let those, then who have riches, whether by inheritance or acquired by industry and labours, consider that their opulence is not intended as a means to intemperance and luxury, but for the relief of the needs of their brethren.. For whatever we possess is ‘manna’ from whichever quarter it comes.”
Get a hold of this!
v15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
All of our giving pales into insignificance when compared with the generosity of Father God in giving us his son.
We are living in a world that is desperate to be shown something different. Something that transcends the mundane scrambling around for wealth, security, gadgets and power.
In the church God has given his world just that
Let us be a church that glorifies God by our giving!
Pray >>>
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