Treasures in Heaven - Pt. 3

Sermon Introduction

Today, we finish off this short series, Treasures in Heaven

We started the series off by looking at Matthew 6:19-24, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and contained teaching from Jesus concerning possessions

The main message of that passage, which is where we get the title of this series from, was Matthew 6:20 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

We learned that laying up treasures in heaven means being generous and not stingy or jealous, and that it helps us to avoid idolatry

Last week then, we turned to tithing, which was the requirement for Israelites to designate 10% of their harvest as holy to the Lord - that is, set apart - and donate it to the temple

We looked at the Old Testament basis for this in the Mosaic Law, where we learned that there is not actually just one tithe, but multiple tithes for different purposes. Which meant that fact, the law actually requiured something closer to 25% of giving.

However, we know of course that Jesus came to fulfill the law and as such we are no longer bound by the requirements of the law.

And that's why Christians have generally settled on the Principle of Tithing... which, combined with another passage, Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;” ... has generally been understood to mean donating 10% of your gross income to the church

Now, notice that I call it a Principle, because as I mentioned, it is not a requirement.

First of all, it is a spiritual disipline... something that we do for our good... for our own sake... to help us grow in Christ, by helping us reorder our priorities...

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

Psalm 119:36–37 “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

Secondly, it is something that we do to acknowledge that everything we have is already God's

The common word that you may have heard used for this is Stewardship... God has given us resources to steward, or to manage responsibly...

And so, I mentioned last week, that it would be a good idea to change our perspective from thinking, “how much do I give", to “how much do I dare keep"

Scripture Introduction

Today, we turn to one of the great scriptures in the New Testament about giving...

Some of your may have even memorized parts of this verse... When I was a kid, 2 Corinthians 9:7 was one of the bible verse that we had to learn... Mainly, the second part, “God loves a cheerful giver.”

However, while this passage is an excellent passage to consider regarding tithing, it is not actually about tithing...

Paul planted the church in Corinth in the early 50’s... spending about a year and a half with them before moving on to Ephesus - remember, Paul's ministry was to bring the Gospel to new places and plant churches...

After Paul moved on to Ephesus though, unfortunately, things began to deteriorate in Corinth, particularly due to sexual immorality being a persistent problem

So he had to write several letters to the church which addressed this, and several other issues that came up in their correspondence...

In 1 Corinthians, in addition to the sexual immorality, he also had to rebuke the Corinthians about church division, and social snobbery...

Then in 2 Corinthians, it seems that some of Paul's enemies had inflitrated the chruch and are sowing seeds of doubt about his legitimacy as an apostle... So he actually had to defend himself from these charges

Paul has had quite a rocky relationship with the Corinthians...

Many people don't realize that Paul's letters to the Corinthians were kind of angry at times, because he was dealing with so many issues in the church.

For example, in 1 Corinthians 4:18–21 “Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?”

The tone of 2nd Corinthians softened considerably, but in some sense of course, Paul still didn't completely trust the Corinthians...

In particular, here in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul brings up a commitment that the Corinthians made to send a gift to poor Christians struggling in Judea...

And aparently, he had already told people about this commitment... 2 Corinthians 9:2 “for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.”

So, Paul told Macedonians about this gift that the Corinthians said they would give... but then, Paul some second thoughts maybe, or, you know, given his history with the Corinthians, he decided they needed a reminder and a bit more encouragement, so he decided to send some of his co-workers to

2 Corinthians 9:3 “But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.”

What follows from this then, as I mentioned already, is one of the great teachings in the New Testament about giving and generosity... and it starts off on an interesting note

Sowing and Reaping

2 Corinthians 9:6 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

This was of course an agrarian society, so this would have been a very appropriate metaphor for Paul to use... although you don't really need farmer to understand

The more you sow... the more seed you spread out, the more produce you will be able to harvest...

Although there is one word of warning that I need to provide here... because as I mentioned last week, often, teaching about finances and generosity has been used by Prosperity Preachers to manipulate people...

So I want to be clear about this, because the manipulative conclusion that some would like to preach is that the more you give, the more you will receive...

Therefore, for these anti-Gospel preachers, they will demand more donations... they will demand generosity, because that's the pathway to becoming rich...

Obviously, we know that’s ridiculous...

Paul is not teaching that you will become rich if you donate... And he makes this abundantly clear in verse 10 and 11...

2 Corinthians 9:10–11 “10 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. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

What is being reaped? Righteousness and even more generosity… Not wealth.

However, there is another important reason why it’s ridiculous to consider this some sort of get-rich quick scheme...

That is because sowing seed is not always a guarantee for harvest...

There is an element of risk in the sowing...

Everyone is probably familiar with this right?

It’s a scarecrow… and what is the implication of the scarecrow? Why do they need to use it?

That’s right, because birds can fly come down and eat the crop.

And of course that’s only one of the dangers of growing crops.

There are also insects, and bad weather that can end up destroying the seed or the crop that grow.

And so, built in to this picture of sowing and reaping is the idea of trust, which also ties in to the idea that giving is for our own good.

Giving is a way of trusting that God will do great things with the resources that you have sown, whether it’s financial, or it could even be your time and effort...

There is a great quote from an American missionary named Jim Elliot. Many of you have probably heard of him, and this quote...

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

This is certainly a poignant quote, especially because of Jim Elliot’s story:

You see, in the 1950s, he went to share the Gospel with the hostile Huaorani tribe in Ecuador. Unfortunately, the tribe attacked and killed Jim and his companions in 1956.

Despite the loss, Jim's widow, Elisabeth Elliot, continued the mission and remarkably reached out to the same tribe. Surprisingly, many Huaorani people embraced Christianity.

Jim Elliot's sacrifice and Elisabeth's perseverance exemplify the transformative power of forgiveness and the unwavering commitment to spreading faith, leaving a lasting impact on the world.

And so once again, what’s important here is the motivation behind the giving.

If the motivation is wrong… If the motivation is greed and selfishness… really… that’s what you would call the motivation of giving in order become rich right?

Then there’s no point in giving at all..

In fact, it may be detrimental… after all, you reap what you sow...

So what is the correct motivation when it comes to financial giving?

Well, the next part of our verse gives us a starting point...

Cheerful Giver

2 Corinthians 9:7 “7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart...

In other words, the motivation for giving must be internal… which ties in to the next part...

“Not reluctantly or under compulsion...”

Here’s a great quote about how this plays out: “Reluctance implies a clinging to possessions that one hardly wants to give; and when they have been given, the giver grieves. Giving grudgingly denotes that external pressures compel one to conform to the rules of society; that is, necessity forces one to comply with the community’s objective.”

Finally, “God loves a cheerful giver”… which we do have to be a little careful about. Because an incorrect understanding of this is that we can earn God’s love through cheerful giving.

That’s not what this is saying...

We already know that we can’t earn salvation, and that God loves us regardless.

This simply means that God takes particular delight in the kind of giving that is described here...

Why? Because it is giving that Glorifies him...

2 Corinthians 9:12–13 “12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 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,”

Grace Abounds

This brings us to the final point, that God’s grace abounds to those who give...

2 Corinthians 9:8 “8 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.”

Romans 1:16–17 “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””