GIVE Thanks| 2 Corinthians 9:6–15

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? I came across a story this morning about one of my favorite authors when I was a kid. He lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, but he was born in what is today Mumbai, India. He wrote poetry and various books like How the Leopard Got His Spots and The Jungle Book. His name, if you haven’t guessed it already, is Rudyard Kipling.

Kipling, in his day, was very famous and, due to success of his work, very wealthy. A reporter once cornered Kipling and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that…the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 per word.”

The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill, gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now, you give me one of your hundred dollar words.”

Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, took it, put it in his pocket, and said, "Thanks!"

“Thanks” is at least a $100 word. In today’s dollars, inflation and all that, it might be more like a thousand or even a million. It’s a small word—only six letters—but its meaning is too powerful to put a price on it. It communicates a message that few other words can accomplish.

When that little word is missing, we feel it deeply. You know what it’s like when someone doesn’t say thanks. You feel used, ignored, taken for granted, and you wonder why you bothered to do whatever you did for the person to begin with.

“Thanks.”

Imagine if it wasn’t that way. Imagine how different our relationships would be, how different our culture, our world would be if gratitude was the norm, really the norm, the default position of the human heart. What if we really were just thankful—if nothing else, thankful for life, for the breath in our lungs, for the beating of our hearts. Imagine the peace that would supplant the division of our culture. Imagine the hope that would overwhelm the dissatisfaction that most people wade through day after day—the dissatisfaction and lack of contentment that maybe YOU wade through day after day.

Author Melody Beattie put it this way:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity."

But of course, gratitude is certainly not the default position of the human heart. That’s why, in most homes this Thursday, we’ll hear more about recipes and shopping deals and football than we will the very thing the holiday is named for. It’s almost counter-cultural today to interrupt a meal with a simple question, “What is everyone thankful for?”

No, to really experience gratitude, it requires something outside ourselves, something else to overwrite the ungrateful programming of our hearts.

And, as Christians, we know what that thing is! That Thing outside ourselves is the Thing that created us, the Good God who created us and gave us His Son, Jesus, who does exactly that when we receive Him. When we receive Jesus, He gives us His Spirit and His Spirit begins to reshape us, recreating us from the inside out—from selfish, entitled people to humble, grateful people—people like Jesus.

But it’s not automatic, is it? Even for those of us who have come to know Jesus, who love God with everything, it’s not automatic. Because even still, even though we know God and walk with God, we still struggle with comparison. We still want more than we have. Even as Christians, there are times when we forget to say thanks.

So, what do we do? Because we know it’s not supposed to be that way. If there’s any group of people who should EXUDE gratitude—not just on Thanksgiving, but every day—it should be us, those of us who’ve been RESCUED from sin and death, ADOPTED into the family of God by Jesus. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in light of everything that God has done for us, to take that for granted, forgetting to be thankful, it’s not only dangerous, but it’s sinful.

So, again, what do we do? As Christians, how do we awaken the spirit of gratitude that SHOULD be there if it’s run dry because of worldly dissatisfaction and comparison?

Two words: GIVE Thanks.

Give. Thanks.

What does that mean? Get out that passage that we read together earlier, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, because here we have the answer to that question. Here, Paul is writing to a group of believers in Corinth, a church that’s characterized by division and immorality in a culture that’s full of division and immorality. And in this passage, Paul is encouraging this Gentile church to prepare an offering for Jewish believers who are suffering in Jerusalem. On the surface, this just looks like a fundraising letter, but the reason Paul gives for this encouragement to give is that when they give, it will reap a harvest of radical unity, incredible glory given to God, and most of all, gratitude.

Literally, Paul says, when they give, they will give thanks. So, what does that mean for us? In this world that so desperately needs thanks, how do we give in a way that multiplies it. Here’s what we’re going to find here:

“Christians who sow generously, give cheerfully, trusting God obediently, will reap a harvest of unity, thanksgiving and glory to God in Jesus.”

Let’s break this down. First…

Sow generously.

Look at the first verse of our passage here, verse 6:

New American Standard Bible - NASB 2020 Chapter 9

Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously.

Here, Paul lays out a position that really is foundational to Scripture. It’s a counter-cultural position, not at all a concept that our culture acknowledges or celebrates. It’s simply this: Our actions have consequences.

You want to make somebody mad at Thanksgiving? Throw that out at the dinner table. Aunt Susie starts complaining about how life isn’t fair and she doesn’t have any friends and she can’t seem to lose weight, look at her and say calmly, “Well, you know our actions do have consequences.”

On second thought, maybe don’t do that, unless you want cranberry salad flung in your direction—even if it is true.

Because it is true. And it’s especially true as it relates to our giving. What Paul wants the Corinthian church to remember is that whatever a follower of Jesus sows for His glory, that's what he or she will reap. If we sow generously, we will reap an abundance. If we sow sparingly, giving our minimum, we will reap sparingly.

And it’s not just money, although financial giving is what Paul is emphasizing here. For example, when we sow our TIME generously, we have the potential to reap a great harvest of friends.

We’re so lonely today. People are so lonely and they wonder why. Could it be that you are lonely simply because you’ve sown sparingly in your investment in others?

When we sow our work generously, we reap a harvest of huge productivity in whatever our area of work is.

It’s a principle of investment, of compounding interest. I have a pear tree in my backyard that began as just 1 pear. That pear was planted. The seed in that pear germinated, developed and grew into a pear tree that produces hundreds of pears year after year.

Some of you are living off of small investments that you made into retirement accounts decades ago, and you’re able to do that because those investments multiplied.

It matters what you do with your life. It matters what you do with the breath of your lungs, with the beating of your heart. It’s matters what you do with the resources that God has entrusted with you. Don’t just coast through life, taking things as they come! SOW, sow generously! Invest in the Kingdom of God with your time, your talents, your work, your money, and watch as God multiplies it for His glory.

Sow generously.

Second…

Give cheerfully.

Again, what Paul wants us to see here is that to reap a harvest of Thanksgiving, we need followers of Jesus who will sow generously, but also give cheerfully. Look at verse 7:

New American Standard Bible - NASB 2020 Chapter 9

7 Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

See, it matters how we give. It matters a lot. See, Christians don't give out of guilt or fear. We don't give because we feel some external pressure to give.

I don’t want you to leave here today and be like, “Well, the preacher said that we ought to be giving more. I really don’t want to, but I guess I will anyway.”

No, as followers of Jesus, indwelled by His Holy Spirit, our generosity is internally motivated BY the Spirit. That’s why Paul clarifies, "as (we have) decided in (our) heart," as our hearts are inclined to God.

We know that phrase ”God loves a cheerful giver," but don’t misunderstand it. Paul is NOT saying that God loves us more if we give more. What he means is that God loves cheerful givers because the hearts of cheerful givers are like His heart.

Our God finds great joy in seeing His core characteristic--joyful, excessive generosity--find a home in our hearts. So, if you want to harvest gratitude, don’t just sow generously, do it cheerfully, joyfully recognizing all that God has given you. And I would go so far as to say that if you can’t give cheerfully, if generous giving doesn’t bring you great joy, don’t do it! Don’t give at all. But don’t use that as an excuse either. As God to give you His generous heart. Be broken over your selfishness, and ask God to change you as you draw close to Him. Fall in love with Him, and you will become a cheerful giver as you become more like Him.

Christians who sow generously, give cheerfully, and third…

Trust God obediently.

Look at verse 8:

New American Standard Bible - NASB 2020 Chapter 9

8 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written:

“HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR,

HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.”

10 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;

In other words, God blesses His people to be a blessing. Has God blessed you? Have you received financial blessing? Do you have enough food to eat this week? Do you have a place to sleep? Don’t take that for granted. Praise God for that! But don’t stop there. What Paul wants us to see here is that, yes, God satisfies all our needs, but He doesn’t do that so we can just sit in our satisfaction! No! He blesses us, so that we might pour out His blessings on others.

The "He" in Psalm 112:9, which is the verse that Paul quotes here in verse 9, is the human giver, anyone who gives anything for the glory of God. It says…

New American Standard Bible - NASB 2020 Psalm 112

9 He has given freely to the poor,

His righteousness endures forever;

When we give for the glory of God, the goodness that comes from our giving changes things. It impacts the spiritual realm in a way carries on into eternity. Paul applies this principle to the Corinthians directly in verse 10, quoting Isaiah 55:10:

Isaiah 55:10 NASB 2020

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Paul reminds the Corinthians that the same God who multiplies seed and provides bread through natural processes will multiply their ability to give, increasing their harvest of righteousness before God.

That’s what God does. When He calls us to give, he enables us to do that. We can TRUST Him to take care of us, especially when we give sacrificially.

Any of you heard of the influencer, Jimmy Darts? I’ve been following him for a while. You can find him on TikTok or Instagram. Probably Facebook too. But Jimmy’s whole thing is giving. He’ll roll up to somebody in Walmart or Dollar Tree, or maybe at a gas station. He’ll ask for help, and if the person helps him…well, see for yourself:

(Jimmy Darts video)

The other day, I was listening to a podcast, and the host was asking Jimmy how he got started doing his thing. Jimmy said that it was a couple of things. He’s a believer, so his love for Jesus certainly has something to do with it. But he said that his love for giving started when he was a kid and for Christmas his parents gave him and his siblings $200 each—$100 for themselves and $100 to give away.

I say all that to say, that’s what God does for us. When God gives us more than we need, He gives it to us to be a blessing, to be generous to the needs around us. We can trust Him!

The question is DO you trust Him? Do you trust God enough to sow generously and give cheerfully for His glory. If not, it’s important to get there, because here’s what will happen. Not only will it revolutionize your relationship with God, not only will you discover the heart of God and the depths of God’s love, but when you sow generously and give cheerfully, you will reap an ABUNDANT harvest of…

Unity, thanksgiving and glory to God in Jesus.

Pick up where we left off in verse 11:

New American Standard Bible - NASB 2020 Chapter 9

11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 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. 13 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, 14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

What Paul is saying here is through their generosity, the Corinthian church will become rich—”enriched in EVERYTHING with all liberality.” This is a spiritual principle. When we are generous as God’s people, God pours out His blessings on us, because He knows that we’re not going to hoard it. We have His heart, so He blesses us with His resources.

But that’s not all. Paul goes on to say that, through them, through the delivery of this financial gift to the church in Jerusalem, not only will the Corinthians be blessed, but they will also reap a harvest of thanksgiving.

This is why thanksgiving and generosity go hand in hand. When we’re thankful, we want to give more, because we understand ALL that’s been given to us. But also, when we give, somewhere down the line, it’s inspires more thanksgiving!

When you give to the church budget, you’re equipping kids to go to camp, students to serve on mission, you’re enabling us to meet in this space in a relatively comfortable environment. Because you give, you can come together and sing together and study the Word together under leaders who care about you and hopefully inspire you to be all you can be for the glory of God.

And in all of those things, we are thankful! This Tuesday, we’ll have our church Thanksgiving meal, and it’s my favorite thing we do all year, because in it we only do 2 things. We eat, and we take turns sharing what we’re thankful for. And every year, I hear one refrain again and again. “I am so thankful for our church. I’m so thankful for my church family. I don’t know how I would have made it through without this church.”

All of that, any gratitude that anyone feels for anything that happens here comes from your giving—your financial giving, but also giving your time, giving your service.

In verse 13, Paul says that when this offering is delivered, there will also be glory given to God for evidence of the Corinthians faith.

See, that’s what happens when Christians are thankful. When Christians are thankful, we’re quick to declare the object of our gratitude. We’re not thankful for the “universe” smiling on us when good things happen to us. We’re not glad that “things just worked out.” No! When we are blessed as followers of Jesus, we are quick to direct all the gratitude, all the glory to the Giver of all things, God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ!

And then in verse 14, Paul says that when this offering is delivered, the church in Jerusalem will “yearn for” the church in Corinth. They’ll pray for the church in Corinth. That’s important, because these two churches really didn’t have much in common. The Corinthians were a rough bunch of Gentiles who struggled to be faithful, prone to immorality and compromise. The church in Jerusalem struggled to be graceful. Primarily Jewish, they held to the Jewish law and some of them wrongly thought that the Gentiles ought to follow it, too. Really, they didn’t have much in common at all. In fact, pretty much the only thing they really had in common was Jesus.

And Paul’s point was, should the Corinthians give generously—should they sow generously and give cheerfully, that would allow Jesus—the one thing they had in common—to take the front seat in their relationship.

And ultimately that’s the reason we sow generously and give cheerfully—whether it’s to the budget or the Global Mission Offering. It’s not so there can be a building with our name on it (a building that will one day be torn down). It’s not so we can hit some artificial goal. It’s not the name of Jesus can be lifted up. After all, it was Jesus who said, “Where I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.”

Jesus is the greatest gift. Look at verse 15:

2 Corinthians 9:15 NASB 2020

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Here’s the deal, friend. Anything you give cannot compare to the indescribable gift that we have received in Jesus!

It’s a free gift! Jesus has done everything it. He gave up His life. He died, so that you could receive it. And today, He’s inviting you to do just that.

Listen, if you’re here or watching online, and you’re not a member of this church, sowing generously, giving cheerfully, harvesting unity, thanksgiving and glory to God, none of that is really for you, yet.

If you start giving before you get right with God, you end up doing it for the wrong reasons. God doesn’t expect your obedience until after you’re saved. You don’t obey your way into salvation. You don’t give your way to salvation. No! God saves you as you surrender your life to Him, and THEN He begins to change you from the inside out. Again, it’s a GIFT! You don’t earn it! You can’t earn it! You just receive it.

One time Jesus was challenged by some religious people about whether or not it was right to give to the corrupt Roman government. they asked the question to try to trap Him, because if He said “yes,” the people wouldn’t like that answer, because they hated Rome. If He said “no,” it would get him in trouble with the Roman authorities.

Jesus answered, “Bring me a Roman coin.” So, they brought Him one. He asked, “Who’s image is on this coin?” And they answered, “Caesar’s image.”

Then Jesus said this. You’ve probably heard it before. He said, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…and give to God what is God’s.”

Give to Caesar the thing that carries his image, but give to God the thing that carries His.

Dear friend, YOU carry the image of God. He loves you enough to die for you. Give Him yourself. That’s ALL god wants from you. He doesn’t want your stuff. He doesn’t need your stuff. He just wants you.

Wouldn’t this Sunday before Thanksgiving be a good day—a really good day—to receive the indescribable gift of Jesus?