THE GRACE OF GIVING
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Chapter 8 starts off with a progress report of the giving in a special offering
by the Macedonian Churches. The Churches in Jerusalem
the churches in Macedonia
gave generously above their means by the grace of God.
In fact the Macedonia Churches, not considering their own
needs, begged to give in the
special offering to the Jerusalem
good of others.
EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF GIVING
V:7-8 But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in
speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us — see
that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity
of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
A. I think that it is good encouragement to hear about the
generosity of others to
those in need.
1. The Macedonia
cause the
grace of God to fall fresh on them so they were able to give
well above
their means.
2. God can make away out of no way.
3. With a desire
to give, God can take the little you have and multiply it
to take care
of your needs and the needs of the receiver of your desires.
B. We can do all things through faith in our God who
strengthens us.
1. No matter how
bad you situation is, there is someone who in worst
shape than you.
2. There are some
areas where it is easy for us to excel in because of
grace God has
given us.
3. The Churches at Corinth
Word and had a
genuine love for one another.
4. Paul gave the a
good old pat on the back for excellent in these areas.
C. Paul encouraged the Corinthian Churches to give the same energy
and zeal to
the "grace
of giving".
1. Grace is God's
favor towards us.
2. Every day we
awake we are showered with God's grace.
3. Since God has
shown us favor in areas of our lives, we ought
favor others
with generosity in our giving to their needs.
4. The needs of
others is a window of opportunity for us to
express our
love in a tangible way to them.
D. In this case, the Apostle Paul was not commanding the
churches to give,
but urging them
to give as a show of the sincerity of their love
to brothers and
sisters in need.
JESUS ,THE EXAMPLE OF GIVING
V:9. " For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through
his poverty might become rich. "
A. The greatest example of love is our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
1. In heaven,
Jesus was second in the Holy Trinity, and rich beyond any
measure we can
conceive of.
2. For the joy of
our eternal life, Jesus stepped down out of heaven and
was born into
a poor family to die on the cross for our sins.
3. Jesus paid the
ultimate sacrifice, himself, to atone for our sin
B. 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ died
for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to
God. He was put
to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
1. Being in Christ
Jesus, we have access to all abundance which is Christ.
2. What ever we
sow in the name of Jesus will be multiplied in all
abundance.
3. 2 Corinthians
9:10-11
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.
11 You will be
made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every
occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
MAKE A VOW TO GIVE AND KEEP IT
V:10-11. " And here is my advice about what is best for
you in this matter: Last year you
were the first not only to give but also to have
the desire to do so.
Now finish the work,
so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your
completion of it,
according to your means. "
A. Whatever we start for Christ, we should complete.
1. When we make a
vow, we should be careful to fulfill it, because others
rely on our
trust worthiness.
2. Others may find
encouragement to give because of our generosity.
3. Maybe the
Churches in Macedonia
what they
heard the Corinthian Churches were
doing.
B. God blesses the start of good works to their completion.
1. We should never
loose heart in doing good.
2. It is the
Spirit of God that drives us to start and it should be the spirit of
God that
strengthen us to complete a good work.
3. Galatians
6:9-10
Let us not
become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not
give up. Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to
those who belong to the family of
believers.
4. We must never
forget that whatever we sacrifice for others in the name
of Jesus
stores up treasures in Heaven for us.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will
be measured to
you."
GOD PROVIDES FOR OUR GIVING
V:12. " For if the willingness is there, the gift is
acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. "
A. God will never ask us to give what He has not already
blessed us with.
1. Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole
tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test
me in
this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing
that you will not have room enough for it.
2. The tithe is 10
percent of a blessing that God has already given to us.
1. To give we
must arrange our priorities so God is first in our activities.
2. Before we pay any bills, we are
commanded to pay God first.
B. Giving is a
command with a promise of more giving from God.
1. we may never
be able to see how we can live off of ninety percent of our
income.
2. There in lies
the problem our desire to see before we give.
3. The just live
by faith and not by sight.
SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE
V:13-14. " Our desire is not that others might be
relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,
so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be
equality,"
A. What goes around comes around is an tried and tested
saying that is based on the
Word of God.
1. 2 Corinthians
9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously
will also reap generously.
2. God gives to us
so that we can give to others so that His will shall be done.
3. We are not an
island to ourselves.
4. We all need
each other,
B. God never told us that serving Him would be easy.
1. He did tell us
that we would face trials and tribulations because of
our love for
Him.
Luke 23:31
For if they do
these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
John 15:20
Remember the
word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If
they have
persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying,
they will keep yours also.
2. Jesus also
promised that He would never leave us or forsake us.
3. The Churches in
Jerusalem
teaching of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
a. Their need
arrived from their love for Christ.
b. God used the
generosity of the Churches in other cities to provide for
needs.
EQUALITY
AMONG BELIEVERS
15 as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have
too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."
A. If the world was equal, there would be no rich or poor
people.
1. Unfortunately
we live in a world where the rich get richer and the
poor get
poorer.
2. In the Church it is not so. We are all equal under the Lord.
1
Corinthians 12:25-26
so that
there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have
equal
concern for
each other.
26 If one
part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part
rejoices with
it.
B. In order to be in a mode of sharing you have to have a
unselfish attitude.
1. To go along
with the unselfishness is total dependence on God.
2. To give up the
excess of life is to live each day with the assurance that
God will take
care of tomorrow.
3.Giving takes on
a whole new priority when you put God at center of your
existence.
4. The reason of
our existence is God's continuous giving to every area of our
lives.
POINT TO REMEMBER ABOUT GIVING
Here are four things I have learned about
giving.
1. We should
give joyfully
2
Corinthians 9:7
Each man
should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2. We should
give Sacrificially.
We don't
test our faith unless we push our giving to the limit.
We there no
way to know how much you can give unless you
trust God
with your finances.
Hebrews 11:4
By faith
Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was
commended as
a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by
faith he
still speaks, even though he is dead.
3. We should give Expectantly.
Luke 6:38
Give, and
it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it
will be
measured to you."
There is no
way to get the running over blessing unless you give trusting
that God
will fulfill His promise.
4. We should
give Completely.
To give
completely you have step out on faith and let God support you.
Matthew
14:28-29
"Lord,
if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the
water."
"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked
on the water and
came
toward Jesus. "
Since God
said it, you have to believe it and act upon it.
I heard a
preacher say that giving completely means:
"NO
RESERVES, NO RETREATS, AND NO REGRETS.
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lesson, follow me on facebook and visit my blogs
revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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