Giving Pt. 3: An Investment in the Future

2 Corinthians 9 NASB95

For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints; for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared; otherwise if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to speak of you—will be put to shame by this confidence. So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” Now 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 everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

INTRO: Do you plan for the future? How many of you have set up a retirement account or put money away as a long-term investment? Yeah- most of us recognize that we need to think beyond today. After all, just because we want a better future does not mean it will simply happen.

ILL: I want you to think just for a minute about the kind of planning and intentionality it took to design your home. You had to consider where your well would be, your septic, your driveway… Someone had to think about the weight load of your roof and where all your electrical wiring, HVAC, and plumbing would need to go. There is a lot that goes into it. Now, imagine if you will all it takes to build a city- roads, bridges, utilities, etc.

This kind of thing does not happen by accident. Nor does it happen without intentional investments.

The same is true for the local church. The church and its ministry is far more than a building and its far more than an event or series of events.

Let me ask: What do you hope for as you consider the next 20-30 years at LRBC?

Do you hope for solid, biblical teaching?

Do you hope for a vibrant ministry to children/ youth?

Do you hope for outreach to our community?

Do you hope for the light of the Gospel to shine forth in the lives of your children and grandchildren?

If we hope to ensure that there is a ministry in this area that will reach the generation to come, we must consider how we are planning and giving to make that happen.

Now, we’ve spent the last couple weeks looking at giving- first a model of generosity and last week, we saw how our giving reflects who we are right now. All of this is straight from our text and intended to build us up as believers who are authentically engaged in Kingdom work.

And so today, we enter into this message perhaps with some idea of what should be and where we are personally at the moment. What we need to see before we take our first step is that the future of LRBC and its witness to this community requires more than understanding. It requires more that a dream or a desire.

It takes an investment. In other words, we put into the ministry today expecting future returns. And as we make such an investment, we can be sure that God will be glorified through our faithfulness.

So, my hope today is to give us a realistic picture of this investment. After all, you would expect that if you were talking to your financial advisor, you would get a clear picture of what to expect. I believe God’s Word will open your eyes this morning as we look to build a great future for LRBC.

The message is entitled, Giving Pt. 3: An Investment in the Future. If you picked up a bulletin this morning, you can use the enclosed sermon guide to follow along and take notes as we learn together.

The first point I’d like to make is

Investing in the Church Is More Than Good Intentions (1-5)

Let’s read v. 1-5 again (READ)

Here, Paul says essentially that he knows that he doesn’t need to explain the need of the ministry. THEY ALREADY KNOW IT!!

And not only did the Corinthians KNOW the needs, they talked about them and made plans to support this ministry. So much so, that Paul bragged on them to even the Macedonian churches, who if you remember gave us the model of generosity a couple weeks ago.

So, Paul says, “Be prepared to support that which you endeavored to do” or, we could say it this way “Put your money where your mouth is”

What we see in his appeal, especially in v. 4-5, is accountability. If they did not follow through with what they promised, that would paint a poor picture of their character. “Wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”

This reminds me of Jesus’s command to those who wished to be His disciples. He told them (Luke 14:25-33) to “Count the cost” and be sure they were willing to pay it lest they be like an unwise builder, unable to finish the job.

Here is what you and I need to see:

I believe you all know the importance of this ministry. If you are a member of LRBC, you should understand our mission and our goals. One of our covenant statements is a commitment to support the ministry financially and physically as you are able.

If you don’t understand the importance of giving, I’ll be leading a LR 101 class in the near future, and I would love to sit down with you and help you see the big picture.

Each year, we adopt a budget so that we can operate the ministry. You and I, as covenant members of LRBC need to give faithfully to support that which we said we would do.

If you don’t take part in voting and understanding the budget, then get involved and ask questions. Learn what it takes!

We hope to shine a light in our community and beyond. That will not happen on accident.

Let me explain it this way: You cannot pay your mortgage with a letter of intention. Eventually, the bank will come and take your house. If you hope to have a place to live and raise your family, you must actually pay that which you agreed to pay.

Likewise, for LRBC, we cannot accomplish our mission with good intentions. We actually have to invest. This is true financially as it costs money to keep up a building, pay church staff, purchase materials for programming, etc. The difference is that we don’t send you a bill or late notices. [If you think that might help you, contact our church office and Kim will be happy to set you up with auto-tithe]

But the need for this support is also true when it comes to service. Good intentions are not enough to fill the vacancies in our nursery volunteer schedule, summer camp, etc.

If you believe in the importance of the church, invest in it financially and practically.

Discuss: What good intentions do you need to follow through on?

Next, Paul takes us a step further in these next few verses, showing us that

Investing in the Church Is More Than An Obligation (6-7)

Picture, if you will, what you would hope this church and ministry could be. If you were to go 20 years to the future LRBC, what would you hope to see? How would the community be affected?

Have you thought about this? These next verses deal with our hope for the future church. Let’s read 6-7 again (READ)

There are 2 things I want to draw our attention to:

We will not build a bright future if we do not invest in it.

Verse 6 gives an agricultural illustration that I want you to lean into with me for a minute. If you plant just a couple seeds, it will only produce a little fruit. Imagine if a farmer tried to build a future and support his growing family by only planting a couple seeds. But, if he plants a bunch of seeds- maybe he even buys another field, how much more can he expect to grow?

BTW, No farmer would ever expect to harvest from a crop he never planted.

In the same way, church, if we only invest the bare minimum, we cannot expect to see much of a harvest.

Here is what I mean-

if we do not invest in raising up men and women to commission into ministry and missions, we cannot expect that there will be people from our church to continue to lead the efforts of reaching the lost around us. You will always have to try and convince someone from another church who is investing to come and lead the work.

If we do not invest in facilities that will meet the needs of the next generation, we cannot expect that a church will stand and minister to the community around us in 20-30 years.

And here’s another thing: You never sow and reap in the same season. If we do not invest today, there will be no harvest in the next season.

I believe that the best days of LRBC are not in the past, but in the future. And that will be because of our intentional investment today.

It is because we desire our kids and grand-kids to walk in the truth of the Gospel and we desire for them to take ownership of the mission that was handed down by Christ that we invest now. Again, this is both financial and practical.

The second thing I want you to see is that

2. Our investment should be on purpose and with purpose.

Look again at v.7. (READ)

Your giving should not be a question. It should be part of your household budget. I encourage you to pray about your giving commitment and determine the amount of your investment so that you are confident in your giving.

If you feel pressured when the offering is taken up, you probably are not giving as God would have you… but if you invest on purpose, then you have no need to prove yourself to the usher or to feel guilty.

Further, it’s with a desire to give, not because you are made to or because you feel obligated.

God loves a cheerful giver- that word ‘cheerful’ is literally translated ‘hilarious’. It does not mean that your giving is a joke- it means that your giving is such that you take joy in it. You smile because you get to invest in the gospel work that is and will be done in God’s church.

Investing in the church is more than Good Intentions or Obligations.

Discuss: How do you budget your giving to the church? Is it a priority?

Finally, we see that

Investing in the Church is More Than Pragmatism (8-15)

Pragmatism is a big word, but it basically means ‘practical usefulness.’

Often when we spend money on something, we look for a practical return on our investment. For example- when you go out to eat, you are meeting a practical need. When you go to college, you are meeting a practical need… well, mostly. And while our giving does indeed meet practical needs both in the church and beyond, our investment into the church is more than this.

Let’s read these final verses again. (READ 8-15)

There is a lot here, but I want to show you these truths:

All that we have is from God, thus our investment in His church is actually an exercise in stewardship. (8-10)

This is true of our finances and resources as well as our gifting for service. When we invest in His Church, we are showing ourselves to be responsible managers of the blessings He has given. And as we are faithful, He will increase our ability to invest even more!

Don’t be stingy with the seed for the one who supplies the seed will give you more!

This is not unlike how God provided the sacrificial ram for Abraham and how Jesus was the sacrificial lamb slain for us. All that we have received - grace, forgiveness, mercy, healing, etc. is from God, and so our giving of these to others is also a stewardship.

Our investment in the church is an act of worship. (11-15)

It’s kind of funny how this works. God uses our faithfulness to meet needs which creates a level of thankfulness that we get to see God using us for His Kingdom. We are thankful, those who benefit from our giving are thankful, and God receives glory and produces even more grace in us!

ILL: Look, we can see this in the missionaries we support- they write often thanking God for our church’s support of their ministry. They give glory to God and we get to be a part of Kingdom work! Isn’t that amazing?!?

Let me point us finally to v. 15- “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

There is no greater gift than that which God has extended to you and me. I have not and hope to never get over the gift of salvation and relationship with Jesus Christ!

So, what does it mean to invest in the church? It’s more than good intentions, more than obligation, and more than pragmatism.

When we invest in God’s Church, we are, in gratitude and worship, investing in the future so that others may experience the JOY of knowing our Lord. The BIG Picture is that the world would come to know Christ through the faithfulness of His church.

Jesus said, “…upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it...”

The question you must answer is this: Do I believe in God’s Church enough to invest in it? For the sake of the next generation, I pray the answer is a resounding “YES” both in our word and deed.

[PRAY]

Have you ever considered your giving to be an act of worship? How so?