How Grace Reshapes Our Finances

So what I want us to do now is just to move on from that and just to go into what we call our pastoral prayer.

So this is really where I want you to pray with me. I'm not just praying at you or I'm praying to God,

but I want you to pray with me so that we ask our gracious God to work in our lives, in our city, and in our world.

So please, would you bow your heads and just pray with me now.

Now, gracious Father, thank you that today is another day, another morning where you show us incredible grace.

Thank you that before the world was created, you were and are and will be a God of infinite grace.

Thank you that you are enjoying the deepest love with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together

in intimate, self-giving, joy-filled, beautiful communion before anything else was created.

Thank you that all creation and all the beauty we see in all that is the fruit of your joyful generosity.

Thank you, you could make everything just a factory standard, but you delight in handcrafting every fingerprint,

every snowflake. You rejoice in giving us fresh grace day after day after day.

And Lord, for some of us who are going through hard times now, some of us who are distracted,

some of us who need comfort and healing and hope, thank you that you loved us so much that you gave,

that you gave your only Son.

And because you've given us everything that we need at the ultimate cost to yourself,

so we want to lean on you today.

We want to trust you today, that you will provide for every need that we have,

spiritual, emotional, physical, relational, because you're a good God.

And Father, I just pray that you would help us in the world that we live in.

Lord, everywhere around us tells us to trust in ourselves, to be self-absorbed.

Father, we pray save us from not being thankful.

Save us from comparing ourselves to everyone else.

Save us from feeling entitled when we are recipients of far more than we could ever deserve.

Save us from holding on to our resources out of fear that we'll not have enough for the future.

Make us a thankful, joyful people.

And Lord, would we be like those people in other countries who see how great the treasure is to know you

above all other things in our lives.

We just want to pray, Father, for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering in persecution.

Pray for those in China and those in Turkey that we've heard about and across the Middle East.

We pray, Lord, that they would not just have an easy life,

but we pray that you would be supremely beautiful in their eyes.

That the beauty of Jesus would drive out the fear of man.

Give them courage to stand firm in you.

And would those who persecute them see something more beautiful,

a witness to you that would lead them to repentance and faith.

We pray for the church in Hong Kong.

Pray for Kevin this morning as he speaks at Emmanuel English Church.

Would you anoint his lips, Lord?

Would there be deep unity in the gospel among the churches in Hong Kong?

We want to pray for the local Cantonese speaking church here in Hong Kong.

I pray as I think about Living Grace Christian Church in Yamate.

Thank you that you're drawing newcomers to them, Lord.

We just pray for them as a church that every person there would see themselves as a disciple maker on your mission.

We pray, Lord, that they would have boldness to proclaim the mission you've given them

as they take a mission trip to Macau coming up, Lord.

Would your grace abound to them, we pray.

And Father, I also want to pray in our own community,

and I want to thank you so much for the Mandarin community group in our church, Lord.

I thank you so much that you brought Echo's mom to faith in you during the trip, Lord.

Thank you that's only your grace.

And we want to pray, Father, for Echo and Z as they lead that group,

and for every member in all the struggles and the challenges that they go through in everyday life,

that they would know the height and the breadth and the depth and the width of your love for them.

And they'd deepen in their knowledge of your love.

And they would have spiritual wisdom to know how to serve and love one another

and to reach out to those around them.

Lord, would we be a church which knows how incredible you are

and lives banking our lives on you and seeing your faithfulness day by day.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Can I invite Justin to come and read God's word to us?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

The scripture reading comes from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.

For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed

and a wealth of generosity on their part.

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.

And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Accordingly, we urge Titus that 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 also.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,

you may abound in every good work.

As it is written,

He has distributed freely,

He has given to the poor,

His righteousness endures forever.

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.

You will be enriched in every way,

to be generous in every way,

which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints,

but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

By their approval of this service,

they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ,

and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift.

This is the Word of God.

Thank you so much, Justin.

That's great.

Let me just put this down.

Great.

So we're going through this series,

this kind of challenging series on money and resources.

And we're doing it because we know that in Hong Kong,

this is something that everyone talks about,

but no one really wants to talk about in the church.

And what we've been looking at is actually how money,

as Ed shared earlier,

is one of the greatest idols that we look to to give us status,

to give us comfort,

to give us power,

to give us all the things that we think life is found in.

And yet we've seen,

actually,

that God has got a totally different way of looking at the world,

and He wants us,

with every part of our lives,

including our wallets,

to be people who worship Him in all of life.

And so what we're looking at,

today we're going to finish this series,

and we're going to finish by looking at the Apostle Paul,

and what he says to the church in Corinth.

And some of you may be aware that the Apostle Paul was a church planter.

He was an evangelist.

He went everywhere throughout the Roman Empire sharing the gospel.

Many of you may not know that Paul was also a fundraiser.

That actually,

one thing that Paul saw was actually the gospel in a world that was divided

between Jews and Gentiles on one side,

the rich and the poor.

They would never hang out with each other.

That there were these divisions,

just like in our society,

there were divisions that classified people in different categories.

And what Paul saw was when Jesus died on the cross,

what He did,

He broke down the barriers,

and He brought together a new community made up of every race,

every tribe,

every social economic group.

And as he went around proclaiming this,

he was convinced that this wasn't just a theoretical message.

That as new churches started,

he also saw that in Jerusalem,

there was a Jewish church which was poor.

And then around as he went into the Greek-speaking areas,

and he came to places like Corinth,

he realized it was a wealthier place,

filled with non-Jews.

And for him,

as he went around,

and he saw that actually,

the church in Corinth had a little bit more cash going

than the church in Jerusalem.

And he was convinced,

in fact,

he gave his whole life

to show that actually,

the grace of God doesn't just bring you into Christ's family.

It also means that now,

you are unified with your brothers and sisters across the world,

so that actually,

the love should be poured out,

even crossing boundaries,

from the Gentiles in Corinth

to be given to the Jews

in the city of Jerusalem.

And as people see this counter-cultural gift

that he's calling them to give

to support those churches,

that's a demonstration of the gospel.

And actually,

this passage here,

that we're looking at,

is Paul

basically trying to speak

to this church in Corinth,

which is more wealthy,

and trying to persuade them

to give

to this project

to people that they've never met.

To people that they'll actually

probably get no immediate benefit from.

They're from a different ethnic background.

It's nothing that anyone around them

would ever tell them

was a good idea to do.

And so what we're going to see is

how,

as Paul,

say,

this is actually how the gospel

reshapes entirely

the way that you as the church

live differently

from the people around you.

And so,

that's what we're going to look at.

We're going to look at four things.

And the first thing

we're going to look at

is about this idea of giving

and that the foundation of giving

is grace.

So we're going to start

in verse 9.

And it says,

You know the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He says,

You know the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not new to you.

You know the gospel.

You have heard this message

again and again.

And sometimes when you've heard

a message,

you kind of tune out

after a while.

But he says,

This is what you know.

You know

that while Jesus was rich,

yet for your sakes,

he became poor.

And you want to think,

how was Jesus rich?

Well,

Jesus had complete

financial freedom.

Did you know that?

He wasn't waiting for his MPF

to come through

just to retire.

He had all the resources

of heaven.

He owned the cattle

on a thousand hills.

He owed all of creation,

belongs to him.

He doesn't need anything

from anyone.

And more than that,

he also has the highest honor,

the highest status,

and he also has this communion

with his Father

and the Spirit together

of just such deep,

intimate love

that they're completely

self-sufficient

in every single category

that you could ever think of.

They don't need anything.

And you know

when you don't need anything,

what we normally do

is we withdraw into ourselves

and put down our shutters

and then just live happily

by ourselves,

don't we?

But Jesus didn't.

You see,

what he says was

that though he was rich,

yet for your sakes,

and he's speaking

to specific people

in the church in Corinth,

he's going to say,

for your sakes,

Watermark,

for you,

Justin,

Julie,

Ellen,

for you,

he became poor.

Out of the overflow

of his riches,

he came down to earth

and you know

what people said?

They said,

oh,

we'll follow you

and Jesus says,

the Son of Man

has got nowhere

to lay his head.

He came

and he came

as the King of Glory

and that nobody

recognized him.

They ignored him.

They rejected him.

They even came

to a cross

where he was stripped,

naked,

humiliated,

and killed.

And yet he said,

I did that

for your sakes,

for you.

Why?

So that people like us

who are poor

could become

into a relationship

with the rich one

and have access

to him

and all

that is his.

You see,

you know,

the fundamental issue

with poverty

isn't actually

about how much money

you've got

in your bank account.

Did you know that?

It's actually

far more

about the access

that you have

and the opportunities

that you have

to particular

relationships

in your life

because relationships

can give you

access to resources.

So,

for example,

that's why

if you're a student

and you feel like

you don't have much money

in your bank account,

you don't classify

probably as the poor

because

probably,

for most of you,

you may have access

to your parents

and your parents

can keep giving you

more money

if they need to.

So,

what the,

and you know,

the poor

don't have relatives

to bail them out.

They aren't in the right

social circles

to access certain jobs,

to access certain education,

to access certain knowledge.

And what Paul is saying here

is each one of us,

because of our sin

and our rebellion

against God,

we were the poor

because we were cut off

from access

to God himself.

And yet,

God himself

and his richness

has overflowed

to bring you

and me

into this relationship

so that we can get

all of his grace

and abundance

flowing to us.

and it's nothing

we deserve.

That is the grace

that he's talking about.

That,

he says,

if you get that,

if you get that truly,

that is going to fuel

your life

in a different way

and that's going to be

the pattern of your life

in a different way.

And so,

Paul is then going to get

very,

he says,

that's the foundation

of everything

that I'm going to share

with you,

Corinthians.

because now he's going

to get practical

about this collection

that he's trying

to collect.

So,

he then says,

second point,

that grace,

if you get how much

Jesus has loved you,

if you get it,

grace leads to action.

And this is verse 10 to 15,

chapter 8.

He says,

a year ago,

you started to do this work

but also to desire it.

So now finish doing it as well

so that your readiness

in desiring it

may be matched

by completing it out

of what you have

and not out of what

you don't have.

And so,

Paul is saying,

okay,

if you understand

this message of grace,

he had written

to these Corinthians

about a year ago

and he told them,

hey,

can you start putting aside

some of this money

for this collection?

And they had responded

with excitement.

They'd said,

yeah,

they weren't pressurized

into it,

they weren't guilt-tripped

into it,

they'd said,

yeah,

let's do it.

But now a year

has gone past

and that kind of initial

excitement has died.

You know,

they're kind of getting

a little bit of cold feet

at this stage.

And isn't it

just really interesting

that how much

of our giving

is actually based

on emotional appeals?

Like,

even in modern society,

isn't it,

they show you a picture

of a poor,

starving child

and therefore you give

just out of emotion?

Or,

you know,

we do ice bucket challenges

and things like that

where we all get

really excited

for a short mile,

but how lasting

is that

in our hearts

and in our lives?

Like,

how many people,

do you remember

the ice bucket challenge?

Yeah?

Like,

how many people

are still,

like,

really supporting ALS?

Right?

Do you see,

like,

we have this,

and so our society

is more,

it's more gives

out of emotion-based

and out of grace-based.

And for the Corinthians,

they were not feeling

the emotion

at this time

because now

didn't feel like

such a good time

to be able to give

because maybe they promised

quite a bit before,

but now some other stuff

has come in,

their school fees

have increased,

maybe inflation's gone up,

and they're looking

at the amount

and they're going,

oh,

that's actually quite a lot,

I don't think

we can afford that.

And so they're going,

hey,

maybe next year,

when we get a bonus

next year,

then we'll be able

to give,

but maybe not now.

And Paul says,

listen,

God is not about

making your life hard.

He's not trying

to make you poor

while the church

in Jerusalem

gets rich

and has jacuzzis

in their houses.

He's looking at your heart

and he's saying,

just give according

to whatever you have,

don't give according

to what you don't have.

But he says,

don't wait

until you think

you've got enough

to give.

Don't wait

until your bonus comes.

If you're a student,

Kevin mentioned this

last week,

don't wait

until you think,

okay,

when I start earning,

then I'll give.

Because listen,

when you start earning,

then it becomes

so much harder

to give.

He's saying,

now is the time

to give

whatever you have

to give.

And if you don't

feel like giving,

he says,

don't wait

for generosity

to kind of

fill up inside of you

and then I'll give.

No,

he says,

actually just start

giving whatever you can

and then pray

that God would actually

start changing your heart

so you actually,

you desire to give it

like the Corinthians

have begun to desire

to do so.

Because you find

it's like brushing

your teeth,

you know,

you never want to do it

but actually once you

start doing it

and then you stop

brushing your teeth,

you miss it,

right?

That's what he wants

to do in us.

So grace,

if you get how much

Jesus has loved

you personally

and us as a church,

it leads to action.

But thirdly,

grace leads

to a harvest.

I'm going to spend

a bit longer

on this.

It says,

as we go into

chapter 9,

verse 6,

whoever sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly

and whoever sows bountifully

will also reap bountifully.

And later on,

he then says,

whoever supplies seed

to the sower

and bread for food

will supply

and multiply

your seed for sowing

and increase

the harvest

of your righteousness.

Now he's using

a farming analogy.

He's talking about seeds.

I brought some seeds

with me.

Let's put it over here.

Whoops.

There you go.

So,

he's talking farming.

We're not farmers

in Hong Kong,

but I think we probably

can get the analogy.

He's saying that

God in his grace

didn't just give you

salvation.

You know,

the word grace

in Paul's day

was not a spiritual

religious word.

It was a normal word.

It was used

for any ways

that actually

the gifts

that were given.

And so he says,

God has given you

not just his son,

he's also given you stuff.

He's given you seed.

And just like a farmer

has seed to sow,

now why does a farmer

go out to sow seed?

Okay, anyone?

That's not a rhetorical question.

Harvest.

Good.

Someone has done geography

or whatever it is.

Okay.

Yes.

Even in Hong Kong

we understand that,

right?

We've seen it on TV.

And yes,

the farmer sows

to get a harvest.

Now,

a farmer still

has to feed himself

so the farmer

can keep some of the seed

for himself

to be able to feed him

and his family.

But he's saying,

if you sow

a little bit,

how much harvest

are you going to get?

A little bit.

This is not complicated.

Okay.

Okay.

Paul at times

is complicated.

He's not complicated here.

Okay.

So he's saying,

actually,

if the more that I keep

just for myself,

what happens

to the harvest?

It's less, right?

And so actually,

the more that actually

I'm hoarding

thinking I've got to

keep it all for myself,

actually the less

that the fruitfulness

of your life

is going to grow.

And so what he says is,

the more seeds

that you sow,

what's going to happen?

The more harvest

you will have.

Okay, good.

I think we're getting there now,

right?

And so what he's saying is,

like,

we get this.

Okay.

And he's saying,

actually,

that when you give

generously out of your heart,

what God is going to do,

he's not trying to say,

okay,

I want to make you poor

so you have no seed

for yourself,

but he's saying,

actually,

the more that you can be

lavish in giving,

the more harvest

will flow from your life.

And he's saying,

that actually,

God will then

multiply your seed.

He will provide for you

so that you have more

to be able to give.

But what we tend to do

is we go,

okay,

that sounds like

a little bit

of a manipulation technique.

Maybe I'm not going

to have enough.

I've got all these plans

for all the things

that I want to spend

my money on,

right?

And

there's school fees,

there's this,

there's that,

there's Air Jordans

I want to buy,

and there's all this stuff

that I'm thinking.

And so,

what we think is,

oh,

I've got to sacrifice

all of that

and I'm going to lose out

on life.

Because what we believe

is actually

that we don't have

a gracious,

generous,

faithful God.

because sometimes

we feel in our hearts,

we actually think

that if I give

in some way,

that God really

deep in our hearts,

we don't say this,

but actually we believe this,

that deep in our hearts

that God is really

a stingy father

who doesn't really

care for us,

who doesn't really

love us so much.

And Paul wants to say,

do you know the grace

of the Lord Jesus?

That he's given

everything for you.

And he doesn't want us

to give just to burden us.

He wants us to live

generous lives

that will become

cheerful,

joy-filled givers.

Because you test

his faithfulness

like Kevin was talking

last week

and you see

that God is faithful

in abounding

a harvest in your life.

Now,

when I was at university,

I felt God challenge me

in this area

and there was a particular

missions organization

that I felt

he was calling me

to give

and to give far more

than I would ever

normally give.

And so I wrote this check

and I was a student

at the time

and I wasn't a wealthy one

for 500 pounds.

I was like...

And as I was writing it,

I was kind of like,

am I just being an idiot here?

And, you know,

I didn't know

whether I was being an idiot,

but I felt like God

was calling me to do that.

He doesn't always

call me to do that.

But then three weeks later,

I received a letter

from an aunt,

a very distant aunt of mine.

I don't even know

if she's an aunt.

I think she's one

of those relatives

you're not quite sure

where to categorize.

And she'd only ever

occasionally communicated

at Christmas

and given, like,

I think the most generous

was 20 pounds.

Which actually,

in those days,

was not bad.

But then I got this letter

and inside this letter

she said,

hey, I've been going

through some stuff

in my accounts

and I've been...

And I just wondered

if you'd like this.

And I opened the envelope

and there was a check

for 2,000 pounds.

And I went,

my goodness me.

Now,

why am I sharing you

that story?

I'm not sharing it,

so you go away

calculating,

okay,

I put 1,000 in the offering,

that means 4,000.

No.

You see,

I gave not expecting

anything back.

I gave because God

had called me to give.

Not out of guilt,

not out of any kind

of manipulation.

But what I saw

was that God

is gracious

and faithful

in ways that

I didn't even expect

Him to be.

And what He gave me,

and I knew

that from that

He increased my faith

to believe

that actually God

can always provide

for me.

Maybe it's not going

to be exactly

in that way.

In fact,

I've never had that

exactly the same thing

happen again.

But He gives us

in so many ways

so that we can have

more seed to sow

into other people's

lives again.

So generosity

can flow

to more other people.

Paul says it

like this.

He says,

God is able

to make all grace,

all grace,

that's a lot of grace,

abound to you.

Abound.

Is that a little?

No, abound is a lot.

So that having

all sufficiency,

now that word means

all contentment,

all you need,

not all you want,

by the way.

He's not saying

the Ferrari's coming,

right?

But having all

that you need,

all contentment,

at all times,

that's a lot of the time,

in all things,

that's a lot of things,

that you may abound

in every good work.

You see where it's going?

It's going outwards.

And then in verse 11,

He says this.

You will be enriched

in every way

to be generous

in every way

which through us

will produce

thanksgiving to God.

Now this is

an interesting passage.

Do you know

what He's actually

saying here?

I'm going to be

a little controversial maybe.

God wants you

to be rich.

Did you know that?

His call

for generosity

is because God

wants you to be rich.

In fact,

let me even make it stronger.

Jesus died

so that you can be rich

individually

and as a community.

Isn't that exactly

what He said

in chapter 8

right at the beginning?

He said,

for your sake

He became poor.

Why?

So that through

by His poverty

you might become

rich.

Now some of you

are getting a little nervous

at this point.

Before you think

I'm preaching

the prosperity gospel,

I am preaching

the prosperity gospel

but not the prosperity gospel

that says

give your money

to the church

and God will triple

what you want

and what you give

guaranteed.

That's not what I'm preaching

because think

what is your definition

of rich?

If you're anything

like me

the first things

that come into my mind

are like millions

in your bank account,

two Ferraris

on your front drive,

a personal yacht,

right?

That's what I think

when I think

the word rich.

Anyone like me?

Do you know

that is the most

narrow definition

of rich

you could ever imagine?

Like just think about it.

How many wealthy people,

Fiona used to work

in a law firm

with some very high

wealthy individuals

who were getting divorced.

Let me tell you,

when you get to know

people's lives

there is so much tragedy

and poverty

in their hearts.

Like so many wealthy people

are lonely,

insecure,

fearful.

Often the pursuit

of wealth

destroys the very

relationships

that we crave.

Money and possessions

by itself

isn't rich.

You know,

Hong Kong is one

of the wealthiest places

on the planet

and yet it's one

of the most stressed.

That's emotional poverty,

right?

Our relationships

are strained.

That's relational poverty.

We live for stuff

that never satisfies.

That's living

with purpose poverty.

I know you could go

on and on

and yet Paul

wants to bring us

just like actually

when we were in Turkey

we saw these people

as Ellen and Phoebe

were sharing

who had left everything

who saw much

they had left

and yet

you saw in them

this faith

where you went away

saying wow

we have so much

they have so little

but they are so rich.

in faith.

And Paul

does the same thing here

and I'm going to flip back

right to the beginning

of chapter 8 verse 1

because he's going to give

an example

of what it looks like

to be rich.

He says

in a severe test

of affliction

their abundance

of joy

and their extreme poverty

have overflowed

in a wealth

of generosity

on their part

begging us earnestly

for the favor

of taking part

in the relief

of the saints.

Times are hard

for the Macedonian churches

these are a little bit

north in Greece

they're being persecuted

on the outside

and suffering poverty

on the inside

like many of the Turkish

believers

and poverty

is not pleasant

the Bible doesn't

make poverty

ever a goal

that we should detain

but here

what they're doing

you know when you're

going through a hard time

where do you tend

to focus?

just on ourselves

right?

If you're like me

that's what we do

and they're normally

going hey now's not

a good time to help out

just wait

for a little bit later

but because they knew

the richness

of their father

who was so generous

and they knew

who could provide

for them

that he was faithful

Paul says

they had abundance

they had wealth

they were poor

but they were rich

and you see

what they were rich in?

they're rich in

joy

you know they're going

we've only got two dollars

and like one

we've got to keep

for our family

but can we possibly

Paul

like is it possible

for us to be able

to have the grace

that's what the word

favor mean

the grace

the privilege

of being able to share

with our brothers

in need

because we see

what a joy that is

and they're going

hey let's see

guys is there any other way

that we could kind of

I know we've not got much

but could we just

give anything more

maybe we can go busking

on the streets

I don't know

what can we do

so that we can actually

bless these guys

there's going to be

an opportunity cost

if we actually miss out

on this chance

to sow grace

to our brothers and sisters

in Jerusalem

I don't know whether

like when you get a pay rise

the first thought

in your mind is

wow

what an opportunity

I can to save

or spend more

or wow

what an opportunity

that I can give more

but that's the church

in Macedonia

and Paul is saying

it's not about

the amount of money

because like they're poor

I mean they're not giving

exactly very much at all

but he's looking

at the heart

and he's saying

they've just understood grace

and it's just flowing

out of them

in a powerful way

you know

I grew up in a family

which was tight on finances

and I learned to count

my pennies

and when it comes

to giving gifts

I'm usually thinking

how cheap can I go

before I look cheap

you know that

but I went on a mission trip

to India

and I met some nuns

in desperate poverty

and yet they were filled

with this incredible joy

and they'd cook us breakfast

and I found out

they were actually

cooking pretty much

most of what they

most of what they had

so they were actually

taking less for themselves

so that we could enjoy it

and I was feeling

a bit guilty about that

because you know

we have so much

but actually for them

it was a joy

it was a privilege

and I realized

wow in so many ways

I'm actually so poor

and these guys are so rich

because they've understood

God's grace

and Paul himself

this is amazing

Paul is blown away

by this as well

and he says

they gave

they didn't give out of guilt

they didn't give

even because Paul told them

to give

they give first to the Lord

they first said

God what's going to please you

we actually want to obey you

and then out of that

they gave

do we want to be

a rich community

okay

good

I was worried there

for a minute

I thought we might have

to go a little bit longer

do we want to have

a greater impact

in other people's lives

than just eating

the own seed

for ourselves

God wants to change

our hearts

not so that it's

guilt driven

but so we become

cheerful givers

in all of our life

grace leads to action

grace leads to a harvest

grace leads to thanksgiving

he says

for the ministry

of this service

is not only supplying

the needs of the saints

but is also overflowing

in many thanksgivings

to God

ultimately

a generous heart

is not just about

you having a richer life

or even about

other people

being blessed

through it

it's about

the glory

of God

it's about

God is glorified

when his people

are so satisfied

in him

that they can hold

loosely the stuff

that they have

and be generous

with it

when they see

that God is calling

them

and they see

needs around

and as we are

thankful for God's

grace in our life

that overflows

and what Paul

is saying here is

when the Corinthians

were to give

to their needy

brothers and sisters

what would be

happening there

was God

has given them

grace

he's given them

spiritual grace

he's given them

physical grace

and actually

as his grace

then comes and works

in their heart

and changes their heart

it then overflows

with them giving

a gift of grace

to this people

in Jerusalem

and when they

receive the grace

what happens

will happen to them

is they will realize

in a deep way

wow our God

is so gracious

through you

and so as their

faith increases

it releases them

to thank God

that they can see

their God provides

and he's provided

through the Corinthians

and what that does

it creates

them to then

pray

for their

church over there

so deeper unity

amongst these people

who would be divided

normally occurs

and through that

you say

only the gospel

can do that

and Jesus

gets all the glory

you know

my wife is expecting

in October

that's the right response

and a number of you

have actually been

just really generous

towards us

in offering us

baby stuff

they've promised it

so I'm

I'm expecting it

you know

Paul said

action

no

but actually

one of the things

like I was just

talking with Fiona

just the other day

and she was

she was saying

actually

you know

the amount of money

that we could save

from that

how about if we

actually then use that

to be able to

to give to some

missionary friends

in France

so that we can

bless them

and so

as I was thinking

about

I was thinking

that's so much

what this is

that actually

as somebody

shows generosity

us

then we can show

generosity

to somebody else

and then they

through their ministry

will be speaking

and releasing grace

into other people's life

and as you see that

the impact

of someone's generosity

right the way

over in Hong Kong

can impact

all the way

into France

and in somebody's life

that I have no idea

who they are

may result in praise

and thanksgiving

to God

isn't that amazing

to be part of something

so much bigger

than yourself

that's the harvest

God's talking about

so what do we do

with this

do you see

when you get grace

it changes everything

and first I think

as I've just thought

about this

and realized

for myself

but none of us

are as generous

as we should be

I mean let's just

let's just be real

and maybe it's not

just financial

it's maybe other areas

none of us

are rich in faith

and love

and joy

as God wants us to be

and so we need

to repent first

God

I often live

as if you're not

as gracious

as you really are

I need to repent

you're not as generous

and I haven't

I haven't proved

you as faithful

by being giving

so that the seed

of the harvest

can come

but the amazing

thing is this

and this just blows

me away

you know when it says

the grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ

you know it

when did he give

his grace to us

through dying

on the cross

while we were

still poor

you see

Jesus meets us

right where we are

with all of our fears

all of our insecurities

all of our questions

that we have

some of you may have

a lot of questions

he knows where we are

right now

as a church

as individuals

for some people

Jesus may be going

to you

like the rich young ruler

give everything away

but I suspect

for most of us

that's not what

Jesus is saying

Jesus is actually

probably just saying

I want just to take

one step

if you're like me

I want to change

from zero to a hundred

overnight

and I want everyone else

to change the same

but God's not like that

he's so gracious

with us

he's so gentle

with us

he leads us

step by step

so at the end

of this series

as we've been talking

about the grip

of money on our hearts

I want to ask you

what's the area

that God is calling

you to respond in

what's the area

that he's highlighting

in your life

he's not going to

give you a hundred things

he'll probably just

give you one thing

it may be a very

small thing

it may be that

you actually just need

to start talking

about money

with your spouse

or with your community group

it may be that

actually he's calling

you to buy fewer clothes

and give the money away

it may be just

calling you to find out

about the needs

that are around

because when you find out

about needs

then you can be

thinking about them

and praying about them

and asking God

how do you want us

to be generous

but grace leads

to action

and God does not

want us to go away

from this series

just saying

oh that was a nice series

and I'm personally

convinced

but God does also

not want you

to go away

inspired for 24 hours

on an emotional base

okay I need to give

and then three days later

it's like

gone

Jesus wants to meet you

where you are today

and to bring you

to a pattern

of your life

where there is

regular

consistent

wholehearted

life transformed

bit by bit

transformation

of your wallet

transformation

so that grace

and generosity

is characteristic

of us

as a church

and so I think

the first place

that we start

I'm going to close

with this

is to identify

who God is calling

you to give to

there are a thousand

charities out there

who ask you

for your money

there are so many

needs out there

we wonder

oh like

do I just give out

of guilt

but actually

I think God

wants to cultivate

a heart of generosity

in four things

here

these are four things

the Bible calls us

to give to

the family

the local church

other gospel ministry

and mission

and the poor

and the needy

maybe you're already

giving to a lot

of different ways

maybe you need

to just talk

with Julie

or Jeremy

or one of the

mission partners

that we've started

this funds

that we're talking

about

have you got

the other slide

the three funds

that we're looking

at as a church

compassion

for the needs

of those

within the church

missional justice

for those

outside the church

and the supporting

of mission work

that's going on

around Asia

maybe you need

to just find out

from the Filipino

community

or from other

communities

just what are the

needs

how can I start

praying

but let me finish

by saying this

some of us

are very generous

financially

but we often

struggle to give

with our time

because time

is very precious

but you know

Jesus didn't just

write a check

to us

he didn't say

hey there's your needs

let me send you

like a little gift

in an envelope

Jesus came

and he didn't

stay distant

from you

he didn't stay

attached from you

he knows about

where your heart is

and he came

down to you

to cross

every barrier

so that you

might be his

wherever you are

today

he's not a stingy

God

he's a gracious

God

he comes to you

today

so may we be

that rich church

may we be a church

that knows

how gracious

he is

let's pray

what I'd love you

to do is just

think for yourself

I don't want you

to think out of guilt

I don't want you

to think out of

just even a pressure

but say God

what are you calling

me to do

how do you want me

where in my heart

do I see you

as a stingy God

where are you

calling me to

step out in faith

and maybe you

would like to

come up for prayer

like just

during this time

we're going to

play the next song

maybe you just

want to respond

actually by coming

up and asking

for prayer

prayer

this is a hard

topic

but Jesus is so

glorious

he can provide

for everything

father we pray

for our hearts

thank you that you

are generous

to us

thank you for all

that you've given

us

thank you we don't

have to live

guilty lives

but you want us

to live generous

lives

please show us

what that means

please help us

not to live

under a pressure

but actually

out of a joy

to trust you

and prove you

faithful

to prove you

generous

to prove you

more abundant

than we could

ever imagine

would that be

what characterizes

us as a church

I pray

in Jesus name

Amen