Jump on the Bandwagon!

 

Read 2 Corinthians 8

Oh great! It’s more offering scriptures. Here comes the money talk again.

So, the tithe is ten percent. Tithe means tenth. I have heard or read The Money Message a few times.

Paul tells us that we should each give as we have decided in our hearts, not out of fear or compulsion or any other "have to do" reason. The Lord loves a cheerful giver.

We are to be the master of our money. We tell it what to do. The amount is much less important than the relationship. We are master of our money.

Some of that money is meant for giving. We are to be generous. We are givers.

In fact, we should embrace the paradigm that giving is part of living. You might say that there are plenty of people around who are not givers. They are living entirely for themselves.

They are not fully living. You cannot fully live until you give. Giving is important. Giving reveals our true intentions.

You can listen to the best sermon ever. You can listen to a dozen podcasts every week or every day. You can watch videos on YouTube and Reels on Facebook that talk about God, love, giving, hope, despair, joy, peace, and so much more.

But nothing expresses our true theology like giving. Will we give of what we have? That’s what Paul asks of us, and that’s what God asks of us.

We are not all required to tithe $15,000 or $20,000 per year. We should tithe ten percent of what we have, even if that works out to $100 a year.  We should tithe joyfully.  We should give beyond the tithe joyfully as well.

Paul is talking about this offering that is beyond the tithe. This was a special offering for the Hebrew believers in Jerusalem. Many had been ostracized for their professions that Jesus is Lord. Many had suffered loss. Many were just poor. All were believers and now brothers and sisters in Christ with every believer of every age and geography, including the Jewish believers of that First Century who lived in Jerusalem.

The churches in Europe were putting together a special offering. Titus had been a big part of this. The Macedonian churches were on board and excited about making this offering for God’s people.

All believers were God’s people, but this was a chance for those who had been regarded as Gentiles, pagans, and aliens but were now brothers and sisters with believers among God’s Chosen People to really connect and really show their love.

Paul noted that the believers in Northern Greece didn’t have much, but they gave from what they had and were excited to do so. This offering generated excitement.

Paul wanted all the churches in Greece to have the same excitement, especially in Corinth. This could connect believers not only in Greece and Jerusalem, but also among the churches in Greece. They could be a connectional community.

Paul talked a lot about being a new creature and saying goodbye to who we were. He told us to keep our eyes set on what is unseen, that is of God. He affirmed that we are to walk by faith not by sight.

The old is gone is new is come. That’s good counsel and we should strive for be holy as God is holy, but it’s not tactile. It’s not kinesthetic.

It’s purposeful but hard to get our heads around sometimes.

Hey! We are helping some believers who need help. That’s hands-on stuff right there. It comes with a rallying cry, and we can get behind it.

That’s a bandwagon to jump on.

When we say jump on the bandwagon today, we are usually talking about endorsing someone’s diatribe that degrades someone else. We see a lot of that these days.  We are beating up people who believe this today. Jump on my bandwagon and help me.

But we can jump on a bandwagon for good reasons. Helping the poor and afflicted is always a good reason, and we need a few causes like this to be vital in our discipleship.

Do you remember going to Moore, Oklahoma with supplies and helpers a few years ago. People were excited to help. But we don’t have to look back to find something to be excited about.

As it turns out we have a really big one happening today. It’s our backpack ministry. We are helping those who need help and live right here. The supplies help but they will be gone in a few weeks or months.

It’s the connections we make that should excite us. We should jump on the gospel bandwagon. People are coming to us. We need to share our faith with them. We need to be excited about it.

This next piece of counsel comes from Mr. Rogers. He said that when bad things happened, he would look for the helpers. Who is helping?

Instead of rubbernecking to see the gore of the accident or the demolished structures, look for who is helping. Who is helping?

Paul told the church in Corinth, "You started something good. Now, finish it. Let’s do this right, and let’s get excited about doing it right."

We should trust God.

We should profess that Jesus is Lord.

We should love one another.

We should desire to be the servants of all.

We should take the gospel to the world.

We should do all of those things, but sometimes, something just takes hold as an act of mercy, compassion, giving, or extreme kindness, and we want to jump on the bandwagon.

That’s fanning the flames of the Spirit that lives within us. That’s passion. That’s living life to the full.

Be a passionate part of what we have this afternoon or passionately part of something else that brings glory to God, but find something to be excited about in your discipleship.

We are not just waiting this thing out until Jesus returns. We are passionately putting his words into practice, and sometimes, we find something to be very excited about.

Amen.