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Intro:
Tonight as we continue our series on 2 Corinthians, entitled, [Matters of the Heart], I want to speak on the subject of [God Owns It All].
There is a song most every child raised in church likely knows, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.
He’s got the mommies and the daddies in His hands.
He’s got the little bitty babies in His hands.
He’s got you and me brother/sister in His hands.
He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
It is a peaceful feeling to know that God has everything under control.
He promised many times, I own it ALL!
The knowledge of this is wonderful, but it seems that the closer this truth gets to home, it sometimes hard to comprehend or fully believe.
Sure we can declare with confidence: the problems in Middle East, God has it under control.
The problems in Washington DC, thank God He is in control.
But when the problem or possibility comes close that’s when our faith is tested.
Sometimes it is easier to believe for someone else, but a little harder to truly live out the truth, God owns it all.
Let me share a story that conveys this truth:
An old farmer owned a cow that gave birth to twin calves.
At lunch he told his wife, “Ol’ Bessy had twins today.
(before I moved to Vulcan, I would not have appreciated the importance of twins calves!).
You know honey, we only expected one calf, but the Lord blessed us with two.
So we’re going to give one of the calves to the Lord and we will keep the other one to ourselves.
The farmer determined he would give 50% of his profit to the Kingdom.
A few days later he went to lunch, appearing sad.
After a time of silence he pushed his plate away and couldn’t eat.
His wife asked, “What’s wrong?”
He answered, “Well, I have some bad news.
I went to the born this morning and found the Lord’s calf died.”
Many times this typifies the mindset of believers.
God owns it ALL, until it comes to our schedule, our pain, our sickness, our hurts, our resources, or our lives.
But when we hear the truth, God OWNS it ALL, that sums up what belongs to God.
Everything.
Including our lives, our time, our talent, and our treasures.
By the time we arrive to chapter eight Paul discussed the state of the Corinthians.
After two letters and visits from Titus, the Corinthians repented of their backsliding.
Now, Paul turns his attention to the area of giving.
The city of Corinth was a wealthy city.
Corinth was a port city and earned the nickname “Wealthy Corinth” because of their revenue from trade.
The wealth of the city spilled over into the church.
The Corinthian church was not on the other side of the tracks.
They had arrived.
They had means to further the Kingdom of God.
Paul discussed this with them in his first letter.
What was the collection of the saints?
It was an offering that was sent to the Christians in Jerusalem.
As the gospel spread to new regions of the world, the church in Jerusalem suffered.
Jerusalem was the headquarters of Judaism.
The religious leaders, many who were alive when Jesus was on earth, were still in power.
They loathed the Christians.
Therefore, when people would come to Christ they lost their jobs and their ability to survive.
For a while this wasn’t a problem because there were wealth Jews who had retired to Jerusalem.
They converted to Christ and supported the less fortunate Jewish Christians.
But intense persecution came to the church in Jerusalem.
Who led the persecution?
Saul of Tarsus.
He was part of the reason the wealthy Jewish Christians fled Jerusalem.
Now, the church in Jerusalem struggled, so churches as far as Rome and Corinth would give to the Christians in Jerusalem to help them.
When the Corinthians first heard of the opportunity to give, they were excited to help.
However, the excitement wained and their commitment to give to church in Jerusalem decreased.
Paul shows, knowing God owns everything, it enables us to be generous to His work and His Kingdom.
I have three points, [Examples in Giving], [Equality in Giving], and [Expectations in Giving].
Let’s begin
1.
Examples in Giving
Notice Paul calls them brethren.
He shows that the Corinthians are part of the family of God and that giving in the responsibility of God’s people.
The Lord does not expect unbelievers to fund His work.
Instead He calls us to help extend His Kingdom.
Paul then complimented the churches in Macedonia.
These churches include the Thessalonians, the Bereans, and the Philippians.
These churches has some similarities.
They were faithful churches that readily accepted Paul’s ministry.
Another similarity, they were poor churches.
The Macedonian region had been wrecked by civil war and poverty was commonplace.
Another similarity, when they heard of the need in Jerusalem, they quickly gave.
Despite their personal struggles, these churches wanted to give and help God’s people.
Paul did not coerce them or beg them.
Instead, they gave freely and willingly.
Verse four shows us that they were emphatic, they wanted to give.
They couldn’t wait to give to God, knowing He owns it all.
Paul showed the reason for their generosity: they gave themselves to the Lord and then to the will of God.
They give us an example.
When we are in true relationship with God, we will WANT to give because we know He owns it all!
Paul told them he was sending Titus back to them.
He trusted that they would return to their previous state of generosity and help the churches.
He pointed out to them that unlike the Macedonians who had little, the Corinthians had a lot.
God had given the Macedonians the grace to give.
Therefore, He would give the Corinthians the grace to give!
Though the Macedonians was a great example of giving, nothing compared to the greatest example, Jesus.
When in heaven, Jesus had everything, but He left all of that to come to this earth.
He lowered Himself to come in the flesh, becoming poor.
He never owned a home.
He never kept a large bank account.
When He was crucified, they took the only thing He owned, the clothes off of His back.
Paul showed, through His poverty, we might become rich.
Rich is not just about money.
There are wealthy people in this world who are poor.
Their marriages are poor, their lives are poor, their reputation is poor, and their futures are poor.
Sure God blesses those who give, but being rich also means living in abundance, in our relationship with Him and with others!
Paul displayed two examples of giving to show the...
2. Equality in Giving
Paul then gave them sound advice.
One year before when Paul was with them, the Corinthians were eager to give.
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