2 Corinthians 9:6-15 | God Honors a Cheerful Giver

This is City Post Church. We're about three things.

Build equipped and send. All under the Lordship of Jesus

Christ, a small church plant in Fort Worth, TX.

Who decided to do things a little differently?

Adoramos Ayesu cristo. I love City Post because of the

people. It's where I belong.

We truly preach the word. I love City Post because of the

community we've been able to build to do ministry like Jesus

for light to push back darkness. This is City Post podcast.

My name is Gabriel. Gabe, if you don't know me and

I'm blessed to share the word with you guys today again today.

So let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for how

good and awesome you are. You've been so faithful to us

all through our lives and are faithful to us even today

because you are a faithful God. We just pray that that we may be

faithful to you as well. I speak to us this morning.

Just kind of teach us, show us what you want us to to put into

practice to change and help us trust you.

I respond to you according to your will.

Pray in the name of Jesus, Amen. All right, we're going to be the

second Corinthians Chapter 9, verses 6 through 15.

2 Corinthians 9:6–15

Before we read the passage, we I just want to give you a little

bit of background. A second Corinthians chapter 8

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

and Chapter 9 are about a fundraising project that Paul

had been writing about in several of his letters to the

church. And the project consisted in

providing some relief, some aid for Christians that were in

Jerusalem, in Judea, that were being persecuted and were

experienced experiencing famine and had no food.

And they were going through some very difficult, hard times.

If you read through verses one through 5 of 2nd Corinthians 9,

I just see, you'll see Paul reminding the Corinthians of the

commitment they had previously made to give to that project and

provide for the needs of the brothers and sisters in

Jerusalem. He didn't think they needed

reminding, but he went ahead and reminded them anyways, right?

Have you ever done that with your kids?

Yeah. I shouldn't need to remind him

about this, but just in case, let me go ahead and remind him

about it. Right.

So that was Paul. So if you made it to our weekly

Bible studies in First Corinthians, you know that a lot

of things were going on and that church there that we're not,

we're not the best, right? They that they were not good.

So Paul wanted to make sure that they would at least keep their

commitment to give to this project and do it with the right

attitude and do it the right way, because that's what we're

going to be talking about this morning, is how to give with the

right attitude and with the right in the right way.

So Paul had even told others about the commitment that the

Corinthians had made to give and and how they Corinthians

inspired others to give, even people from smaller churches

that had less resources than the Corinthians. 1st Corinthians 16.

If you read the first few verses, you'll see that Paul

gives them instruction on how to save for this special occasion,

special project. And now it was time to hand over

that collection to some people that Paul was sending to the

Corinthians. So the charity giving to others

was something foreign, was strange, was not common on

Paul's day. If money was to be earned for

yourself and for you to enjoy and your family to enjoy, not to

give to others right now, for sure not to send to people that

you didn't know, especially if they were from a different race,

different ethnicity, they were in a different country,

something that most people would do.

So in that context, Paul writes what we're about to read in

Second Corinthians 9/6 through 15.

Paul says the point is this. The person who sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly, and the person who shows who sows

generously will also reap generously.

Each person should do as he decided in his heart, not

reluctantly or out of compulsion.

Since God loves a cheerful giver.

God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in

every way, always having everything you need, you may

excel in every good work as it is written.

He distributed freely, He gave to the poor.

His righteousness endures forever.

That the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food

will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the

harvest for you of your righteousness.

You will be enriched in every way for all generosity which

produces Thanksgiving to God through us for the ministry of

this service. I am speaking about that

fundraising project. It's not only supplying the

needs of the Saints, but it's also overflowing many

expressions of thanks to God because of the proof provided by

this ministry. They will glorify God for your

obedient confession of the gospel of Christ and for your

generosity sharing with them and with everyone.

And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection

for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

And then he finishes saying thanks be to God for his

indescribable gift. So 1st 2 verses we see two ways

to give all right. Number one first is to give

generously. All right, verse 6 says the

person who sows sparingly but also reap sparingly.

The person who sows generously would also reap generously.

That versus an illustration from farming.

All right. No farmer considers sowing a

waste of seeds because they know that the harvest that will come

out of those seeds right will be we produce enough seeds for the

next harvest time. So he willingly sows all that he

can and he trusts God that God will reward the sowing with a

great harvest so that he could sow for the next season.

If the if the farmer for some reason cuts down on the sowing

or doesn't sow much seed, then the farmer's kind of cheating

himself right of that harvest. So the more he sows, the

greatest the harvest he will reap and the more he will have

for sowing for the next harvest. Plentiful giving or result in a

plentiful harvest. Simple words if you sow a lot,

you will read a lot. At least that's what God what

God's. So now Paul Paul is not sharing

an investment strategy with the church and current on on how to

make or how to get more material blessings.

No, you know if we give hoping to have more material

prosperity, then we will experience and will always only

harvest spiritual poverty. In simple words, when you give,

God gives you more, but He gives you more, not for you to keep it

to yourself, but to give it to others as they experience need.

The world we live in tells us that a way to have more is to

what? Make more and keep more, right?

It's about keeping to yourself. God tells us that the way to

have more is to to give more. But God gives us more so that we

can give more. That's how it works.

So ask yourself this morning, is your motivation for giving to

try to see how much you can keep for yourself or to see how much

you can actually give away? Listen, you can't reap if you

don't sow You can't reap from the harvest if you don't sow

seeds that will produce a harvest.

Makes perfect sense in agriculture, right?

But we tend to totally ignore that in our daily life.

But we can't reap if we don't sow.

So my prayers that our motivation to give generously is

that you and I determine what's the maximum we can do when

there's a need. Not the minimum we can do, but

the maximum we can do. And then we act.

We do it in obedience to Christ because ultimately he's the one

that calls us to give. Second way to give is to give

cheerfully verse 7 says each person should do as he decided

in his heart, not reluctantly or out of compulsion since God

loves a what a cheerful giver. How many of you have heard that

before a God loves a cheerful giver.

This mom was trying to teach her daughter, little daughter, some

things about giving, right. So on Sunday morning before they

went to church, she gave her little daughter a dollar and

1/4. She said, all right, well, you

go to church, you know, when the collection time comes to pick up

the offering, I'm going to let you choose which one you give

away, the dollar or the quarter. So the mom, the daughter was.

Yeah. All right, let's go.

Let's do it. After the service, the mom asked

her, OK, So what did you end up doing?

Which one did you give, the dollar or the quarter?

He said, well, I really thought about giving the dollar away,

but I heard the pastor say that God loves a cheerful giver and I

knew it would make me more cheerful if I gave the quarter.

So, So I gave the quarter. Mom, right?

She missed the point. The Greek word for cheerful

here, which I found interesting, is where we get the word

hilarious, hilarious giving. I love that.

So we must not be sad givers who give grudgingly, or we must not

be mad givers who give because we have to, but we should be

glad givers who give cheerfully when there's a need that calls

for it. We cheerfully, happily share

what we have. Why?

Because we have experienced so much grace from God.

We just sang about it. We've experienced so much grace

from God, primarily in Jesus, that when there's a need, I

should be willing, ready, eager, cheerful, together and bless

others. So when you give, what is your

attitude? See, the amount is important.

We cannot deny that. But even more important is the

attitude of your heart. Do you do it gladly, cheerfully?

Do you do it excited that you're able to meet someone's need?

See if your attitude is the correct one.

God will bless you and you will have what you really need.

And perhaps even more, because God loves what who?

A cheerful giver. And that doesn't mean that God

does not love those that don't give right or those that don't

give as they should, but that God delights, God rejoices in

the person who gives joyfully and cheerfully and does it with

a right attitude. The wrong 10 through 11 should

be on the screen. You should, you can look for it

if you like. He says that is God speaking

through the Moses, says you should generously give to him

and is speaking about giving to the poor.

And your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him,

the poor. Because for this thing, the Lord

your God, we bless you in all your work and in all your

undertakings, for the poor would not exist to exist in the land.

And Jesus would say that later in the Gospels.

Therefore I'm commanding you, saying you shall fully open your

hand. I like that.

You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy,

and to the poor in your land. Very specific, right?

To the brother, to your brother, to your needy, to the poor in

your land again. So when God tells you to give,

and when you give, what's your attitude?

Are you glad about it? Cheerful?

Are you excited to give and meet and meet and bless other people?

Examine your heart this morning, right?

Why you give? What's your attitude when you

give? God loves and God is pleased.

God delights with those that give cheerfully, and he blesses

him and he blesses her. Have you heard of cirrhosis of

the Giver? We've probably heard of

cirrhosis of the liver, right? Cirrhosis of the liver is the

scarring of the liver that occurs over time due to long

term damage which prevents the liver from functioning properly.

See Roses of the Giver was discovered in the year AD 34

after Jesus when the church was established by the husband and

wife team of Ananias and Sapphira.

When you can take some time and read Acts chapter 5 verses one

Acts 5 · chapter mention

through 11 so you can get the full story.

But see, Roses of the Giver is an acute condition that renders

the patient's hands immobile when he or she is asked to move

them in the direction of his wallet, her purse or their Apple

Pay to meet a need. It's a stress disease that is

clinically unobservable in such surroundings as Amazon, Walmart,

clothing stores, restaurants. It doesn't show up, but we're

all at those places. The best therapy and that which

leads to a sure and lasting cure is to get the individual's

heart, your heart and my heart right with God.

The affliction, this affliction is actually a symptom of a more

basic need of the soul. Do you have that cirrhosis of

the giver? Giving, showing benevolence to

the poor and the needy is a sign of righteousness.

It's a sign that one has a right relationship with God.

Listen, if I'm right with God and I have a close personal

relationship with God, I will be more like God.

Now what does God do? He cares for those in need.

If we're the kind of people that try to hoard money or spend it

all on ourselves, that should set off an alarm in your heart

that your relationship with God is not what it needs to be.

It's out of balance, or worse, you may not even have one.

And if you realize today that that's you, today's a really

good time to to get right with God.

If I say I know Jesus and I'm a follower of Jesus, I must obey

Jesus when he asked me to give generously to someone in need

because that's what followers of Jesus do.

See, our giving is tied to our knowing, to knowing who Jesus.

If you know Jesus personally, you have a personal relationship

with him that's going to impact your giving, how much you bless

others through what you have. The next few verses we see two

additional reasons to give. All right?

The first one, because God provides for your giving.

God provides for your giving. They asked this man Captain

Levi, He was AUS naval officer, Christian philanthropist.

Philanthropist is somebody that basically just gives money away.

And they're asking, hey, how is it Captain Levi that that you

give away so much? But then you still have a lot,

you had still have a lot of wealth, you still have a lot of

resources. And he said, well, I basically

shove it out and God shoves it back in speaking about money.

And God has a bigger shovel, right?

So don't forget that as you give, God is going to bless you

and give to you. And he has a bigger shovel.

But again, he gives us so that we can do what?

So we can give others and bless others that are in need.

Verse 8, Second Corinthians 9 says and God is able to make

every grace overflow to you so that in every way always having

everything you need. You may excel in every good

work. I love those words that are

all-encompassing in this passage.

They're awesome. Again, instead of God is able to

make what every grace overflow to you so that in every way.

This does not mean that God makes every Christian rich and

material things, but it does mean that the Christian who

gives generously with the right attitude would always have what

they really need when they need it.

God is never late. God is never late and show all

of us if we take some time to tell stories and and give a

testimony how how we pray for something that we really needed.

God came through in the just at the right time, not when I

thought I needed he needed to. Maybe not how I thought he

needed to, but still, God came through right at the perfect

time with what I really need. Not what I want, but what I

really, really need. See, most people don't give as

they should because they worry that they will not have enough

for themselves. And listen, that's a common

thought for many, if not all of us.

We're all there. We're often there.

It's very easy to think that way now.

If we didn't have the truth and living God, if we didn't know

Him who knows, owns everything and He's also our Father, then

that thinking would make sense. But knowing God makes all the

difference in the world. Paul assures us that God will

always supply us with enough for our needs but also to bless

others. See, we tend to think that we

can only give when we are prospering.

That we can only give when we have something extra that we

will not need for ourselves and therefore we give it away.

Last week Pastor Ricky spoke about Hoodie.

Remember the widow, right? That she gave all that she had,

which at that point was the equivalent of 1 sin, but she

gave it. And Jesus said that he she out

of her poverty, put in the coffin, another coffin, the the

offering a place or whatever they had there.

All she owed, all she had to live on.

But she was recognized by Jesus and we're talking about her

today. There's never any time when we

cannot be generous. If all you have is very little,

you can still be generous. If you don't have anything, no

money whatsoever, you can still give something that you have

that someone may need. You may need it, but somebody

may need it more than you. You can give of your time to

bless somebody. You can give of your skills and

talents that God has blessed you with so that you can help

somebody in need. There's never a time where we

cannot be generous. In verse 9, Paul's quoting from

Psalms 1 to 9, it says he distributed freely.

He gave to the poor. His righteousness endures

forever. Now it sounds like that Psalm is

talking about God, right? But he's really not talking

about God. He's speaking about the

righteous man, the righteous woman, the righteous person.

I love verse 6 and that Psalms 112.

He says he will never be shaken. The righteous, the generous

person will be remembered forever.

Remember by, by who? Certainly remembered by God,

right? Who is watching us, but also by

others. Let me ask you this morning,

how, how would you like to be remembered?

Like when your time in this world ends, how would you like

to be remembered? Will you be remembered as

someone who just thought of themselves and never gave

anything to anyone? Or will you be remembered as

someone who constantly went above and beyond to meet

significant needs for the glory of God?

How would you be remembered if today was your last day on this

earth? You can change that.

Start changing that today. Certainly the Lord promises to

give you all you need so that you can do all He has for you to

do so bank trust not on your bank account, but on His promise

that He will provide. I love Malachi chapter 3 verse

Malachi 3:10

10. Powerful verse.

Malachi 310 says Bring all the tides into the storehouse so

that there will be enough food in my temple.

If you do, says the Lord of Heaven's armies.

I like that it asks that. Praise the Lord of heaven,

armies, we'll open the windows of heaven for you.

I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room

to take it in. Try it, God says.

And then what? Put me to the test, God is

telling you today. Put me to the test.

Try it. Let me tell you, He's ready for

it. He's ready for you to trust Him

like you never have before, and He's ready to come through for

you in His time and His way with what you really need.

He's ready for it. But you and I, we had to trust

them and act accordingly. Second reason or give because

God gave first. Verses 10 and 11, Second

Corinthians 9 because God gave first.

It says like this. Now the one who provides seed

for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply

your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

I love those 3 words. Provide, multiply, and what

else? Increase the harvest of your

righteousness. It says you will be enriched in

every way for all generosity, which produces Thanksgiving to

God through us. So we'll be we'll be enriched in

every way. And it's not talking just about

money. For what purpose?

For all generosity to give, God blesses you to be generous to

give to others. Martin Luther, he's the father

of the Protestant Reformation. You can Google him later if if

you want a lot of great things about him.

Martin Luther said this, he I have had many things in my hands

that I lost, but the things that I place in the hands of God, I

still possess. God is the one who provides and

multiplies. All harvest comes from God.

Now the farmers, whatever we get, whatever we have, whatever

we own, whatever we give comes from who comes from God.

That's where it comes from. It doesn't come from from what

you do. Our life, our health, our work,

what we earn comes from God, not from your ability, not from your

experience, not from your contacts, your hookups, who you

know have a have a really good friend San Antonio that I that I

work with every time something broke in the house or in the

car, whatever he would say. I know a guy, I know the guy

that you need right? But even that come from God.

See what I what I have. Listen, what I have is his.

What you have is God is not mine.

It is not yours. I'm just a steward.

You are just a steward. God hasn't trusted you in what

you have, and he wants you to use it in a way that glorifies

him, in a way that blesses others.

But whatever you have, it is not yours.

It is not yours. When we sow, when we give, we're

really not giving what's ours. We're giving what's gods.

Because what I have is not mine. The Bible says it.

It's clear what I have is not mine.

So when I give, I give what is God years ago.

One thing I do is I plan these conventions of churches and get

together and we have like exhibitors.

You've been to place conventions like that.

Then there's exhibitors, people giving away stuff.

And this super sweet lady, dear servant, God, one of the

sweetest people I know, She was working in one of the booths and

they had this ministry to India and she was giving things away.

And all of a sudden she looks and the people like a few boots

over. We're not there.

But some people were coming to their booth trying to, to get

what they had in their booth, right.

So she just wanted to help. She just wanted to give.

She just wanted to bless people. So even if it was not hers, she

wanted to go and help people and bless people.

So she went to their table and she started giving all their

stuff away. The issue was that they were

actually selling those things. They were not giving them away.

But that doesn't say anything about her heart.

She was ready to give, even was not hers, in order to bless

others that needed something. See, if we change the way we

think about what we have, recognizing that it's not ours,

we will be free to give eagerly, gladly, cheerfully, generously.

There will be no limit to what God does through you, through

us, as we give to those in need in the name of Jesus.

What is the result of that giving?

Verses 12 through 14 almost done so hang with me.

As for the ministry of this service is not only supplying

the needs of the Saints, but it's also overflowing in many

expressions of thanks to God because of the proof provided by

this ministry. They will glorify God for your

obedient confession of the gospel of Christ and for your

generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.

And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection

for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

So what were the results of their giving right?

The Christians needs in Jerusalem and Judea were met.

The Corinthians faith to Christians in Jerusalem was

proven. God was glorified and he says

that the affection, the unity, the community in the church

grew. The same could be true or is

true here at City Post Church today.

When we give, needs are met, the genuineness of our faith and our

commitment is demonstrated. God is glorified and the

affection, the unity, the community in the church grows.

It's been a blessing over the years to here to know, to

experience the generosity of City Post Church and hundreds of

people have been blessed by that.

Not just where City Post has been in Fort Worth and there's

been a few places where the church has been, but also in

Honduras, in India and many other places glorifying God

because of you. I absolutely love how Paul ends

this section. Verse 15 says thanks be to God

for his indescribable gift. Thanks be to God for his

indescribable gift. What is he talking about?

Jesus? This is ultimately all about

Jesus. The ultimate example of

generosity towards you and towards me.

It's Jesus I love. Romans 832 it says God did not

even spare his own Son Jesus, but gave him up for us all.

Gave him up for us all. How he we will he not also with

him grant us what everything, all things, but it all starts

with Jesus because everything God has done for us and given us

above all Jesus, his Son. Let us trust him like we never

have before. I give like we never have

before, all for his glory, not for my glory, for your glory,

but for God glory. There's a prayer on the screen.

I want you to pray this today as we wrap up.

Lord, help me open my hands to give so I may receive from you

to bless others. To you there to totally with all

your heart this morning pray this prayer to God.

Lord, help me open my hands to give so that I may receive from

you with what purpose to bless others.

Let's pray. After we're done praying, the

band's going to be leading us in a song.

The author's going to be open. Some of us are going to be out

here. If you want someone to pray with

you about where your heart is with God, your relationship with

God, any means you're going through, any need of prayer,

we're here to help you for that, with that.

And the greatest thing you could ever give God is your life, your

heart, your life. And if you've never done that,

if you've never given your life to Jesus and fully surrender to

him and get everything to him and put everything in his hands,

come up while we sing again. We'll be here.

We'll love to guide you in that and pray for you about that,

Lord. Thank you.