Generous

Baptism:

Well, once again, good morning church. It is so good to be back with you all this week! Hope you had a great Sabbath last Sunday – my family and I spent some time in the mountains of Pennsylvania away from internet and had a good time of rest.

Today, we are diving into everyone’s favorite topic to hear about at church, and that is the topic of giving. And for some of you, just hearing that brings PTSD of a TBN prosperity teacher saying, “The Lord is telling me there’s a 100 people that have $1000 to give. And if you follow through on that $1000 seed today, God’s going to get you that new car, he’s going to heal your allergies, your kids get all straight A’s in school.” Of course I’m mocking, but that’s the taste a lot of people have in their mouth when it comes to giving.

Or the complete opposite side of the coin – maybe your church preached tithing like it was the gospel. You’d better give, or else. 10%. Ten percent. Ten percent. Just hammered into your skull. It’s what God wants. It’s what he needs. You don’t have faith if you don’t give 10%.

And maybe others of you came from places where giving is what other people do. Not me. I am saving for this or that. I need the money for this or that. I can barely make my payments as it is. I’ll give later when it’s more convenient or when I have some extra.

And then, of course, I trust that others of you come from great teachers and faithful Bible preachers who taught a gospel-centered view of money, taught you what giving really is all about, and that you have stepped into this joyfully and willingly.

But the point is, giving is a sensitive topic in the church because usually the guy talking about it is the one whose salary gets paid by the giving. And so in some ways it feels self-serving either to the preacher or to the people listening. So for the last week, I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit to cleanse our palate of all the bad tastes that might be there when it comes to giving, and give us the real deal. I’ve asked him to change my own heart where it needs changed. And while some pastors maybe dread the topic of giving, I’m excited for this message today.

Here is where we’re headed today in our text:

We’ll see 5 descriptions of Giving

We’re also going to look at the responsibility of the one receiving the funds

We’ll explore three ways to give

And finish up with the result or the outcome of giving

I’ll just tell you right now – We’re not going to pass the plate at the end of the sermon. I’m not going to come to your house and ask you to increase what you’re giving. I’m not going to pressure you into helping fund the new building. Today we’re just going to see how Paul talks about giving, and let it go at that. We may have a whole series on giving. But for right now, just all together just lean forward, lean in on this, and you’re just going to have to trust me that there are no ulterior motives at play, no secret campaign to guilt you into giving.

So let’s together ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse our palate of every bad taste around giving, and ask him to fill us the rich food that we need today.

PRAYER

Alright, Bibles open to 2 Corinthians 8 – we’re going to be looking at 2 whole chapters today. And what you have to know or remember is that 2 Corinthians is written somewhere around 50-60 AD, and by now the persecution of Christians has picked up. And the way it looked was very much like our cancel culture today. Don’t buy anything from them, don’t sell anything to them, and as a result, Christians were in a bad way economically.

It was even worse if you were a Jew that had converted to belief in Jesus Christ, because now, not only was the culture at large canceling you – your family started to the practice of shunning you, and even had your funeral. You were dead to them.

That’s what’s going on in Jerusalem as Paul travels on his last missionary journey that we would have covered at the end of Acts, and things are pretty rough for believers there. On top of that, if you also recall, there was a famine that hit Judea.

In other words – the sending church was having financial trouble, and the church plants started pooling their money to help out. In our situation, River City came from a church in North Liberty, called Grace Community, who also has helped start a church in Solon, a church in Belle Plaine, and a church in the Amana. So, imagine Grace came upon some crazy difficult times, extremely low on funds even though they are a much larger church than any of us, but Solon, Amana, River City – we all pool our money together to send to North Liberty and help them in their crisis. The young churches helping the mother church. That’s what’s happening here in 2 Corinthians.

And Paul begins chapter 8 with story time. Remember, he’s writing to the Corinthian church. So he starts off by saying, listen brothers and sisters (in Corinth), I want to tell you a story about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia.

GOD’S GRACE

That word “grace” means “unmerited favor.” Right? It’s the outworking of God’s goodness, his kindness, his affection. You and I often put forgiveness of sin in the “grace” category, and rightly so. The gospel of Jesus coming to earth, living the life we were supposed to live but couldn’t, dying the death we deserved, rising again and giving us the Holy Spirit to regenerate us and apply everything Jesus did - yes, all of that is grace.

But Paul begins a story about giving by calling it the grace of God given to the churches who gave. When is the last time you thought of giving as the grace of God toward YOU? Man, that is so opposite from what most people think of when they think of giving in the church, isn’t it? Grace? You mean obligation. You mean some pastor in a fancy suit guilting you into giving.

But Paul says giving of your finances is an act of God’s kindness, his mercy, his goodness to the giver. So that’s Description #1 – Giving is an act of God’s grace to the giver. A grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia. Check this out. 2 Corinthians 8:2 “During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”

Jerusalem had it extra tough because of the famine and family shunning. But apparently, even the churches of Macedonia faced a severe trial (probably persecution) that resulted in extreme poverty for them. Loss of jobs, income, can’t buy or sell, etc. But what Paul noticed was that even in the middle of this severe trial and extreme poverty, when the churches of Macedonia heard that the church in Jerusalem had some financial needs, and they found out that Titus was coming through collecting funds, they flew into action to get some finances together.

Verse 2 says that their abundant joy and their extreme poverty collided, and when it did, the result was a wealth of generosity. Maybe on paper it wasn’t that high of a number, but for this church, it was unbelievably generous. In verse 3, Paul said, I’m telling you, they gave above and beyond their ability – and it wasn’t because we twisted their arm. This was 100% they gave because they wanted to. In fact, verse 4 makes it sound like Paul and the others may have even said, look guys, you’re going through a pretty tough time right now – you need to keep your money, you don’t need to participate in this – but look at the text in verse 4: The Macedonians begged us earnestly for the what? The PRIVILEGE of sharing in the ministry. that’s description #2.

A PRIVILEGE

When was the last time you thought of giving to the church as a privilege? Something you are blessed to do? These churches said we want in on the privilege of giving to those in need in Jerusalem.”

And Paul apparently said, okay, fine, and then, verse 5, … they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God’s will. And while Paul doesn’t really go into detail on what exactly that looked like, what I think it means is that they opened their wallets and held them up to the Lord and said, how much Lord? You see a $10 and $5. We don’t have much, but which one do you want us to give? They’re both yours anyway.

Regardless of how exactly that looked, it’s the end of Paul’s story. Now, he moves back to speaking to the Corinthian church, okay? And in verse 6, Paul says, we urged Titus (who is in Corinth right now) that he should complete among YOU this act of grace.

The Macedonian churches got in on this grace. They got in on this kindness, this mercy of God – they begged for the privilege of giving: Now, Titus has made his way to YOU, Corinthian church, and we told him to make sure that he gives YOU that same opportunity, because you guys are NOT in the middle of some massive trial – you’re actually pretty well off compared to the Macedonians.

In fact, Paul says, it’s not just in finances that you’re doing well. Verse 7. You guys are excellent at everything you do. You obviously have the spiritual gift of faith, where you guys trust God so well even as persecution makes it’s way to you. You are gifted in the area of speech – based on his first letter, he may have been referring to the speaking gifts of tongues and prophecy and preaching. You have learned how to argue for the gospel, and developed successful methods for presenting the truth and all of that; You are incredibly gifted at doctrine and wisdom ; you are unbelievably diligent, which means passionate and eager to get things done and do it right, and above all, man, you guys excel in loving us. We feel so encouraged when we’re with you, and fired up by how well you love us.

And so we’re asking you to be just as good at giving as you are at knowledge. Be just as good at giving and meeting people’s needs as you are at believing God for salvation and healing; as good at generosity as you are at speaking in tongues; as eager to give as you are eager to get things right in how your church is run. that’s description #3.

EXCELLENT

When was the last time you though of giving as something you could grow in? Something you could improve on to the point of being excellent at it? Be excellent givers – but, check this in verse 8, not because it’s the law. I’m not commanding you to give. But I’m inviting you to be excellent at giving, because it reveals where your heart really is.

When the impoverished Macedonians, who we tried to STOP from giving, overflowed in generosity, we saw an affection, a passion, a sincere love for the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. So come on, church of Corinth, don’t be all bark and no bite. I’m not commanding you to give, but if you choose not to – it may be a sign that you have forgotten the gospel.

You’ve maybe lost sight of Jesus, in verse 9, who, though he was rich, for your sake became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Look at me church – listen: The Bible does not condemn anyone for being wealthy. There is nothing in scripture that says having money is bad, evil, sinful, etc. There is nothing in scripture that says we should practice socialism where everyone has the same amount of money. In fact, scripture champions hard work and diligence while it scolds the lazy.

The love of money causes all kinds of problems, that’s in scripture. World economies are like an old stepladder that is shaky and could come down at any moment, so don’t put your hope in it. That’s in the Bible. Moths and rust will destroy everything you worked so hard to buy. That’s in the Bible. But wealth in and of itself, having more money that you need to live on, is not a bad thing at all in and of itself.

But when Jesus first unrolled the scroll of Isaiah in his home church at the beginning of his ministry, and he said He came to preach good news to the poor, it was not “hey good news! You’re all getting houses!” The Pharisees taught, just like prosperity teachers do today, that health and wealth was the marker that God was pleased with you. Even the disciples bought into that. When Jesus said “it’s impossible for a rich man to get to heaven” the disciples said, well, in that case – if the rich aren’t getting in, if the ones who we thought have God’s favor aren’t getting in – well, who is? Jesus said, all things are possible with God.

So the good news to the poor that Jesus was preaching to them, was that their poverty was not a marker that they had missed out on God’s favor. The good news to the poor was that they were seen, loved, that they belonged, and that they had the same access to Yahweh that the rich Pharisees did. That they had value and worth as the wealthy.

RESPONSE TO JESUS

So there is nothing wrong with wealth, and in your wealth, you are free to live with nice things. Under grace, you are free to buy stuff that reflects that wealth. Paul doesn’t criticize their wealth. But he reminds them that Jesus laid down the rights of being God so that we could benefit, and in response to his generosity toward them, Paul asks – would you who are wealthy consider laying down your freedom to live wealthy for the sake of others?

That’s description #4: Giving, at it’s core, is a response to the gospel.

Apparently, as this conversation started happening a year earlier, the Corinthian church said, yeah, count us in on that. When Titus rolls through taking up the collection, we are willing to help out in whatever way we can!

When someone experiences a loss or something in our church, a lot of us maybe say things like, Hey if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know. Well, first of all, when you say that, you are well-meaning and the heart is probably in the right place. But it’s not super helpful, because it now puts a weight on that person. They first of all have to remember, in the middle of their grief or trial, who all told them that, and then come up with a job list they can email out to the people who said they’d be willing to help. More than likely, nothing will ever be done.

But. In the 1% of the time, if that person were to call you up and say, “you told me once that if we ever needed help financially, you’d be willing to help out – – well, we need help.” Paul is telling the corinthians, hey, you said last year you would help. Now is the time. Don’t just talk about it. Step out, and do it.Make good on your word.

Verse 11: Alright, finish the task, Don’t just say you want to help out – pull out the wallet! Write the check. But then look at this – once again, good news to those who don’t have much:

EAGER

…give according to what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

that’s description #5 – Paul says, as long as you are eager to give, I don’t care if you give $5 or $50,000 – this isn’t about AMOUNTS or PERCENTAGES – it’s about EAGERNESS according to what YOU have, not what other people have.

In the Old Testament, when it came to giving, the command was to give 1/10th, and to give from your first fruits – meaning, you give your ten percent tithe to the Lord before you pay your bills. But Paul isn’t asking for that here. He says, in effect, look, I don’t care what you give as long as you are eager to give it. In fact, key verse here in 13 It is not that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality.

He’s saying you don’t have to give to the point where now your life is hardship. There’s no command that you have to empty your bank account for someone else, but now you can’t pay your own bills.

There’s a story in Mark 12 of a widow that Jesus watched come into the temple. All the other folks were giving their ten percent or whatever, and here she came, and put in two small copper coins – the equivalent of 1/8th of a penny in modern currency. Jesus remarks, everyone else is giving from their extra – she from her poverty put in everything she had to live on. And people always talk about that story like Jesus was praising her. And I don’t think he was.

If you look just one or two verses backward, you see Jesus blasting the Pharisees because they wanted the approval and praise of people, they wanted the best seats in the synagogues, they wanted the place of honor at banquets – and then Jesus said “They devour widow’s houses and say long prayers for show.”

Next verse. A widow shows up and gives all she has to live on while the Pharisees are looking for the best seat at the banquets she was never invited to. They devoured her house by telling her she had to tithe, even when her husband and the estate were completely gone. The widow giving everything she had is not a model for giving. She’s not the poster child for faithful tithing. She’s a poor woman with no hope, being eaten alive by church leaders who had the means to help her. It’s not a model for giving. It’s a model of tragic and hellish church leadership that takes care of itself before it takes care of the sheep.

Back to 2 Cor 8, Paul says the same thing: 14 At the present time your surplus is available for their need, so that their abundance may in turn meet your need, in order that there may be equality. 15 As it is written: The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little.

Paul is referring back to Exodus 16 where God literally rained bread from the sky. The people gathered it up, some able to gather more than others. But at the end of the day the person with much shared with those who had a little, and as verse 15 says, the person with a lot didn’t have too much, and the person that had a little had enough.

Paul reaches back and pulls that concept forward to apply it to finances. We’re always going to have people that have a lot of money and people who don’t have much. Jesus said you’ll always have the poor. We’re not moving toward some equality utopia. It’s okay that some people have more than others.

But here’s the principle for the church: it is NOT okay if someone is sitting on a surplus while someone over here doesn’t have enough. That is not cool.

Let’s summarize it.

Giving is an act of grace for the giver. It’s a privilege that we get to participate in, something we can grow in and become excellent at as we respond to the grace we’ve been shown in Jesus, meeting the needs of others with the extra that we have been given.

Then in verses 16-24, Paul let’s everyone know that there’s a responsibility that comes with being on the receiving end of generosity, or like Paul’s case, being the party responsible for getting the funds where they need to go. Here’s what he writes:

16 Thanks be to God, who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he welcomed our appeal and, being very diligent, (that word means eager, passionate) went out to you by his own choice. 18 We have sent with him the brother who is praised among all the churches for his gospel ministry.

Paul put the finances in the hands of Titus and some other brother, both of whom are very diligent in their gospel ministry.

Receiving Principle #1: When you’re choosing someone to be in charge of finances, don’t just pick someone who is good at spreadsheets. Choose someone who is good at spreadsheets AND has a reputation for loving the gospel and is passionate about seeing people come to faith in Jesus.

19 And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gracious gift that we are administering for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are taking this precaution so that no one will criticize us about this large sum that we are administering. 21 Indeed, we are giving careful thought to do what is right, not only before the Lord but also before people.

Paul not only put the finances in charge one faithful guy – he put them in charge of TWO faithful guys. Look at the words – Precaution. Careful thought.

Receiving Principle #2: Church finances MUST hold up to scrutiny. This is not an area where you say, “Well, God knows our hearts.” This is a place where you take careful thought to do what is right, not just in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of the people. Church leaders are responsible not only to God, but to the people for how the finances are handled.

22 We have also sent with them our brother. 3rd guy. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker for you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you.

Notice, Paul threw in a 3rd guy for accountability, and this wasn’t a random guy. He was tested in many circumstances and found to be diligent. Titus – good guy. You can trust him. He’s worked with me side by side for a while too. The two brothers with him: they are messengers of the churches. You can trust them.

Receiving Principle #3: Finances in the church should be in charge of people that have been found faithful in other areas before they get involved in finances.

It’s so important that churches handle their finances in a trustworthy and accountable way. So, I want to ask Janene King, Susan Stutzel, Tony Bower, Deven Newton and Tom Brase to stand.

This is the team that takes care of the finances at River City. I can attest to every one of them, that they don’t just get cranked up about spreadsheets and good systems – they love the gospel of Jesus and they want to see people know the freedom and the grace that is available to them through the cross and empty tomb. Can we honor this team for carrying that weight for us? Thank you so much.

Let’s drop down to chapter 9, as Paul shifts into telling us HOW TO GIVE.

HOW TO GIVE

Here’s what he says in 2 Corinthians 9:5 “Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.” 6 The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

So the first thing he wants to make sure is that this is a gift, not an extortion. No church leader should ever guilt the church or anyone in it to give. The offering should never feel like extortion. That word translated “extortion” means greed. In other words, the giver should be excited about giving whether that’s sparingly or generously.

v7 – Each person should do as he has decided in his heart. There are three kinds of givers in this verse:

Reluctant - that word literally means “from grief”/sorrow; ah shucks, do I have to? I don’t really want to. So you give reluctantly. Fiiiiine. It pains you to give.

That’s one way to give, and let me just say – if that’s you, keep your money. If you don’t even want to see what God would do, and it would bring you grief to give financially – don’t. God doesn’t need your money, and we don’t want it either.

Another way to give is through compulsion – that word means “absolutely required” or forced – the attitude that I have to give. “if I don’t, God won’t let me in” or “I’m not as good of a Christian”; I have to give: “what will the church think of me if I don’t (lazy, unfaithful, etc)? I have to give so the counter people keep seeing my name”; or “If I want a blessing, I have to give.” You still really don’t want to give, but feel like you don’t have a choice.

If you’re giving because you feel forced to, for one reason or another – also, please keep your money.

The kind of giver God loves is a cheerful one - One who gives joyfully! Merrily! It pleases you to give, you enjoy it! That’s the kind of giver that God gets fired up about. Because, I’m sure we’re all on the same page on this, that God doesn’t need our money, right? He doesn’t work with cash. But giving is an opportunity to trust him. And when someone joyfully, cheerfully trusts him, through giving, not only does God love that attitude, look at verse 8 for our last point

THE RESULT OF GIVING

 …God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. And Paul closes with a promise: 10 Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way (not just money) for all generosity (not just financial), which produces thanksgiving to God through us.

The result of cheerful giving, whether it’s sparingly or generously, is that you get to see God make every grace overflow to you so that you have everything you need. If your heart is to give, God is able to make a way for you to give. And when you do, the people who receive will not only have their needs met, verse 12, they will thank God for meeting their needs – AND pray for you with a deep affection, verse 14!

And Paul closes with this: 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

God’s indescribable gift, for sure, is when your needs are met, but even more indescribable than that is the gift of his Son Jesus. God didn’t give the bare minimum or sparingly – he generously gave his only Son. He didn’t give reluctantly or out of compulsion – it was God’s delight to send Jesus, so that many would be saved. He left the riches of heaven to come to earth, die for sinners, and rise again to defeat death and help us walk in the newness of life!

The question is, have you received that gift?

If you haven’t – receive it today. You can do it before you leave the room. Jesus has jumped through every hoop for you, so that all you have to do is confess that you have been chasing the things of this world and have not been walking with God, turn around and do the opposite: by faith, begin pursuing Jesus and NOT chasing the things of this world.

If you have received this gift, I’m going to give you a moment here to just