Giving Out Of Poverty-2 Corinthians 8:1-9

Key Elements

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, the Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthian church’s giving by laying before them the Macedonian believers as an example of giving no matter the circumstances.

Main idea of the text: As followers of Jesus, who have experienced the grace of God in our lives, when we give in spite of the circumstances we are facing God empowers and honors our obedience.

I want my audience to give in spite of the circumstances they are facing realizing that God empowers and honors faithful giving especially in the face of difficult circumstances.

Intro

One of the major factors that influences most everything in our lives are our circumstances. Our circumstances influence our decisions we make, circumstances influence the places we go and if we go anywhere, circumstances influence who we spend our time with. But one of the major areas that’s influenced by our circumstances, probably I would say the major area most influenced is our finances. Because most of the time the circumstances we face in life are going to have a direct affect on our financial situation. And that causes a chain reaction that has an affect, usually, on every other area of our lives. If life is going well, that usually means that financially we are doing ok. If life has dealt us a difficult set of circumstances and we are in one of those seasons, then sometimes that means that we might be struggling financially. And depending on where we are in life and what circumstances we are facing, will usually affect other areas of our lives. And as Christ followers, we are not immune to that same thought process. It is true for us that we too can be affected by life’s circumstances, especially financially. And the tendency we have when circumstances change for us is to allow that to affect our giving. Because, let’s be honest, it’s easier to tithe and it’s easier to give during times of abundance in our lives but it’s harder to give during times of struggle. It can be difficult to give during times of what we might consider poverty in our lives. But what we are going to see today is there is power in giving to God in spite of our circumstances.

So, as we continue our Gift of Giving series today, we are going to be talking about Giving Out of Poverty or a better way to put it might be Giving Out of Struggle. And I’ll have to admit that this is not something that I’ve specifically thought about when it comes to tithing and giving. But it makes sense. And what’s interesting is that in the book The Gift of Giving by Wayne Watts that we are drawing from, this is one of the longest chapters. Giving out of poverty or giving out of struggle in our lives is probably one of the keys to understanding what God says about giving in our lives as followers of Jesus. So, today we are going to be looking at 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 and as we do what we see is that the Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, addressed their giving by laying before them the Macedonian believers as an example of giving no matter the circumstance. And not only is this an example for them but it also serves as an example for us.

Which leads us to the main idea of our message today: As followers of Jesus, who have experienced the grace of God in our lives, when we give in spite of the circumstances we are facing, God empowers us and honors our obedience.

Look with me at 2 Corinthians 8:1-9...

Context: One of the major thrusts of the Apostle Paul’s ministry during his third missionary journey was the collection of a special relief offering to help the church in Jerusalem. This church was the church were it all began. It was the church that had sent out the Apostle Paul and his partners in ministry to plant other churches all across the known world at the time and now they were suffering financially. And in an attempt to encourage them and offer support to them, Paul had called on the other churches he had planted to take up an offering of support for them. Many of the believers in the church in Jerusalem had been disowned by their Jewish families for believing in Jesus Christ and were depending on the church for some support, the number of the church had grown tremendously as pilgrims who had become Christ followers on the Day of Pentecost had stayed on in Jerusalem, and in recent years before this, a severe famine had hit the area very hard. All of this combined had depleted the church in Jerusalem financially and now they were in need of help from their fellow believers. There were a couple of reasons for Paul’s doing this: first of all, he wanted to raise money for the church in Jerusalem so that they could continue their ministry there meeting the needs and spreading the gospel. Second, he knew that the Gentile or non-Jewish believers giving generously in support of their fellow Jewish believers would bring unity among the church as a whole as they reached across racial lines to support and minister to one another. But here we find in our text today, there was an issue among the Corinthian believers in the Church in Corinth, they were not doing their part. They had made promises to give and support as the Apostle Paul had requested but were failing in the keeping of those promises. And so, Paul here in chapter 8 begins to lay before them the churches in Macedonia as an example of remarkable generosity in giving to support the church in Jerusalem. And he uses their example of giving in spite of their circumstances to motivate the Corinthian believers to respond with the same generosity.

The churches in Macedonia were made up of the churches in Philippi, the churches in Thessalonica, and the churches in Berea. Paul had visited these churches in his second and third missionary journeys and when called upon to give, they had given generously, sacrificially, and without hesitation. And this is the context in which our text falls today. This is the setting for the Apostle Paul’s appeal to the church in Corinth and his challenging them and challenging us today to follow the example of the Macedonian believers and become an example of followers of Jesus that give in spite of the circumstances they are facing in life. And so, our hope today is this that we would be a giving people in spite of the circumstances we are facing realizing that God empowers and honors faithful giving especially in the face of difficult circumstances.

Message

So, in our text today, the Apostle Paul communicates 3 truths to us about giving out of poverty. And when we apply these three truths to our lives, what we’ll see is that, as followers of Jesus, when we give in spite of the circumstances we are facing, God empowers and honors faithful giving especially in the face of difficult circumstances.

So, let’s talk about these three truths from 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:

1. Giving out of poverty means we give and we serve unaffected by our present circumstances. (vs. 1-4)

My younger brother and his family lives in Mass. and years ago they had been asking us to come and visit with them. Our boys were way younger then and so we decided to make a 2 week trip out of the visit. We planned a couple of stops on the way up like Virginia and Pennsylvania to see some of the historical sites. We spent four days with my brother and his family and then made our way back and on the way back we stopped in Washington DC for a few days. We saw all the famous sites in Washington, it was a really great trip. But probably one of the most moving places we visited was Arlington National Cemetary. And one of the most memorable sites there was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If you’ve ever been there you know how hallowed of a place it is. And as you stand there you’re just in awe of the site and the respect for men and women in our military. Now this site is a marble tomb where three unnamed soldiers have been laid to rest and it has been guarded 24 hours a day since 1937 by soldiers from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment known as “The Old Guard.” In July of last year, Fox News released a pretty amazing story about the guarding of the tomb. On the Saturday before the article came out, the soldiers guarding the tomb continued their watch as hurricane force winds of upwards of 80 mph and torrential rain and frequent lightning pommeled the area. Even when the soldiers’ commanding officers requested they discontinue their post, the tomb’s guards stood their post in spite of the difficult circumstances they were faced with. One soldier responded when asked “Why?” “These brave soldiers fought for our country and died, this is the least I can do to honor them.” This has been the standard for the tomb guards that in spite of the circumstances, they will not leave their post no matter what they are facing.

Circumstances always change, situations in life will never be constant for us and what we have to be careful of is allowing our circumstances to influence our commitment of serving and giving. Because usually, in figuring out how we are going to give to God, whether we are new to that process or it’s a process that we are already walking through, what we do is we budget out what we have from what we get paid, whenever that happens, and we kind of work backwards. We give based on what we’ll have left over at the end of paying everything out. That’s not a bad way to give or a wrong way to give but it’s not the Biblical way God calls us to give. As Christ followers and as members of Stone Ridge, God calls us to give 10% of what we have been blessed with to Him by giving to the church. And the best and Biblical way to do that is to give to Him first. Before anything else is paid, we give to God. Another way we usually decide how we are going to give is we base it on the circumstances that are going on in our lives. We look at what is happening around us in life-what are kids are going to need for college or school, car repairs, home repairs, money to eat out during the week, whatever-and then we base our giving on that. So, if things have been going well for us, and we haven’t had any extra expenses come up, then we are able to give more to God. But if we have had those extra expenses this month or we know things are coming, then we aren’t able to give as much to God. And what we are doing is we are handcuffing our obedience and our giving with parts of our lives that are causing us to hold back in disobedience what God has commanded us to do. Now, I don’t say that to make us feel guilty, because we all fall into that pattern of living. It’s easy to do. Because when we think about it, there is a lot going on in all of our lives financially.

And that’s really what had happened at the church in Corinth and it’s what Paul is addressing in our text today. They had started out strong in their giving. I mean this is the church that the Apostle Paul holds up as the one manifesting all kinds of spiritual gifts. This this the book that we go to when we are talking about spiritual gifts that every believer has by the power of the Holy Spirit. I mean they were the prime example when it came to those things, but something had happened that had caused them to slack up in their generosity. Some circumstance had arisen among them: maybe it was that they weren’t able to give as much as they promised originally or the individual members of the church had something personally come into their lives that hindered their giving. We don’t really know. All we know is that they had started out strong in this endeavor of generosity and the circumstances had changed so much so that they weren’t fulfilling the obligations they had promised to fulfill.

And the Apostle Paul, right out of the gate, shows them that as followers of Jesus that their giving and their serving could not be driven by their circumstances. Because our circumstances will always change, but our giving and our serving if driven by our faith in God should never change.

And he lays before them the example of the churches in Macedonia. He says in vs. 1-2...

The Macedonian churches had experienced great difficulties and Paul uses some very descriptive words to describe their situation: He says “they had experienced a great ordeal of affliction” meaning literally that there had been extreme pressure placed on them; they were in such an oppressive state that they had come under extreme physical, mental, social, and economic adversity. And even as he wrote to the believers in Corinth, the believers in the Macedonian churches were still walking through it. He also mentions their “experience of deep poverty” meaning that they were at a point where they were literally having to beg to survive. And most scholars believe that this desperate situation for the Macedonian believers was a direct result of their faith in Jesus. But their current circumstances had not hindered their giving. Instead of allowing their commitment to give to be affected by their changing circumstances, they had remained constant because of their faith in Jesus Christ. In their state of poverty, they remembered their commitment and their giving was unaffected by their circumstances.

And what a convicting example not only for the Corinthians believers that Paul is writing to but for us as followers of Jesus as well or I know for me anyway. That my giving and my serving would not be affected by my changing circumstances but that I would give and serve in spite of my circumstances and even in times of poverty or struggle that my giving would stay constant not swayed by what’s going on around me.

And when this happens, there are some characteristics present in our giving and in our lives:

a. We give sacrificially (vs. 3)

Look at vs. 3, it says… Notice something very interesting and key here in what Paul is saying about their giving. First, that even in their current state of poverty and struggle, they continued to give. Their giving did not change. So, there’s the sacrifice, to continue to hold to the same level of giving even in times of struggle. That was within their “ability” to do. But then he says that they gave “beyond their ability.” That was not in their ability to do. But because of their obedience, God supernaturally gave them the ability to give beyond what was naturally possible for them. Paul knew the persecution they were facing and probably didn’t expect them to give much but, not using their circumstances as an excuse, they gave and were giving more than expected.

And when sacrifice is present in our giving. When in times of poverty and struggle we continue to give in sacrifice to the Lord not affected by our present changing circumstances, then God supernaturally empowers us by His Holy Spirit to be able to give beyond our natural ability to give.

b. We give willingly (vs. 3)

Look at the second part of vs. 3, it says… They gave willingly. No one forced them, no one guilted them into it, they gave because it was something that they wanted to do. It wasn’t an obligation, it was a privilege. They counted it an honor to be able to give to be a part of the ministry to other believers who were struggling.

And this is also something that must be present in our giving. Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, there’s an unwillingness present when we give. We give but we give reluctantly. But what we have to realize is that it is such a privilege to be able to give to God and see Him use it for His glory and for the transformation of hearts and lives by the Gospel.

c. We give enthusiastically (vs. 4)

Look at vs. 4, it says… Basically, they were begging to give. Imagine that. Begging to give more and more desiring desperately to be a part of what God is doing.

And that’s really the point we have to get to in our lives where we are giving enthusiastically. Almost to the point where we are begging to give and to serve. You know, in most churches the church is begging for people to serve when God has called for the opposite to be true. We should be so enthusiastic about being a part of what God is doing that we are actively asking “where can I serve” and “what can I give to?” That when God speaks to us about serving and giving, our first thought won’t be “I can’t afford to do that” but our first response will be “yes” and not a reluctant “yes” but an enthusiastic “yes” counting it as a joy to be able to have the privilege to serve and give as God has called us too.

So, giving out of poverty means we give and we serve unaffected by our present circumstances.

There’s a second truth we see today...

2. Giving out of poverty is the result of our total commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord. (vs. 5)

Years ago a group of evangelists visited some missionaries who had dedicated their lives for the last 14 years to minister to natives deep in the jungles of Liberia. They had set up a clinic where the four of them ministered around 40,000 patients per year. The evangelists told the story of seeing a small child with lockjaw being tenderly fed milk by his mother through a plastic tube. The family was Muslim but had been ministered to by the missionaries from the clinic for many years. As the father of the child was standing close to his family, he showed signs of relief as his malnourished child responded to being fed. When one of the evangelists asked what the child’s name was, the father responded with tears in his eyes, “His name was Mohammed, but today we have changed his name to Jesus.” When the evangelist asked “Why?” The father replied, “We asked Allah to help our baby and no help came. But we came to Jesus’ people and through them our prayer was answered, so we are dedicating our lives and our child to Jesus.” It was the total commitment of those missionaries to Jesus that had made a difference in the lives of this family.

So, I would say, and I’ll put this out there for us to think about for a moment, you don’t have to be a Christ follower to be generous. In fact, you can be far from God and be generous. I know people who really want nothing to do with Jesus or the church or Christianity and their lives are marked with generosity. In fact, sometimes those people can be more generous than some people who claim to be Christ followers. So, what’s the difference between Christ followers living lives of generosity and someone who is not a Christ follower living a life of generosity? It’s the source of our generosity.

The Apostle Paul explains that for us in vs. 5, he says....

You see, the giving of the Macedonian believers in the midst of extreme poverty doesn’t make sense to the human mind. It’s not natural to give or live generously when you don’t have the means to do so. This kind of generosity and giving we see here just doesn’t make sense. But the generosity of the Macedonian believers did not come out of their human nature. It did not come from a natural response to a situation like this. The generous giving of the Macedonian believers was the result of their source which was God. And the key to this lies in what the Apostle Paul says about them at the beginning of vs. 5, they had “first, given themselves to the Lord.” They were then able to respond in obedience to what their Lord was calling them to do. The source of their giving was not their own human nature but it was an expression of the grace of God at work in their lives. They literally “before anything else” had committed themselves to God. This was the reason they could give out of their circumstance of extreme poverty and struggle, because they had totally committed themselves to Jesus as Savior and Lord. You see, their relationship and total commitment to God was what sparked everything else in their lives. He was their source and the foundation from which everything else was built on. They had committed themselves to God and everything they had belonged to Him.

And I really think that’s where we get it wrong when it comes to our relationship with God and our giving and our serving. We have no problem completely surrendering to Jesus as Savior but we have issue with surrendering to Jesus as Lord, especially in the area of our finances. You see, when we come to Jesus, we come to Him because we want Him to be our Savior. We want Him to save us from our sins and we want to experience His grace and mercy and forgiveness. We don’t want to go to hell, we are good with all of that. But that’s only part of the deal. When we repent and we come to Jesus, He doesn’t just become our Savior but He has to be our Lord-our master, our owner, the One we live for and serve for the rest of our days. He has paid the price for our very lives and created us to live for Him and desires to use us for His glory. When we make the decision to commit our hearts and lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord, one of the first indications will be the change that comes in our giving. And when we surrender to Him completely, when we give ourselves to Him, then we will have little problem giving whatever God asks us to give and serving however God asks us to serve. And we will not hesitate to give ourselves to others because it is impossible to be truly surrendered to God as Savior and Lord, it is impossible to love Him with our whole heart and not meet the needs of those around us and not give and serve because we ourselves have experienced His grace and mercy in our own lives.

Giving out of poverty is the result of our total commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Which leads us to our final truth...

3. Giving out of poverty follows the example of the gracious sacrifice of Jesus. (vs. 6-9)

Who is a person in your life that has set such an example for you that they have radically influenced your life in some way? There’s a habit that you have formed in your life or a discipline that you’ve developed in your life or there’s something peculiar maybe that you do and it is all because at some point in your life a certain person came across your path and set an example for you that you looked at and thought “that is an example worth following.” “I think I’m going to start doing that in my life so that it will benefit my life or improve my life in the same way it has benefited theirs.” All of us, at some point, have been influenced by the example of someone else. At some point, someone came across our path and we noticed something in them that set such an example for us that we thought “I have to start doing that” or “I have to begin to develop that in my life.”

Out of all the examples we could follow in our lives. Out of all the people we could pattern our lives after, the ultimate example set for us is found in Jesus Christ the Son of God. And this is the same example the Macedonian believers followed. What does he say in vs. 9....

Think about what Jesus gave up for us. The Son of God-who created all things, owns all things, and is sovereign over all things-gave up His heavenly riches and became poor for our sakes. Why? So that we might become rich. He took on a human form and left His throne in heaven to become a servant to all. He laid aside His riches in heaven and experienced the ultimate poverty when He was made sin for us on the cross all for us. Theologian Colin G. Kruse puts in a way that we can understand, “We must never forget that it is only by his poverty that we may become rich. There was a price to be paid for the blessings we enjoy in Christ. Included in that price was the cost of the incarnation of the pre-existent Son into a fallen world. But, as we know from other passages, the cost of the incarnation, great though it was, was only the beginning. There was also the cost of rejection, ridicule, persecution, betrayal and suffering, all culminating in the agony of Gethsemane and the cross. These things together made up the full price of our salvation.”[1]

If we want the ultimate example of giving out of poverty and struggle, it is found in the life and death of Jesus Christ the Son of God. And because of this we can look to Him and follow the example He has set for us and through faith in Him we are empowered to give and serve. We don’t give out of pressure and we don’t serve out of guilt. We give and we serve out of a love for Jesus following the gracious example He has set for us.

You see, the grace of God not only frees us from our sins, but it frees us from ourselves. The grace of God not only will open our hearts but it will cause us to live with open hands. It will cause us to live for a greater purpose, the purpose for which we were created and that is to live in relationship with God and to make disciples of Jesus who make disciples. To follow the ultimate example of Jesus and be a part of God transforming hearts and lives.

Giving out of poverty follows the example of the gracious sacrifice of Jesus.

[1] Colin G. Kruse, 2 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987), 151–152.

Conclusion

So, what if we walked in this type of generosity in our neighborhood, in our workplace, in our schools? What would happen if we gave in spite of the circumstances of our lives? Lives would be changed. Evangelism, discipleship, and giving go hand in hand. When we follow the example of Jesus, giving in spite of our circumstances is cultivated in us by God’s generous grace. And that causes us to want to become more like Jesus and so we put ourselves in a place to be discipled. But then we are so moved by the grace of God that we want to disciple others who experience God’s generous grace, develop the same heart for giving and pass it on to others. That’s what it’s all about.

So, this morning as we move into a time of worship and commitment, we want to help you take your next step today, whatever that may be: salvation, baptism, covenant membership, finding a group, finding a place to serve. Maybe your next step is this: I have experienced the generous grace of Jesus Christ in my life and I want to cultivate a heart for giving that points others to Jesus.