2 Corinthians Ch8v1-15 - Generous Grace, Generous Giving: Part 1

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Good morning, everyone. It's nice to see you.

! Thank you.

Thank you. One response, not bad.

Please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 8.

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 8.

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

We took a break there just before Christmas

when we were looking at Isaiah 42.

And now we're back to 2 Corinthians again.

So we're going to read chapter 8,

verses 1 through to 15 together.

2 Corinthians 8, starting at verse 1.

Let's hear God's word to us.

And now, brothers and sisters,

we want you to know about the grace God has given the Macedonian churches.

In the midst of a very severe trial,

their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty

welled up in rich generosity.

For I testify that they gave as much as they were able

and even beyond their ability.

Entirely on their own,

they urgently pleaded with us

for the privilege of sharing in the service of the Lord's people.

And they exceeded our expectations.

They gave themselves first of all to the Lord

and then by the will of God also to us.

So we urge Titus,

just as he had earlier made a beginning,

to bring also to completion

this act of grace on your part.

But since you excel in everything,

in faith, in speech, in knowledge,

in complete earnestness,

and in the love we have kindled in you,

see that you also excel

in this grace of giving.

I'm not commanding you,

but I want to test the sincerity of your love

by comparing it with the earnestness of others.

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, through his poverty,

might become rich.

And here is my judgment

about what is best for you in this matter.

Last year you were the first not only to give,

but also to have the desire to do so.

Now finish the work,

so that your eager willingness to do it

may be matched by your completion of it

according to your means.

For if the willingness is there,

the gift is acceptable

according to what one has,

not according to what one does not have.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved

while you are hard-pressed,

but that there might be equality.

At the present time,

your plenty will supply what they need,

so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.

The goal is equality.

As it is written,

the one who gathered much

did not have too much,

and the one who gathered little

did not have too little.

Well, let's keep our Bibles open there

at 2 Corinthians.

We'll pray,

and then we'll get into God's Word.

So let's pray together.

Taste and see

that the Lord is good.

Father, help us now by your Spirit

to feed on your Word

so that we may see and experience

your goodness

in our lives

and that we may be changed

to be those who are good

in our generosity

and giving to others.

Help us now, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Back a number of years ago

when I was training for pastoral ministry,

I was given a list

by the minister

to visit people

I had to go and see.

One man that I went to see

was in a very exclusive care home.

I arrived one day

to find him in his right mind,

but all in a panic.

He had misplaced

a 20-cent coin

and he couldn't find it.

He'd become overwhelmed

with anxiety

and concern.

But the thing is,

this man was a very,

very wealthy man.

But yet he was concerned

for a missing few pennies.

How sad, I thought,

to get to that stage

and to be worried

about a few pence.

I also visited

an older lady.

She lived alone

in her small house

and on most occasions

whenever I was leaving,

she would hand me

an envelope

with a name on it

or a mission organisation

on it

and say,

make sure

this gets

to the right person.

She didn't have much,

but there was a desire

to give.

One was wealthy

and tight-fisted.

The other was poor

but open-handed.

Now what makes the difference

between those two people?

Well, very simply

and in one word,

grace.

Knowing God's goodness

and kindness

and love

and acceptance

made all the difference.

You see,

experiencing

God's grace

will transform us

into generous

givers.

Look at verse 1.

And now,

brothers and sisters,

so he's changing course here.

For the first seven chapters,

it's been an encouragement

about how we should live

our Christian life

and ministry.

Now the focus changes

to financial giving.

Verse 1.

And now,

brothers and sisters,

we want you to know

about the grace

that God has given.

God is a generous giver,

especially in the area

of grace,

in pouring out

his favour

and his kindness

and his goodness

upon people.

So,

look at the very end

of verse 7.

As we think about

the grace God has given,

end of verse 7,

and see that you also

excel in this grace

of giving.

Just as God has been

gracious and generous

to us,

may we excel

in the grace

of giving.

But why this sudden

change in the letter

to suddenly talk

about finances?

It seems a bit

random.

Well,

part of Paul's ministry

was taking up

a financial collection

to help the church

back in Jerusalem.

The church there

was experiencing

a lot of persecution.

People had lost

their jobs,

others were kicked

out of their homes,

and so when Paul

went visiting

these churches

and wrote to

these churches,

he reminded them

of the financial needs

and encouraged

the other churches

to give.

So,

have a look with me

back to

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

just back a couple

of pages.

So,

this is a previous

letter

written about

a year before

2 Corinthians.

So,

chapter 16,

verse 1.

Now,

about the collection

for the Lord's people,

do what I told

the Galatian churches

to do.

So,

it's the same

message I've been

saying to all

the churches

I've been visiting.

On the first

day of every week,

each one of you

should set aside

a sum of money

in keeping

with your income,

saving it up,

so that when I come,

no collection

will have to be made.

In other words,

it'll all be there

ready to collect

and to bring.

Then,

when I arrive,

I will give

letters of introduction

to the men

you approve

and send them

with your gift

to Jerusalem,

the church

that was struggling.

If it seems

advisable for me

to go also,

they will accompany

me.

Let's go back

to chapter

8 of 2 Corinthians.

So,

there was the

reminder to give

to the other

churches.

Now,

the problem

we're getting to

in chapter 8

is that the

church,

it seems,

in Corinth

have forgotten

their promise

to give.

But instead

of berating

them and

telling them

off and

shoving the

collection bag

in their face,

Paul reminds

them of

God's

generous

grace.

You see,

experiencing

God's grace

will transform

us into

generous

givers.

In fact,

it's a sign,

it's evidence

that we are

Christians and

that we are

following the

Lord Jesus.

So,

we're going to

look at

three things

through this

text.

First,

that grace

leads to

rich

generosity,

loving

sincerity,

and genuine

equality.

So,

let's see

the difference

that grace

makes.

First,

it leads to

rich

generosity.

Let's go

back to

verse 1,

chapter 8.

And now,

brothers and

sisters,

we want you

to know

about the

grace that

God has

given the

Macedonian

churches.

But what's

so special

about these

churches in

Macedonia?

Well,

they were an

example of

a church

that had

been

transformed

by grace.

Look at

verse 2.

In the

midst of a

very severe

trial,

their

overflowing

joy,

and their

extreme

wealth

welled up

in rich

generosity.

Is that

what your

Bible says?

No,

extreme

poverty.

It's

extraordinary

isn't

it?

It literally

doesn't

add up.

Do the

math.

Severe

trial

plus

extreme

poverty

equals

what?

It's

amazing.

Rich

generosity.

We don't

know what

the trial

was.

Perhaps it

was also

persecution

like in

Jerusalem.

them.

But

whatever

they were

going

through,

the impact

was

devastating.

They were

now living

in poverty.

But here's

the amazing

thing, and

it's wonderfully

beautiful to

think about.

They're not

anxious.

They're not

sad.

Verse 2,

overflowing

with joy.

Have you

ever been in

financial

difficulty?

I wonder

if you

would describe

that moment

as

overflowing

joy.

It's a

challenge,

isn't it?

They had

come to

experience

God's

saving

and

sustaining

grace,

and it

had

utterly

changed

and

transformed

their

lives.

Look at

the way

it had

changed

them.

First,

their

sacrificial

giving.

Verse 3,

For I

testify that

they gave

as much

as they

were able

and even

beyond

their

ability.

They not

only gave,

they gave

in a way

that was

costly.

Their

giving was

putting their

own lives

at risk.

It was

sacrificial.

But more

than that,

look at

their

joyful

desire.

No

moaning

minis here

when it

came to

giving

their

money.

Look at

the end

of verse

3.

Entirely

on their

own,

they

urgently

pleaded

with us

for the

privilege

of sharing

in the

service

of the

Lord's

people.

Now,

you could

imagine

Paul

saying to

them,

listen,

guys,

you don't

have to

give

anything

because,

well,

look,

you're

going

through

your

hard

time

at the

minute.

Just

keep

it.

no,

Paul,

we want

to give.

Please let

us be part

of this

giving.

God has

been so

good and

kind to

us.

Please

don't say

no.

Extraordinary,

isn't it?

This joyful

desire in

their extreme

poverty,

their

joyfulness

in wanting

to give.

but there's

more.

Verse 5,

look at

their

faithful

response.

They

exceeded

our

expectations.

They

gave

of

themselves

first

of

all

to

the

Lord

and

then

by

the

will

of

God

also

to

us.

Not

only

were

they

willing

to

give

what

pennies

they

had

left,

they

gave

of

their

very

lives.

Because

the

only

right

and

best

response

to

God's

grace

is

first

to

give

yourself

to

God

and

then

to

give

ourselves

to

others.

You

see,

giving

financially

is not

a way

to

earn

God's

grace

and

favour

and

acceptance.

It's

the

evidence

that

you

have

already

received

that

grace.

Paul

Tripp,

some of

you will

know,

he's an

author,

put it

like

this,

if

you

gave

every

cent

of

every

euro

that

you

ever

earned

in

every

job

that

you

ever

had,

you

could

not

give

enough

to

deserve

God's

grace.

No,

giving

is the

sign

that we

have

received

and

experienced

the

life

transforming

wallet

opening

grace

of God.

God.

This

was the

message

to the

church

in

Corinth

and

it's

the

message

to the

church

in

Carigoline.

Now it

seems

the

church

in

Corinth

had

lost

sight

of

all

God's

goodness

and

grace

to

them.

That's

why

he's

reminding

them

of how

God

had

worked

in

the

Macedonian

churches

and

saying

he

can

do

the

same

in

you.

So we

urged

Titus

just as

he had

made

an

earlier

let me

start

again

verse

6

so we

urged

Titus

just as

he had

earlier

made

a

beginning

to

bring

also

to

completion

this

act

of

grace

on

your

part.

He

had

sent

Titus

to

Corinth

to

start

the

collection

and

now

he's

saying

finish

what

you

started.

You

see

they

had

become

tight

fisted

not

open

handed

instead

of

writing

the

checks

they

were

counting

their

pennies

and

it's

not

just

a

Corinthian

problem

I've

discovered

in

doing

the

studies

on

this

that

it's

actually

a

me

problem

you

see

I

like

to

keep

a

firm

grip

on

my

wallet

to

my

shame

I

excel

in

spending

but

lack

in

giving

what

about

you

are

you

tight

fisted

or

are

you

open

handed

do

you

sacrificially

give

do

you

plead

for

opportunities

to

give

do

you

faithfully

offer

your

life

as a

gift

now

those

are

questions

only

we

as

individuals

can

answer

but

if we

have

experienced

the

grace

of

God

the

evidence

will

be

seen

in

our

giving

so

end

of

verse

seven

see

that

you

also

excel

in

this

grace

of

giving

so

first

of all

grace

leads

to

generous

giving

second

grace

leads

to

loving

sincerity

loving

sincerity

let's go

to verse

eight

I'm

not

commanding

you

I'm

not

berating

you

but I

do

want to

test

the

sincerity

of your

love

by

comparing

it

with

the

earnestness

of

others

you

say

that

you

love

your

brothers

and

sisters

you

say

that

you

want

to

be

able

to

give

to

the

Lord's

work

well

prove

your

love

prove

the

sincerity

of

your

love

but

if

you're

like

me

and

you

struggle

to

part

with

your

hard

earned

cash

if

you

find

it's

hard

to

prize

open

your

wallet

or

to

flash

revolute

and

do

whatever

else

you

might

do

well

let me

talk

about

three

ways

in

which

you

possibly

might

be able

to

change

to be

a

generous

giver

three

ways

the

first

two

are

wrong

the

last

one

is

right

if

you

want

to

change

my

heart

you

could

try

manipulation

look

at all

the

bombing

that is

going

on

in

Ukraine

what

about

those

poor

people

how

about

giving

to

them

what

about

those

poor

children

who

make

all

those

clothes

for

Sheen

what

about

them

you

could

try

couldn't

you

by

manipulation

to

try

and

force

some

pennies

out

of

my

wallet

or

you

could

try

guilt

Johnny

you

say

you're

a

Christian

you

say

you

really

do

care

you

say

that

you

love

people

why

aren't

you

doing

anything

about

it

you

could

heap

on

guilt

and

shame

well

manipulation

what

happens

when we

watch

enough

pictures

and see

the news

of children

starving

and wars

that are

going on

but we

become

desensitized

to it

don't

we

it

doesn't

really

last

and the

guilt

where

you

can

put

on

guilt

upon

guilt

and

shame

upon

shame

but

eventually

we

just

become

hardened

to all

of that

and it

doesn't

take

effect

at all

no

manipulation

and guilt

isn't going

to change

a thing

not in

the long

term

the only

motive

the only

thing

that is

going

to

change

us

is by

looking

at

God's

grace

not

looking

at

how

difficult

it

is

for

other

people

not

by

looking

inside

my

own

heart

and

how

bad

I

am

but

by

taking

our

gaze

and

looking

at

Christ

and

his

amazing

grace

because

you

are

very

very

rich

look

at

verse

nine

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

through

his

poverty

might

become

rich

if

you're

going

to

change

the

bad

habits

in

my

life

if

you're

going

to

change

the

habits

in

your

life

if

we're

going

to be

sincere

givers

look

at

the

beauty

and

wonder

of

Christ

Christ

had

it

all

every

atom

and

every

planet

belongs

to

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

he

made

it

he

owns

it

but

what

did

he

do

he

made

himself

nothing

he's

king

of

the

universe

but

he

became

a

servant

and

he

embraced

our

poverty

walking

in the

midst

of a

broken

world

but

not

just

materially

spiritually

he

took

on

our

poverty

what

does

that

mean

well

have

a

look

back

to

chapter

5

verse

21

here's

a

good

summary

of

what

it

means

that

Christ

took

on

our

poverty

and

gave

us

his

riches

2

2 Corinthians 5:21

corinthians

5

verse

21

god

made

him

that

is

christ

who

had

no

sin

to

be

sin

for

us

so

that

in

christ

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

god

isn't

that

wonderful

that

christ

took

on

himself

my

sin

debt

all

the

mess

and

all

my

brokenness

and

all

my

failure

and

he

paid

that

debt

for

me

by

dying

in

my

place

on

the

cross

he

took

my

condemnation

that

I

deserve

so

that

I

might

receive

his

salvation

as

I

trust

in

him

you

see

the

only

way

you

will

change

the

bad

habits

in

my

heart

and

enable

me

to

release

whatever

in

my

wallet

is

by

not

looking

at

others

not

looking

inside

my

own

heart

but

by

helping

me

focus

on

the

goodness

and

kindness

of

our

lord

jesus

christ

so

if

you

have

trusted

in

jesus

if

you

are

a

recipient

of

god's

gracious

generosity

if

he

has

taken

the

poverty

of

your

sin

and

you

have

received

his

riches

forgiveness

of

all

of

your

sin

and

life

forever

in

his

eternal

kingdom

you

are

exceedingly

wealthy

you

have

you

have

all

that

you

ever

need

in

christ

he

loved

us

sincerely

so

let's

keep

each

other

focused

on

the

grace

of

god

you

are

rich

and

that

has

an

impact

complete

the

task

that's

what

follows

in

verse

10

Paul

is

writing

to

the

church

in

Corinth

here

is

my

judgment

about

what

is

best

for

you

in

this

matter

last

year

you

were

the

first

not

only

to

give

but

also

to

have

the

desire

to

do

so

now

finish

the

work

you

said

you

were

going

to

do

it

you

promised

you

were

going

to

do

!

now

show

the

sincerity

of

your

love

and

do

the

job

write

the

check

set

up

that

direct

debit

revolute

towards

that

mission

put

the

cash

in

the

envelope

do

it

just

as

Christ

followed

through

on

his

promise

to

give

his

life

for

you

just

as

he

proves

the

sincerity

of

his

love

by

dying

for

you

and

for

me

so

follow

through

on

your

promise

to

give

what

you

said

let's

prove

the

sincerity

of

our

love

and

let's

continue

to be

generous

in

our

giving

but

let's

also

remember

that

it's

according

to

our

means

our

giving

our

sincerity

must

be

matched

by

what

we

have

not

what

we

don't

have

look

at

the

end

of

verse

11

according

to

your

means

for

if

the

willingness

is

there

the

gift

is

acceptable

according

to

what

one

has

not

according

to

what

one

does

not

have

now

this

is

going

to be

different

for

each

of

us

some

of

us

have

more

some

of

us

have

less

we

all

give

but

we

don't

all

give

the

same

there's

no

point

in

promising

oh

I'm

going

to