Sermon Tone Analysis

*Giving Generously To God*

*2 Corinthians 8:1-9*

*Sunday 18th of February 2007*

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I’m happy that it’s Sunday 18th of February.

I’m glad it’s today because that means that Valentine’s Day is over.

That day makes me nervous!

Am I going to buy Mandy something or not?

Is she going to buy me something or not.

While some people think it’s just a commercial exercise for companies to get more money out of us, others think it’s the perfect opportunity to be told and shown that you’re special.

Which one is she thinking this year?

The problem is, the size of the gift might be too much, over the top, too expensive, even seem by some as ridiculous, but if it’s generously given – there’s no doubt about it, the person giving generously real loves the one whose receiving.

In the US the average man is expected to spend the equivalent of $199.11

AU on their loved one on Valentine’s Day, reported the Gainsville Sun this week.

The majority of men interviewed said that they plan on purchasing a special dinner, followed by flowers and candy.

There’s no doubt about it, the person giving generously really loves the one whose receiving the gift.

Sandy Taylor is a florist and she helped out this week and told me that 12 long stem roses cost $80 to buy.

Apparently too there was one guy here in Wodonga who purchased $400 worth of flowers for his loved one and had a $100 worth sent each day.

The one who gives generously loves the one to whom they give.

Many and I? Well we snuggled up on the couch and watched “The Scarlet Pimpernel Again” and ate a “Heaven” ice cream and a nice real coffee and we had a great night together.

…And she was happy

 

The one who gives generously loves the one to whom they give.

Now you don’t have to give expensive presents to prove your love for someone that’s true.

But it sure helps!

But on the other hand a relationship were love is not expressed very often if at all will not be a strong relationship.

There’s trouble there.

On the other hand, those who spend generous amounts of time together in conversation, thoughtful acts like picking up after yourself or doing the dishes, kind words that let each other know that you love them and value them, making time for each other, listening and understanding how they feel, physical touch and giving a thoughtful gift at the right time will help build a strong relationship full of love.

A relationship where love is shared generously will be a thriving relationship.

There’s a wise saying that goes, “You can give without loving – but you can’t love without giving.”

People who love give…

 

Today, I want to talk about giving generously to God.

We’ve talked about giving yourself to God, giving joyfully to God and today we want to focus on giving generously to God.

 

 

 

*Context of passage*

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth.

He’s reminding them about the instructions that he gave them in his previous letter 1 Corinthians.

In chapter 16 of that letter he had told them that he would be coming and that they were to collect money each week from the people in the church and put it aside so that when Paul arrived he would take the funds back to help the poorer churches, the Christians in the Jerusalem churches.

They were finding it really hard, suffering from poverty and famine, and were a minority often misunderstood by Jews and Gentiles in a Roman occupied city.

Why was Paul doing this?

Because when he became a follower of Christ on the Road to Damascus – the risen Lord Jesus told him to go and take the good news of JESUS to the Gentiles.

The Jewish Christians were a bit concerned about this new move in mission because up until this point on Jews had been the focus of sharing the gospel, focusing on the Gentiles was a new move.

So the Paul was called before leaders of the church in Jerusalem and asked to explain himself.

Galatians 2:6-9 shows their gathering and listening to Paul.

After hearing him speak they saw that Paul had been indeed given the responsibility by God to preach to the Gentiles.

They said, “Go ahead, but one thing we ask, remember the poor.”

So for Paul the task of urging the Gentile Christians to give to the poor, hungry Jerusalem church had become a passion for him.

During his third missionary journey, Paul had collected money from the churches in Macedonia – Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.

They had given money though they were poor and were suffering persecution.

In fact Paul says that they gave more than expected.

Here in the verses that we’ve read today Paul is using the example of the Macedonian church to encourage them to give.

Three weeks ago we saw that the Macedonian churches had given so much because they gave themselves to God.

We talked about the fact that Christian giving starts in giving yourself to God.

Last week we talked about the fact that these Macedonian Churches had given joyfully even though they were in deep poverty.

They didn’t run a hide, or give disappointedly.

They gave joyfully.

Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit and when we give joyfully it shows that we have given ourselves to God.

This week as we come to the passage again we see that the Macedonian churches gave */generously/*.

Because they had given themselves to God first they gave generously.

They had experienced his generosity in giving to them the free gift of grace, forgiveness rich and free, that they gave generously to him.

·        Give Generously to God

       /Though they have been through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in *rich generosity*.

For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more./

/2 Corinthians 8:2-3 (NLT)/

 

Paul explains to the church in Corinth what had happened with the churches in Macedonian.

This is an incredible church.

They were generous!

Though they were in deep poverty they gave with rich generosity.

Notice that it doesn’t say here that the Macedonian churches were poor.

They were more than that… it says

              

·        /Through much *trouble and hard times…wonderful joy…deep poverty overflowed in rich generosity*/   NLT

·        /during a severe ordeal of affliction…abundant joy…extreme poverty…overflowed in a wealth of generosity /   NRSV 

·        /out of the most severe trial…overflowing joy…extreme poverty…well up in rich generosity/           NIV

 

| Situation Much trouble and hard times |

| ResourcesWonderful joy and deep poverty |

| OutcomeOverflowing rich generosity |

 

 

Paul describes their poverty as deep poverty, in the NIV it says it was “extreme poverty.”

This was not normal poverty – it was extreme poverty.

I know extreme sports are not normal sports.

A normal sport might be bowls or cricket or golf.

But those extreme sports are different – they’re spots like skydiving, snow boarding, bungy jumping.

There’s a big difference and Paul says that they were in extreme poverty.

Yet they gave generously.

How can that be?

 

Well this verse also clearly shows that though they didn’t have much they did have something and it was joy.

Wonderful Joy!

When we see that they were poor but notice that they had joy we can know that they had something – something that was most important.

They had a genuine relationship with the living God through faith in Jesus Christ.

How do I know that?

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit.

It’s evidence that God is at work in your life.

His Spirit is within you.

You can be “happy” temporarily without the Spirit of God within you – while everything is going according to the plan.

But joy – joy in the midst of hard times, of poverty, of suffering, is a different story.

That’s evidence that your trust is not in circumstances but in the Living God.

So your difficult circumstances, what ever they are, though financial times, unemployment, a pending surgery, criticism, being misunderstood, or judged, add to any of these situation a deep trust in God, through Jesus Christ and the joy that flows from that relationship will result in generosity.

Generosity even though you have little, generosity when work is difficult to find, generosity when facing surgery towards God and friends and those in similar circumstances plus wonderful joy overflowed into rich generosity.

*Giving Generously To God Starts With What’s Expected*

Paul says in v3 */For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more./*

They gave beyond their ability.

They didn’t just give what they could afford but they gave even more, far more.

In fact verse 5 says “*/They even did more than we had hoped” /* it was beyond what was expected.

The expected would have been the tithe.