Joy Fueled Generosity

Bottom line

May you choose joy, and may that joy create in you an eagerness to be generous.

Opening Line

The definition of eager:

Eager - wanting to do or have something very much

Introduction

When you think about the Christmas season, I think eager is an appropriate word to apply to the season, especially if you have small children in the house. Last weekend we had the Redstone christmas, and what do you think was the first question the children asked when the cousins finally arrived?

When can we open presents?

Which we made them all wait until the second day to open said presents. But now we have a problem, because there are still presents under our tree, and the four year old asks reguarly, “When are we opening those presents?”

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Or maybe it isn’t the eagerness to open presents, but the eagerness for Amazon to finally deliver them, because time is running out. Anyone feeling some of that eagerness? We had a package arrive for one of our children, and it was not what we ordered. So we eagerly sent it back so that we can find something else with the limited time we have.

Another word I want to present to you this morning is joy. It is the third Sunday of Advent, and the theme this morning is joy. Again, another word that applies greatly to the Christmas season, especially when the time finally comes to open those presents.

Main Point

This morning I want tweak or challenge you understanding of joy. I believe that many people equate joy with happiness, which reduced joy to simply a feeling when things are good or good things happen to you. But joy isn’t just a feeling, the same way love isn’t just a feeling. Love is a choice, and sometimes you feel love towards someone else, and other times you don’t. Sometimes your love for someone grows the most when you choose to love them even when you don’t feel it.

Joy is the same way. I’ve said often in thise series that fruit requires work to grow. Well in Paul’s list of the fruit of the spirit, it goes love, joy… Joy is a choice, and it is something that, as followers of Jesus, you are expected to have an abundance of.

Why it matters

Joy and eagerness are key themes I want you to be mindful of as we dive into 2 Corinthians 8. Paul is going to tell the Corinthian church about another group of believers in Macedonia, and how they are radically generous. See the Macedonians’ generosity isn’t fueled by wealth, but by joy, expressed in eagerness. Jesus said that you are more blessed to give than to receive.

Over the next couple of weeks, you are going to be given an opportunity to practice some generostiy. One writer said that giving is actually a hallmark, a staple, of true spirituality. The challenge this morning is that as you grow in your faith, make sure you grow in every area, and do not ignore the practice of generosity.

Scripture

With that, we are in 2 Corinthians 8. You can turn there in your bibles, follow along on the church app, or watch the screen.

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 NLT

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

Joy Fueled Generosity

I want you to notice something significant in the way Paul described the giving of the churches in Macedonia. They begged Paul to give more. Why would someone have to beg to give money? Because the person receiving it was trying to decline it, right? So what Paul is saying is that the believers in Macedonia, and we have come to understand that one of the churches Paul is referring to here is the church in Philippi, were giving so much that it made Paul uncomfortable. In their lack, they insisted on giving more!

But why? Why would people who already don’t have, give of the little that they do have? Well, there’s a couple reason from a sociological perspective. Studies that it is typically those who have less that give more. It is those who struggle financially that are more prone to help others who are struggling because they understand the struggle and want to help someone else. Even in churches, studies show that it is typically those make less that actually keep the churches going. It might have something to do with Jesus’ teaching that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter eternity. Usually those who have lots are also the least willing to part with it.

But there’s something way more profound going on here. Paul says that the believers first gave themselves to the Lord. They surrendered their lives to Jesus, made him the Lord and Savior of their lives. In doing so, they received new life, became a new creation as Paul said earlier in this chapter. One of the by-products of becoming a disciple of Jesus was joy. Not the joy of the world, but an abundant joy, that overflowed into rich generosity. A joy that was so overwhelming that the only response they could think was to help others experience the same kind of joy.

I wonder how many of us need to rediscover the joy you knew when you first became a believer. This week as I was meditating on this passage, I realize that I’m one of those people. I need to grow the fruit of joy in my life again. Why does faith in Jesus give us joy? Because when you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, all your sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus, spilled on the cross. You are forgiven, and eternity in heaven awaits. What more reason could you possibly have to be joyful? What could possibly take that joy away? Holy Spirit, increase the joy of your people!

2 Corinthians 8:6–9 NLT

So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

Minstry of Generosity

Now before I unpack that title, I need to set a little context. What is Paul talking about when he writes about the ministry of giving? Well, at the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote that he was taking up an offering for the church is Jerusalem. The region had been hit with severe famine and Paul was going to the churches he had started to raise support. Though it is never said, Paul probably saw it as an opportunity to bring unity between the Gentiles and the Jewish believers. Jesus said that where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is. So by giving in support of the saints in Jerusalem, maybe their hearts would be united as well.

But Paul makes an interesting statement here. He celebrates all the ways that the Corinthian church excels, and wants them to excel in giving. This is an interesting point and one that you should take note of. When it comes to practicing your faith, there are probably some things that you are more comfortable with than others. Though it is good to know which areas your excel in, it is important note to forget the areas you may struggle in. Honestly, generosity is probably an area of struggle for most people. Yet, one author wrote that generosity is actually the hallmark of true spirituality. When you give financially, it is the sign of you giving of our your time and energy, since both went into making that money.

What is the motivation here? Because Jesus set the standard of what it means to be generous. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, the Word through which everything was made and has its being. Jesus gave up his divinity to be born in a manger, a food trough, to a poor couple. Jesus gave it all up, to die on a cross, so that you and I could share in the richness of salvation. Paul has not been shy to encourage the church to be imitators of Christ, and one of the truest ways to imitate Jesus is through generosity.

Joy Fueled generosity, joined with the ministry of giving.

2 Corinthians 8:10–15 NLT

Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

Eager to be Generous

What was the definition of eager again? Wanting to do or have something very much.

Twice in this passage, Paul tells the church to only give in proportion to what they have. Those that have more should give more, and those that have little should only give a little. Paul says it a third time in a slightly different way, encouraging the church to not give in such a way that makes life hard for them. So there is wisdom in the amount that you give, and the wisdom is to take stock of all that you have, any expenses that are coming, and exercise generosity accordingly. You don’t have to give a lot, but you do need to be willing to give something.

The reason I mention the first two times about giving in proportion to what you have is what Paul says in the middle. Like a good sandwich, it doesn’t really matter what kind of bread you use, because its what is in the middle that counts. Paul says that whatever you give, whether it is big or small, is acceptable if you give it eagerly. It is acceptable if you want to give, not because you feel guilted or begrudging about it.

Now as soon as I say that, I know exactly where some of your minds go. Well I’m not eager to be generous, so according to this scripture, I shouldn’t give. No that’s not what Paul is trying to say. Paul has spent the first half of the chapter explaining the why. You should be eager to give because of the joy that life in Christ gives you. You should be eager to give because Christ so generously gives so much to you.

So for those of you that are not eager to give anything at this time, I think you should start with a desire to be eager about giving. Craig Groeschel, on this topic of generosity, talks about how sometimes in order for your heart to get excited about something, you just need to start doing it and eventually your heart will follow.

For those of you who may still be hung up on how little ou have to give, I want to tell you about a widow in the time of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this story. Jesus was sitting by the temple as the people came in and made their donations. A widow came up and put in 2 mites, which in today’s currency is less than a penny. Jesus gets the attention of disciples and says that she gave more than anyone else, because where the others gave from their abundance, she gave all that she had.

Jesus celebrates the widow when she gives from her lack. Paul celebrates the Macedonian believers because they gave out of their poverty. You are never so short financially that you can’t give something. But when you give, be sure to give willingly, to give eagerly!

2 Corinthians 8:16–24 NLT

But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem—a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help. We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ. So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

Honor God Through Generosity

I just want to highlight this one thing that Paul says in the closing of the chapter. Paul talks about how Titus and these two companions are traveling with the gift. Paul lists off the qualifications of these men, so that the churches can be confident that these men can be trusted.

But verse 21, Paul says that they are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but also…

When Paul writes this, he’s simply saying that by travelling as a group, there is less of a chance of skimming off the top, especially since everyone is highly respected within the church.

For you, in order to honor God through generosity, you actually have to have a conversation with God himself in order to determine what a God honoring gift is. How much does he want you to give?

Transition to Application

So over the next couple of weeks, we are going to make it easy for you to practice generosity.

Main To Do

This morning I am going to give you some options of worthy causes that you can give to. You can either give to all of them, one of them, or however you want to practice your generosity. All of them are worthy causes.

The first opportunity I want to present to you is the local food bank. As a church, we are giving half of everything that came in from Dickens to the food bank, as it is a popular place in today’s economy. So if you want to add to that gift, I think that would be a great place to start.

The second opportunity is something called ERDO. ERDO is the emergency relief ministry of the PAOC. ERDO goes into places of extreme poverty and helps where they can. They are always looking for support because there is never a shortage of opportunities to help those in need around the world.

The third opportunity will directly to Art and Brenda in Mexico. John, Robin, and Emme are heading to the Mexico in February, and they are wanting to represent OneChurch. If you want to give to the trip, they will be able to sponsor a meal or food hampers or any number of things. I know we are not going on a official trip, but this is the next best thing.

Why it matters

Three great opportunities to give to. Three great ways to share the joy of Christ with someone who is less fortunate this Christmas season.

When you develop a habit of giving, you reflect the generous nature of Christ to the world. You begin to let go of the things the world makes a priority and begin to shift your focus to eternity. Generosity is the easiest way to break the hold of materialism on your life, and it begins to renew your heart for the things of God.

Closing Line

It may not always be easy, but it will always be worth it.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

How can understanding joy as a choice rather than a mere feeling change your perspective on your daily challenges?

In what ways can you practice generosity that reflects the joy you've received through your faith?

What are some practical steps to cultivate a spirit of eagerness to serve others during this Christmas season?

How might your understanding of the Macedonian church's joy and generosity influence your own giving?

What are some ways you can express joy in your interactions with friends and family this holiday season?

How can you share your experiences of joy with others to inspire them during difficult times?

What is one specific act of kindness or generosity you can commit to this week?