2 Cor 9:6-15 - Sow Bountifully

2 Corinthians 9:6–15 KJV 1900

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; 13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; 14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Introduction

My Favorite Illustrations Giving/Stewardship Tithing

Someone said the most sensitive nerve of humanity is the pocket-book nerve.

It’s not wrong to give so that you can receive. 6

Paul builds his encouragement to give off of the illustration of a farmer.

If you didn’t understand the natural laws of sowing and reaping, what would you think watching a farmer or a gardener throw perfectly good seed away on the ground?

It is strange to take perfectly good seeds, that could be used for all manner of consumption, and bury them in the dirt.

The farmer and gardener knows that by casting each seed away it will grow into a plant that will produce many more seeds.

This is something our kids learn in elementary school.

Jesus spoke about it too in Matthew 13:8 “8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”

The farmer does not plant the corn because he has an abundance of corn that he just doesn’t know what to do with.

Why does the farmer plant corn?

So that he can get more corn!

We don’t say that he is selfish or wrongly motivated, he is simply operating in the economy that God has established.

God tells us that giving works the same way.

Paul, in this context is dealing with giving, and he tells us that to give is to sow.

We could have looked at the whole chapter and even the chapter before this to see this all has to do with giving money towards special projects.

We have a special project and so it would be good for us to examine what God wants us to know about our giving.

This isn’t the only passage that speaks to our giving.

The Old testament talks a lot about it.

Proverbs 11:24-25 “24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

Givers grow in their power to give.

Jesus spoke about money more often than many other topics.

11 of his 40 parables dealt with money.

Matthew 6:21 “21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Only two classes of sowers in this passage.

The one who sowed sparingly.

The one who sowed bountifully.

The rewards to each were directly attached to the amount they had sown.

Sowing is not a one time event.

What would we think of the farmer who sowed one season and expected that to cover him for the rest of his life.

The idea of the words that Paul uses here indicate that the sower/giver is sow and keep sowing.

You sow, then you reap.

Then you take the harvest that you received and you reinvest it by sowing again.

This is what a successful farmer does.

Like a farmer throwing his seeds into the ground, giving looks like throwing away.

Have you ever received your giving statement at the end of the year and been surprised by the number that was on their?

Has your flesh ever kicked in and reminded you of all the things that you could have done with that money?

What would your neighbors and coworkers say if they knew how much you gave back to God?

How many of you, though, have faithfully sowed and have also enjoyed the times of reaping?

It isn’t selfish to give looking forward to the reward, God designed it this way.

Every farm and garden gives testimony to the multiplication that comes from sowing.

Giving is in the best and highest interests of the donor.

My Favorite Illustrations Give until It Feels Good

An oft-used slogan is, “Give until it hurts.” It does not take much giving to hurt some people. Instead, we should “Give until it feels good.

God loves people who give freely and joyfully. 7

Voluntariness is the truest motive and principle of giving.

Every person freely chooses how much they want to receive from God.

This dictates how much they will give.

If God is going to give much, we must want much.

It’s the decision not the dollar that makes the giver.

No one is to be sorry about letting anything pass out of his hands.

grudgingly = out of sorrow.

No one is to give as if they are being robbed.

I am happy I gave, I should have given more.

ilaros = hilarious.

God loves the light-hearted, joyous, happy giver.

Notice it doesn’t say He loves the gift.

Giving is about what it does in the lives of God’s people.

God is primarily interested in whether or not you trust Him enough to give.

God enables the giver to give more. 8-10

God is able to supply us with such abundance that none of us ever needs to hesitate about dispensing it.

Notice the language used in verse 8.

All grace, all sufficiency, all things, every good work.

Generous giving for those who have little to give seems hazardous.

Where a generous spirit exists, God will provide the means by which it can be expressed.

This is illustrated in verses 9-10.

Verse 9 is an quote of Ps 112:9 “9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness endureth for ever; His horn shall be exalted with honour.”

This description of a generous giver is immediately followed by God’s response in verse 10.

What God has done in the realm of nature, he will, in a higher, richer way do in the realm of grace.

Though the farmer has to wait for his harvest, the grace giver reaps immediately.

How?

Paul tells us.

Our giving leads others to give thanks to God. 11-12

Our giving leads to others thanking God.

The giving of people in the early 2000’s enabled us to be where we are today.

I’ve tried to make it a point to thank God for working through their gifts.

How many people have gotten saved, baptized, and discipled in this building?

Now it is our turn to participate

Future generations will thank God for your gift.

We recognize the fruit sharing that comes from supporting missionaries.

That same principle applies the support you provide to the local ministry as well.

Is it too much to believe that if we partner with what God is doing to build this building that we will then share in the fruit of what happens in this building?

Christians that are interested in investing in more fruit can do so through giving.

In 8:4 the Macedonians begged for an opportunity to give so that others could be reached.

Grace giving never looks for a reason; it only looks for an opportunity.

Giving authenticates our faith. 13

Giving is a test of ministry.

It verifies the genuineness of our faith.

Remember the words of Jesus that we shared earlier, where your treasure is, there will your heart be.

If you want to plumb the heights and the depths of the christian experience, all you have to do is read the pledge cards.

Paul tells the Corinthians that their giving is an experiment of their ministry.

Giving unites us. 14

Giving unites God’s people.

You can see the impact that this would have on the beneficiaries of the gift.

Though they had never even met, Paul says they longed for each other.

He says that they prayed for each other.

This may be one of the most exciting parts of this project for me as your pastor.

While I have seen many connections and relationships formed over the last five years, there is still much work to be done.

Some of you look at the new members of this church, myself included, as guests in your church.

You built it, you financed it, we didn’t so we are lesser members.

Some of you are new to our ministry and you look at our church as if you are renting it.

You haven’t decided whether you really want to be here long-term.

I am hopeful that this project will produce a new level of unity here at our church.

That it will cease to be their church or my church.

Instead, it will be our church.

Giving is motivated by the example set by God. 15

My Favorite Illustrations You’ve Got It All Wrong

During a stewardship preparation period a pastor preached several consecutive Sundays on giving. One member commented, “I’ll be so glad when the pastor quits preaching on money and gets back to preaching the gospel!” I have never heard a good steward say that. Giving is part of the gospel.

We are saved because God believed in giving.

God’s gift inspires all other gifts.

Conclusion

My Favorite Illustrations A Ready Response

In the late 1930s many churches were considering building programs. They hesitated because times were uncertain, the economy was unstable, and war clouds hovered over Europe. Hitler’s invasion of Poland and subsequent declarations of war in Europe only added to the problem. Inevitably the United States would become involved, so many people believed wisdom necessitated putting their building programs on hold.

During this same period of time, different things were happening in the Dauphin Way Baptist Church, Mobile, Alabama. Under the dynamic leadership of my predecessor, Dr. Charles B. Arendall (whom one deacon called “A Steam Engine in Britches”), and the faithful “fellowship” of the people, the church went ahead with its plans to build a large auditorium and other facilities. Plans were drawn, contracts were let, and all building materials were purchased and delivered.

Construction began in 1940 and the building was completed in 1942. The project was paid for by December, 1944. I succeeded Dr. Arendall on January 1, 1945, entering a beautiful, commodious church building debt free.

Will you have a part in this opportunity for us to harvest more fruit for God’s kingdom?

Will you sow bountifully so that you can reap bountifully?

God has promised to provide for you.

My Favorite Illustrations God’s Big Shovel

A man who grew richer even though he gave generously to worthy causes was asked how that was possible. He replied, “I do not know. I just keep shoveling it out, and God keeps shoveling it in. I guess His shovel is bigger than mine.”

Let’s all participate in this.

Future generations will thank God for our gift.

Our church today will prosper in unity and grace as we honor God in our gifts.