Today’s sermon will be on financial generosity. But in our prayer, I’d like to focus on relational generosity, which makes us quick to forgive. We can be generous with our time, our talents, our energy, our space. Later we’ll take communion and read familiar verses from 1 Cor 11. The context of those verses is Paul rebuking the church for having divisions. He also says:

1 Cor 11:27-28

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

Paul says it doesn’t make any sense to worship God through communion when we have divisions and unforgiveness with our brother. So as we pray, I’d like to give you chance to carry out the command in V 28: Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. Let’s have a moment of silence for us all to search our hearts for anything that we haven’t surrendered to the Lord or sin we need to confess, especially if we have unforgiveness toward someone.

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Today is the second week in a three-week sermon series on money. I will start with a couple of disclaimers that I mentioned last week for those that weren’t here.

In light of the church’s history of turning people off by constantly asking people for donations or by financial abuse, here at ICF it’s been our normal practice to rarely talk about money. In fact, it’s the reason we put our offering boxes out in the lobby rather than passing a plate during the service: we don’t want anyone to give out of obligation. However, the Bible has much to say about money and possessions. So it’s a disservice to our church to rarely talk about money.

During this series, I will not guilt you into giving more money. I made a somewhat one-sided deal with the congregation last week that I will not once ask you to give to ICF or any other specific ministry or cause during these three weeks. Sound good?

Last week we talked about these six principles:

1.  God owns everything; we are only stewards.

2.  Wealth is deceptive and can cause us to be unfruitful.

3.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

4.  You cannot serve both God and money.

5.  You can’t take it with you—but you can send it on ahead.

6.  Present joy comes from anticipating future joy.

If you missed the sermon, I’d encourage you to go to the ICF website and listen to it or read the transcript. I would also encourage you to complete the homework from last week, which was to write a document acknowledging that God owns all of your property and wealth.

I would like to start today by reading together the first question from the Westminster Catechism. I will ask the question, and you can read aloud the response:

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

God’s glory and our joy in Him. That’s what life is about. God orchestrates all of history for these two purposes: His glory and our good, which are interwoven together. Today we will be talking about how to give in such a way as to maximize God’s glory and maximize our joy. The chief end of giving is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

The title of this sermon is: “Abound in the grace of giving.” The reason for including the word “grace” in the title, rather than just saying “Abound in giving”, besides the fact that it’s taken directly from our text today, is because our giving will only be joyful when it is founded and fueled by grace, rather than done out of compulsion. We will address a number of important topics, like:

-  How can I learn to give joyfully rather than grudgingly?

-  How much should I give?

-  Will God bless me financially if I give?

The entirety of 2 Cor chapters 8 and 9 is about giving. We don’t have time to look at the whole thing, so we’ll read excerpts. The context of this passage is that Paul is collecting money from gentile churches to help poor believers in Judea, which we also see in some of his other letters. So he’s asking the church of Corinth, which was relatively wealthy, to give toward this collection. One of his tactics is to commend the example of some churches in Macedonia, who were very poor themselves but still gave generously to the offering. Let’s read straight through it; then we’ll go back and look at some of the themes:

2 Cor 8:1

1And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people…

9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Chap 9:6

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

We will be covering six principles of giving today:

1. We are called to give with eagerness, with love, and with joy.

This idea is found all over this passage. Here are some excerpts:

8:2 - In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. [overflowing joy]

8:3-4 - Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing. [so instead of Paul asking them to give, they were pleading to give]

8:11 - eager willingness

8:12 - if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. [this says that it’s not the amount of our giving that is most important, but our willingness.]

8:17 - much enthusiasm

8:19 - eagerness to help

9:2 - eagerness to help

9:5 - a generous gift, not one grudgingly given

9:7 - [sums it all up] Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

In God's eyes, our motivations and attitudes are absolutely crucial. A stingy heart says: “OK, just tell me how much I need to give in order to satisfy God and think of myself as a good person and look good to others too, and I’ll do it.” A generous heart joyfully says: “I want to give as much as I can.” The way God's grace had produced the generosity of the Macedonian Christians was not by making them rich in money, but by making them rich in joy. Thus their joy was not in their possessions but in God because they treasured God and people more than money.

Think of a time when you gave something to someone that you really loved, and you had joy in giving. Hopefully you can think of many such instances of joyful giving. The more you love someone, the more joyfully you give to them. Why is our attitude so important? Because our joy in giving honors God and shows our love for people. God loves a cheerful giver.

Here’s an example: The most expensive gift I have ever given anyone is the engagement ring I gave my wife eighteen years ago. In my home country, it’s the tradition for the man to give his fiancé a diamond ring as a sign of their engagement to be married. Was I happy to give her such an expensive gift? Of course! I was madly in love. What if, when I gave her the ring, I said, “I am not very happy in giving this ring to you. It was expensive, and frankly I’d much rather keep the money for myself. But I give it to you out of obligation in order to follow the tradition.” How would that make her feel? Would she feel loved? Would that honor her? When I give something to her with an attitude of delight, it honors her and demonstrates love, because it shows she’s more valuable to me than money.

Loving, giving, and joy all go together. God is the most loving being in existence, the most giving being in existence, and the most joyful being in existence. The Trinity is an eternal community of self-giving love and joy. God invites us into this community because He loves us and wants to share His joy with us. When you set your heart to be a part of this rhythm of generous joy, you tap into an infinite source of divine power and grace: God himself because God is love.

Here’s one definition of love: Love is the overflow of joy in God which meets the needs of others.

The Macedonians had been liberated from the bondage of wealth and were experiencing the joy that comes from being used by God to make a difference in the world for good, the joy of seeing their money released into the lives of the poor for the glory of God.

2. The basis for our generosity is God’s grace to us through Jesus.

The Greek word for “grace” appears 10 times in these two chapters and has the idea of unmerited favor, of merciful kindness, or of a gift. Paul uses the word “grace” to refer both to God’s extravagant gift to us in Jesus, and in His empowering us to give with joyful, extravagant generosity. Our giving is founded upon grace, surrounded by grace, empowered by grace, and sustained by grace. It’s all grace, it’s all gift. Gracious receiving produces joy, and gracious giving produces joy--and God wants us to have plenty of both. Here are some excerpts from our passage:

8:1 - the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches [the word “grace” here is referring to joyful sacrificial giving]

8:4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing [the word “privilege” is the same Greek word for “grace”; they pleaded for the grace of sharing]

8:6 - bring also to completion this act of grace

8:7 - see that you also abound in the grace of giving [which is the sermon title]

8:9 - 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 through his poverty might become rich.

8:19 - we carry out this act of grace

9:14-15 - In their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! [this is how Paul finishes chap 9 as he bursts forth in joyful worship: Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!]

When someone is generous with you, doesn’t it have a way of filling you with joy, melting your selfishness, and making you want to be generous in return? The picture here is that we are swept up into God’s abundant flood of generous joy, and get to join in the party.

Chap 8 V 9 really is the key: Paul motivates them by looking at the example of Christ’s grace. “He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” This is talking about the riches of our salvation rather than material riches. But we are called to follow Christ’s example by becoming materially poorer so that others might be richer. Paul says: I know you might not currently have enough love for this kind of joyful generosity. But that doesn’t mean just say, “I can’t give cheerfully, so I guess I won’t give.” Well, then get happy. You can work on your heart by focusing your gaze on the grace of Christ. You can be like George Mueller, who in 19th century England founded many orphanages. Mueller said: “The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord… but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.”

If love is the overflow of joy in God which meets the needs of others, Paul gives us the secret of how we can find that joy, or as George Mueller put it, how we can get our soul happy in the Lord to nourish our inner man. Paul is putting the gospel into economic terms. Before the incarnation, we were completely bankrupt spiritually, and Jesus had all the riches in the universe, so to speak. He was perfectly powerful and glorious, but He lowered himself to take on all the sufferings of humankind. He died humiliated and rejected and penniless. He gave up his rights and his resources in order that we might have the undeserved, infinite riches of knowing God. This was the great exchange: He took on our sin and gave us his righteousness. His grace melts our hard hearts to be joyfully, extravagantly generous, like His.

3. We are called to extravagant, sacrificial, grace-filled giving.