June 30th Sermon

2 Cor. 8:7-15

2 Corinthians 8:7–15 NIV

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 am 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.”

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I feel so blessed church that even though I have known you only a month or so I feel like I really know you, and this is one of those texts that you don’t really need to preach unless you really know a congregation.

giving, stewardship, tithing, offering, $$$ isn’t something that I think is on the list of popular first sermon ideas but let’s be honest I’ve never really paid much attention to those lists anyway.

Paul has entered into a brief “2 chapter” discourse on giving.

He is specifically talking about sending an offering back to the main church in Jerusalem.

Which is odd if you think about it…

Paul never really get’s along with the leaders of the Jerusalem church, with Peter and James. The Jerusalem church is the Jewish sect of the Christian church at this time and Paul is ministering to the gentiles.

What Paul is doing is trying to promote unity in the church through giving to one another.

2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV

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.

—> Happy, Confident, Encouraged people are generous people

—> set the expectation

—> you are great at all this other stuff why not at giving too…

—> Giving is a spiritual gift “grace of giving”

Christian generosity is different because it is more than money, it is more than transactional.

2 Corinthians 8:8–9 NIV

I am 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.

—> generosity isn’t accomplished through force

—> generosity is born out of love not fear or shame

—> Paul uses 2 examples of generosity the Macedonian church and Jesus

—> Jesus is the greatest example of generosity

—> like anything else we need to be like Jesus

—> We can give because we were first given to

2 Corinthians 8:10–12 NIV

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.

—> having the desire to give is as important as the actual giving

—> The Corinthians had been excited to give and had begun giving but then they stoped.

—> Paul is trying to relaunch their generosity.

—> Our motivation and our desire to give and to see our gift to completion is more important than the amount given.

—> you can’t give what you don’t have and that’s ok

—> What does your gift look like?

2 Corinthians 8:13–15 NIV

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.”

—> We give to help others to a point of equality, not to a point of their abundance or our poverty.

—> “When Giving Hurts” is a book on stewardship and generosity and it talks about times when our giving can hurt both those that we are trying to help and ourselves.

—> I think these final verses cover that well.

—> The goal of Christian giving isn’t to make anyone rich or anyone poor.

—> The goal of Christian giving is to bring what you have been given by God back to the table of God and let God sort it out.

—> At this time it appears that the Corinthians (some of them at least have financial resources) and the Jerusalem church does not but they have spiritual resources to be shared in return.

—> We share what we have when we have it with who God calls us to because at the end of the day EVERYTHING we have is God’s gift to us.

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Philippians 2:1–4 NIV

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.