Christian Generosity

Cheerful Generosity | The Love of the Macedonians

2 Corinthians 8:1–8 (Read)

Let’s look into our text for today… 2 Corinthians 8. Pay attention to what kind of inner and outer action Paul called love…

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

Paul gives the Macedonians as an example of ­­­­sincere love to see if the Corinthians will imitate them. Now what is love according to verses 1 and 2?

1. First, it results from God’s work of grace: “We want you to know about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia.”

2. Second, this experience of God filled the Macedonians with an abundance of joy (v. 2).

· Note that the joy was not because God had made them materially rich. In fact, they were in “extreme poverty” according to verse 2.

· So their joy was not in things but in God. (repeat)

3. Third, their abundant joy overflowed when Paul took up a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

· Love is the overflow of joy in God which meets the needs of others.

· Notice verse 4: “They begged (Paul) earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

· We can’t think that when they gave liberally their relation to God was compelling them to act against their main desires.

· When your kids beg for one more ride at the fair (“Please, Please Dad?

· it’s not because they are driven by some moral ideal conflicting to their wishes.

· When the poverty-stricken Macedonians—beg Paul for the privilege of giving we can assume that’s what they want to do.

· To be sure, they’re denying themselves whatever food and clothing that money might have bought them, but their self-denial is not for the sake of some joyless act of duty.

· They’re giving up the pleasure of extra food for the joy of sharing God’s grace with others. Here’s the secret to the joy…

· These people are so full of joy in God that giving—even out of poverty—is not a burden but a blessing. They have discovered the labor of Christian Joy and true LOVE!

· Love, is the overflow of our joy in God, which meets the needs of others. (repeat)

2 realities that “Generosity” is NOT

1st Christian Generosity is not reluctant:

· Reluctantly giving is ANY way toward God is actually a form of blasphemy. Explain:

· If we give to God out of duty rather than out of delight, then we are essentially claiming that God is in need of us.

o We are, subconsciously, exalting ourselves above God and therefore belittling him as the one in need of us or our resources—and that is a form of blasphemy.

§ “Delight yourself in the Lord!” The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.

§ If we abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure in our relationship with Him, we can’t love people or please God. In fact,

o Heb 11:6And it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

§ Not “those who begrudgingly” bring offerings or service.

§ That’s actually the most grievous form of religion.

o God needs nothing from us. He alone is holy creator and sustainer.

o He’s not in need of our begrudging submission.

o All service to the Lord should be joyful- even in the midst of difficulty. But how?

§ We’ll get to that soon

§ 2nd that generosity is not…

2nd Generosity Under Compulsion: Have-to vs Get-to

The only way to honor and glorify God is to come to him for the pleasure of knowing and being loved by him. Period. (Repeat)

· 1 Cor 9:8 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.”

· Philemon 14 “but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.”

· 1stPeter 5:2 (leaders) shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

So, why do we feel the need to give and serve under compulsion? I’m not just talking about within the walls of the church.

Great questions to ask are:

· Do you feel like you have to or get to spend time with Jesus?

· Do you feel like you have to or get to read the word?

· Do you feel like you have to or get to seek his face through prayer?

· Do you feel like you have to or get to include him in your life?

· Do you feel like you have to or get to serve him through serving people around you?

· Do you feel like you have to or get to obey him?

Have-to vs Get-to life. The answers we come to says much about our belief in His character.

If God is perfect love- what keeps us serving him out of obligation?

· Matt 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

· Acts 20:35 “More blessed to give than receive”

ONE of the ways we get to experience God’s love is by entrusting ourselves to him and his provision.

· Matt 6:24-33… 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (repeat) 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Love Is More than Action

Why did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing”

· Because genuine love is always more than action.

· Paul didn’t hold the Macedonians up as examples of love just because they gave generously.

· He held them up because their giving was the overflow of abundant joy in the grace of God.

· Benevolent action that doesn’t flow from our joy in God’s grace is not love.

· The only thing that Paul will call love is the compassionate and charitable action of people who have found their satisfaction in God alone- and when that satisfaction is found, then love will seek to expand it by sharing it with others.

o This is us being the CHURCH

o Whether it be food, skills, money, time, a ride, a listening ear etc.

The pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, you cannot love people or please God.

Our generosity should be pleasurable if we’re truly serving the Lord.

God Loves Cheerful Givers

Paul confirms this in 2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

· I take that to mean that God is not pleased when people act benevolently but don’t do it gladly.

· When people don’t find pleasure in their acts of service, God doesn’t find pleasure in them.

· He delights in cheerful givers, cheerful servants.

o If we abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, we can’t please God. God is pleased by cheerful givers.

o If we are indifferent to whether we do a good thing cheerfully, we are indifferent to what pleases God.

o What pleases God is when we delight to give. Even in 1 jn 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

§ When God’s love abides in us, we are fully satisfied and therefore in need of nothing.

· This is when joy leads us to cheerfully give.

o Friends, the message we have for the world is the generosity of the GOSPEL! It is good news!

§ Jesus (for the JOY) set before him, endured the cross.

§ Jesus needed nothing from us, so he was able to give himself to the cross joyfully because his only joy was found in his relationship with the Father.

o Only when He is our joy, we can always obtain the joy of giving that pleases the Lord.

Don’t Settle for Lesser Pleasures

The hindrance to loving other people is the same as the hindrance to worshipping God.

The obstacle that keeps us from obeying the first commandment of loving God with all our heart soul mind, body and strength is the same obstacle that keeps us from obeying the second commandment of loving our neighbor like Christ loves us.

· The obstacle is notthat we are all trying to please ourselves, but that we are all far too easily pleased.

· We do not believe Jesus when he says there is more blessedness, more joy, more full and lasting pleasure in a life devoted to helping others than there is in a life devoted to our material comfort.

· (Matthew 6:19-21) Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Quit being satisfied with little 5.25% yields of pleasure that get eaten up by the moths of inflation and the rust of death.

As Jesus said: it is more blessed to love than to live in luxury.”

A few of my favorite hero’s of the past discovered that the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed and that if you abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, you can’t love people or please God.

George Müller of Bristol wrote, “I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord” (Autobiography, p. 52). And his joy in God overflowed in a life of love to the orphans of England.

· Is your soul happy with the LORD?

· It’s from that place that all else comes.

Pray