Giving is part of Living: Why not enjoy it!

 

Read 2 Corinthians 9

Paul is still discussing the offering for the believers in Jerusalem. He is prompting the believers in Corinth to have their offering ready when he arrives.

As an added incentive, Paul noted that it would be embarrassing if he came with a few Macedonians—who had so little and gave so much—only to find that you didn’t have your offering together yet. It’s Paul saying, “Don’t make me look bad, guys. I’ve been bragging about you, a bunch.”

Those instructions were somewhat transient, but what endures is much of what follows.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 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. And 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

It's this whole, you reap what you sow business. The statement applies generally to our lives and specifically to our offerings.

This reaping—this harvesting business—is more than just a good investment of our money and resources. It is a reflection of the condition of our hearts.

We are to decide—that’s the verb at work here—to give in accordance with our hearts. We decide. Listen to God as he speaks to you inside, perhaps in that still, small voice, and then decide what to give.

God decided to rescue us from sin and death and he did it with the blood of his Son. We get to decide how to respond. One way we respond is by giving.

We don’t give because we are required to by God or by the laws of man.

We are not reluctant to give. We actually should look forward to it!

God loves a cheerful giver.

 Now 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. You 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.

We should give in response to God’s love. That should be enough, but we are promised more.

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

You 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.

The giver is blessed and God is glorified! That sounds like a win-win to me.

Paul is spending a little time on this offering business. He is partially motivated by the fact that the time to collect the last of the offering has come, but much of his counsel applies to us in these modern times.

I’ll use a modern medium, the FAQ. You see these things on every online page. Have you ever wondered how companies come up with frequently asked questions when they just lauched the product and website?

Sure, there are focus groups who guess what people might ask, but mostly it’s the marketing manager who didn’t want to make his or her spiel too long but wanted to work more stuff into the presentation, at least for those who would read more.

FAQs are a marketing strategy. They want to sell you something or keep from hiring people to answer the phones. But you know the presentation, so I will do a little antiphonal presentation for you in the context of the full biblical witness. Lets go!

What should our offering not be?

A source of anxiousness.

A source of worry.

A burden of any sort. God takes our burdens

Our motivation is to receive something more. We will receive blessings, but our hearts give out of love, not greed.

Our vehicle to salvation. Jesus paid it all.

What does our offering say about us?

He doesn’t have much, does he?

She’s writing some big checks.

If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

Or not!

Our offering says a lot about whether we believe in a God of abundance or one of scarcity.  Did everything really come from God, and does he still have something left for our age, or does he operate on a shoestring budget?

I hope you enjoy the paradigm of abundance. God has more than enough to meet your needs, and he looks out for you in this modern age.

Does the confluence of outside pressures cause us to cough up the offering money, or are we compelled by the Spirit that lives within us to give cheerfully?

In this age, the outside pressure to give is gone. Society doesn’t expect to see you in worship, giving from what you could spend on yourself, or loving each other. Those pressures were from a time that most here never knew.

There was a time in this country when the church and our society's morals were more closely aligned. The fact that society is moving farther from God does not discourage me.

Everyone I see on Sunday mornings, at a ministry event, or helping others during the week is doing it because God has called them to. It’s not just what everyone expects anymore.

I don’t become disheartened because those who used to come because their neighbors expected them to are not here anymore. I am encouraged that there is no outside pressure from the world for you to be here, and yet, here you are.

We get this giving is part of living mindset.

We get this cheerful giver business.

We know that God will take care of us.

We know that we are blessed—not to pad our comfort zones—but to be a blessing to others, or to abound in every good work if we want Paul’s words.

Let’s consider all these thoughts in Paul’s words once again.

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

You 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.

We are and will continue to be blessed to be a blessing to others.

Our giving and our receiving are linked.

Our blessings and those blessings we bestowed upon each other are linked.

Giving and living—to the full—are linked.

Here’s a quick tie-in with our first service. When we help, give, love, and show mercy and compassion for others, those others may be prompted to give thanks to God.

Is that not a big step in the right direction for a world that seems dead-set on operating without God or in opposition to him? It is, and for some, it may lead to salvation. Our giving may be the thing that gives that last little nudge before someone quits resisting God and receives him as Lord of their lives.

When other believers receive our mercy, compassion, and giving and give thanks to God, we have prompted their discipleship.

As believers, we know:

The Lord loves a cheerful giver. I hope you go into the world knowing this is more than a mantra—it’s real living.

·       Giving is an essential part of living.

·       Giving may even be the sine qua non of abundant life. It’s something to think on.

·        Giving is a part of living.

Why not enjoy it?

Amen.