Becoming Givers

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We have kind of a running joke at our house that we go to the Sonic on Highway 49 so often that if they don’t see us every day by 5 o’clock, they get worried. It’s not quite that bad, but it’s close. It’s the only restaurant out by our house, unless you count Burger King, and I don’t.

so we we uh we go to sonic a lot for the for the half price drinks you can order in the app and also if we just don’t feel like cooking it’s easy the kids will eat the grilled cheeses from there and it’s quicker than getting a pan out and so we we go there a lot because it’s convenient it’s close to the house it meets a need and it’s got stuff for the kids but you know it just seems like they just want money all the time right like every time I go I have to give them money for the stuff that they provide every time and then they want to tip on top of it and Linda Crow taught me always tip I was not a I was not a tipper at Sonic until Linda said I worked as a car hop and they worked hard and you should always tip and I said yes ma’am so if Linda Crow said it by the way Linda if you’re watching it, we miss you. If Linda Crowe said it, yes, ma’am, I started tipping.

They just always want money. And they’re not the only ones. You know, Charlie and I were talking about, it’s been about four years since we bought our house.

And every month we get a letter from the bank, they want money again, every month. Walmart, we try to go order groceries, they just, they want money. Now y’all are laughing because you realize I’m being facetious about it, but I bring that up because that’s the way a lot of people view the church.

And it’s true, Sonic does want money every time I go and order from there, but I still go there. I want to keep my house, so every time the bank asks for another monthly installment, I make it. I don’t cut the bank off.

It is not true that the church just wants money. At least it’s not true here. Honestly, it’s not true of most churches I know.

There are some big examples that are familiar in our culture that that might be the case where the church is a money-hungry machine. But it’s not the case in most churches. But because that is such a prevalent view in our society, for many years I have avoided preaching on the subject of giving.

Anything I could do to get out of preaching on that subject, I have done. If you’re visiting with us, especially for the first time and you’re walking in, there we go, we come to the church and they’re talking about money. I’ve been preaching for 22 years and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve preached on the subject and have fingers left over.

And yet I realized something several months ago, that I was avoiding the subject because it’s offensive or misunderstood or what have you to people outside, and I realized I don’t do that about anything else. I don’t, at least the goal is to be faithful to the Word and not shy away from what it says on any topic. And over my years here, we’ve talked about some difficult topics.

We’ve talked about the biblical definition of marriage and didn’t shy away from that. And that’s certainly not popular. We’ve talked about the sanctity of life and what the scriptures say about that and haven’t shied away from that.

We’ve talked about, you name it, whatever hot button issue there is. We’ve talked about pride. We’ve talked about, and I don’t mean Pride Month, we’ve talked about our, although we’ve talked about that too.

We’ve talked about our pride, things that we struggle with that aren’t just the world out there. And so I’m really not doing my job if I avoid topics that the scriptures speak on. And I have to keep that in mind, and hopefully you’ll bear that in mind this morning, as I come to what has traditionally been a very uncomfortable topic for me.

Even though the church is not all about money, the Bible does teach that we’re supposed to be givers. And so we’re in this series on spiritual disciplines, and this is, in all honesty, at least in my life, this is one that requires the most, one of the ones that requires the most discipline. This is the one that, this is one of the ones that I have to work hard at making sure I practice.

And I figure I’m probably not the only one. So this morning, we’re going to look at this spiritual discipline, the discipline of giving and what it means for believers. And if you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, first of all, we’re glad you’re here, but I’m not trying to squeeze money out of you.

Not really trying to squeeze money out of anybody, but especially not you. I’m talking to believers, those who’ve trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, about a discipline that we practice that helps us grow in our faith and grow spiritually. And so we’re going to be in 2 Corinthians this morning.

This is sort of the classic passage I think of when I think about giving. 2 Corinthians chapter 9. And we’re going to look at about six verses in the middle of this chapter where Paul addresses giving.

He talks about giving throughout the whole chapter, but I think we can get the point of it by looking at these middle verses, 2 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 6. If you turn there with me, and once you find it, if you’d stand as we read together from God’s Word, if you don’t have your Bible or can’t find the passage, it’ll be on the screen for you. If memory serves, I also put it in the bulletin for you.

So 2 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 6. This is what the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said to the church at Corinth. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must do as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. And you may be seated.

Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. This is not the letter that we just spent a year going through 1 Corinthians where he was straightening out some major problems at the church at Corinth. This is one of his follow-up letters.

Now the text of 2 Corinthians tells us there was probably a letter in between there that must have not been inspired by God. God didn’t think it belonged in Scripture. This is one of his follow-up letters where he’s still kind of mopping up some minor problems, but seemingly not as bad as in 1 Corinthians.

He’s dealing with them in chapter 9 about a promise that the church at Corinth had made to give a gift to the work of his ministry, not just to benefit him, but to support these people that were going out and doing ministry and doing missions, particularly through the churches in Macedonia. And they had promised that they were going to give generously to the support of the ministry. And he comes to 2 Corinthians 9, what we know as 2 Corinthians 9, and he’s writing to them saying, hey, remember that promise you made?

You need to follow through on that. Because I know sometimes in the past I’ve been listening to a missionary talk, and I’ve gotten very excited about the work they were doing, and I’ve thought, I’m going to give $500 to that. Because you’re swept up in the value of what they’re doing.

And that’s front and center. And then the time comes to actually write the check. And your hand trembles a little bit.

And writing the check is a little different. And I think there was some hesitancy on their part. As a matter of fact, Paul is saying, why don’t y’all go ahead and get on that and set some things aside, take up some collections for the work of the ministry and set those things aside so that when I bring people with me, the money will be there and we don’t have to take up a collection.

Because I’ve already told that, he says he’s already told the people that he’s working with about how generous Corinth was in their pledge. And so he’s encouraging them here to give and to give to support the work of ministry. That’s important for us to understand that he’s, that what they would have understood is that he’s writing to them about as believers being generous to the work of the ministry so that the gospel could go forward.

But he ties this, he ties everything he’s telling them about giving and encouraging them on this, not just talking about giving in abstract, but I need you to give right now is what he’s telling them. He ties this to the condition of our hearts and our relationships with God. And one of the main points that he’s trying to make here is that we can trust God with everything, including our resources.

And I will admit to you, this is a struggle for me. There are a lot of areas where it’s easy to trust God. But when I go check the bank, I like to see a certain number at a minimum.

And when it’s not there, I panic a little bit. And then you’re asked to give. And sometimes that can be a struggle.

And sometimes it’s been a greater struggle at times in the past. And we have to learn we can trust God with everything. And if we say we can trust God with everything, that for me, there has to be the reminder in there that my resources are part of everything. And if you feel like I’m twisting your arm to give, we’ve already taken up the offering.

There’s no pressure. We’re not going to pass the plate a second time. And if anything, I’m talking to myself here.

Giving is about learning to trust God with everything He’s entrusted to you. And Jesus, during his ministry, taught that the things we treasure, our heart will follow. In Matthew 6.

21, he said, where your treasure is, there your heart is also, or will be also. And that’s right in line with what Paul’s talking about. The fact that how and where we invest our treasure, it matters to God, because it’s tied to the condition of our hearts.

As a matter of fact, the things we treasure will lead our hearts. And if we treasure our money, then our hearts will center around money. If we treasure the work of God, then our hearts will follow that and be oriented around the work of God.

And that’s what Paul’s trying to get them to understand, the church at Corinth, to get them to understand their heart is going to follow their treasure. And their heart is never going to be fully committed to the work of God until they’ve committed their treasure there also. He was writing to them to encourage them to follow through, and he ties this call to give to the character of God.

If we look at verse 10, he says, Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. He says some things there about who God is. He points out that God supplies our daily needs from the seed to the table.

He said it’s God who supplies your bread. It’s God who supplies the seeds. When you think about it, everything we have was supplied to us by God.

I’ve never seen the movie, but my youth pastor used to talk about a movie with Jimmy Stewart, where he and his family sat down to pray and he said, Lord, and again, not having seen the movie, just hearing it secondhand, I can’t remember exactly what was said, but it’s a great illustration that, Lord, we worked for it, we planted it, we watered it, we picked it, we cooked it, we did all these things, but thank you anyway. Who gave you the ground to plant the seed? Who made the water fall out of the sky?

Who created the seed? Who made it grow? Okay, I’ve been a gardener long enough to know just because you plant a seed, you can’t will it to grow.

Something else makes it grow other than you just want it. Because some of my things just will not grow. Who gave you the legs and the back and the arms to go to work?

Who gave you the strength? Who gave you the heartbeat to live another day and go do it? God supplies everything.

And yes, we may have to work for it, but God even supplied the capacity for us to go to work so that those things could be provided. And what Paul is doing by tying these two facts together, the call to give with the understanding of God as provider, is to recognize that everything we have is His to begin with. And that sometimes we’re hesitant to give.

Sometimes I am hesitant to give because I worry about what if there’s not enough in the future. But sometimes I need to be smacked upside the head and reminded God provided what was there to begin with. I didn’t do that.

God ultimately provided all of that. Why am I doubting that He can do it again? And then He goes on to say there in verse 10, that He’ll supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase your harvest in righteousness.

The same God who meets our needs entrusts resources to us to meet others’ needs as well. He’s talking about multiplying what’s been provided to you. God frequently gives us resources, not only to meet our needs, but to be His hands and feet in meeting the needs of others as well.

We’ve seen that in ministries like our food pantry. Hungry people come in and have a need, and we have never not had something to give them, to feed them for that next meal. And in many cases, have an opportunity to have a spiritual conversation with them, pray with them, share the gospel. I heard that a couple weeks ago, one of our volunteers led somebody to Christ when handing out meals.

And all of that’s possible because of those of you in this room who give to support that ministry. God uses our resources that He entrusts to us not only to meet our needs, but to be His provision to meet other people’s needs as well. Then we look at verse 11, He says, and I keep trying to look at the wrong chapter here, you will be enriched in everything for all liberality.

That does not mean, folks, this is not a TV sermon on giving that says if you’ll give today, you’ll get a check for seven times whatever you put in. That’s not what he’s talking about. God is not promising quid pro quo here that you give a certain amount, and there’s a mathematical formula, you’ll get a certain amount back in return.

God may bless you financially as you’re faithful to give. He may bless you financially, but he will bless you. He will bless you spiritually.

He will bless you in other ways. He will bless you in ways that go beyond just money coming into your account. because does anybody else have this problem?

You get money in your account and then you blink and it’s gone. Where did it go? If you don’t have that problem, it’s because you don’t have, well, you don’t live in this world.

You don’t have children. You don’t have a spouse. You don’t have.

. . It’s just like it has wings.

Being blessed with money would be a great thing, but it doesn’t stick around. But God blesses us in greater ways. And Paul is pointing all of this out so that the Corinthians would understand you’re holding on tightly to something that isn’t worth holding on to.

and it’s keeping you from trusting him. So he’s pointing out the character of God as being someone that we can trust. And our giving is an expression of our trust in God. When we give, we are making a statement that we trust God not only to meet our needs, but also that we trust God to take what was given and use it in ways we could never imagine to meet the needs of others.

That we’re trusting God to use our gifts in a meaningful way. And so our view of giving always has to be tied to the character of God, not just the need, but the character of God. And as a result of this, Christians are called not only to give, but to be givers.

And there’s a distinction. There’s a distinction between those two. As long as I’ve been working and had money of my own, I’ve tried to give because it was the right thing to do.

I started out before I could even drive. My first job, I was a sacker at Homeland. And from the time I got that first check, which wasn’t nearly as much as I thought it was going to be because of this FICA guy, whoever he was.

But it wasn’t, as soon as I got that first check, as little as it was, I started trying to be diligent about giving and giving 10% to my church because it was the right thing to do. But I will tell you, my heart wasn’t always in it. I was giving, but I wasn’t a giver.

The difference is that one is something we do and the other is something we are. And while giving is important, Paul’s focus here is on us being givers, that it becomes a part of who we are. Now, I want to take just a moment, and I’m trying to get through this.

I’m afraid I’m going to run out of time. The question always comes up of how much. How much am I supposed to give?

And people just in the wider Christian world can get very animated over this. People say, It is wrong, it is ungodly to teach that there’s a tithe for today because it’s not in the New Testament. It is wrong, it is ungodly to teach that there’s not a tithe today.

People get really worked up on both sides. And I know there are some differences and nuanced views on that even in this congregation. I’m not talking about anybody in here when I say people get riled up about this.

And I’ll say my views have changed. My views have changed even recently because I want to be faithful to what God’s Word says. And I don’t want to tell you it says something it doesn’t say.

Over the last several years, I’ve said, you know, the New Testament does not teach. . .

Tithe is not referenced or taught in the New Testament. Now, that’s not saying tithing is wrong. Charla and I tithe.

That’s not a bragging thing, but I think you need to know that my money is going where my mouth is. But I’ve said there’s nothing in the New Testament about tithing. That’s not exactly true.

In some of the conversations I’ve had with people over the last year or so, you know, I tell you all the time, I’m not infallible. Somebody pointed out to me, you know, Jesus talked about the tithe to the Pharisees and talked about how they were being very scrupulous about tithing on every little bitty thing, and yet the weightier issues of the law that deal with the heart, they were ignoring those. And Jesus said, those things you should have done and not neglected the others.

So what I can say to you today, in Paul’s letters, in Peter’s letters, in John’s letters, do we have a command today that the 10% rule is in effect for the church? I can’t tell you that’s in there, but I can tell you if you go back to Matthew, Jesus says it’s a good idea. That’s good enough for me.

The bigger issue with the tithe is not about whether it’s a rule. The bigger issue is that it’s not a matter of a percent, it’s a matter of where our hearts are. And I will tell you that just for my own spiritual walk and my own trust in God, it’s important that 10% comes here.

And it’s important for me that I trust God enough to say that right off the top, right at the beginning, I’m sending that 10% because that’s a reminder that God’s provided all of it. And I need you to understand the distinction here. I’m not trying to guilt anybody.

I’m not telling you there’s a command for 10%, but I’m telling you Jesus said it’s a good idea and I have found that it’s been beneficial to me because I, and you won’t usually see me put a check in the plate because I, half the time I don’t know where my checkbook is. I needed to make sure I was faithful in doing that, so I set it up to come out of my bank account, but I look at that statement and I see that money come out and it’s a reminder. I see that money and I say, thank you, Lord, for, that’s a lot of money, but thank you, Lord, for providing that so I could give.

It’s a spiritual discipline. It’s a spiritual discipline to practice generosity when he calls us to. Part of what makes it a spiritual discipline is it doesn’t come naturally.

Most of us don’t like to give up money or really any of our resources, but it contributes to our spiritual growth by training us to look to God to provide. Because, again, I see that number come out, and I think, thank you, Lord, for providing it. Sometimes I think, oh, what I could do if I still had that amount in my bank account?

But even without that, we’ve never gone hungry. God has always provided and so it’s been a reminder to look to God as the owner and the provider of all things and when I have talked in the past about tithing as a rule had some some folks who were church members at the time come to me and say we’ve been convicted because the way things are right now with the way our finances are we can’t afford to tithe but we feel convicted about it and what I said to them was not don’t tithe what I said to them was if you think you can’t afford it, and because of that you think, oh, I can’t afford 10%, so I’m not giving anything. Give something.

Give something. Give part of your finances. Give more than you think you can to the Lord and see what God will do.

As I’ve done that in the past, He’s never not taken care of us. But it’s just a reminder to us that God has entrusted us with all these things. And the Corinthians understood that we were supposed to give, but Paul makes it clear that the most important thing is how we give.

Not just that we give, not what percentage, not what amount. If we’re focused on just fulfilling the rule and crossing off the little boxes, we’re missing the point. The most important thing is how we give as believers.

And for that, we go back to verses 6 and 7. In verse 6, he says, I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. We’re supposed to give generously.

We give generously in expectation of what God will do when we trust Him. And that’s a reminder that I need, because again, I get real worried about money. I have to take lots of tums when it’s time for finance committee meeting every month, just because all those numbers, even when the numbers are good.

All those numbers get me upset. Finances stress me out. Mine, the churches, it doesn’t matter.

But I see that number come out of my bank account, and I think I’m giving that because I expect that God’s going to use it in bigger ways than just that amount. And so if we want to reap sparingly, if we want to see God do a little bit, give a little bit. If you want to see God do a lot, give a lot.

Not that He can’t do a lot with a little, but He tells us here if we sow sparingly, will reap sparingly. Verse 7, he says, each one must do as he has purposed in his heart. We give purposefully, instead of haphazardly and intermittently.

That was why it was important for me to set it up in my bank account, because otherwise, and by the way, I’m not telling you that that’s what you need to do. I’m saying that worked for me to be purposeful about it, because otherwise I might remember a check one week out of seven. You say, oops, I forgot to give.

How long has it been? I need to be disciplined about it. I need to be purposeful and say, I’m going to invest this much in what God is doing.

And he says, give as you’ve purposed in your heart. And then he says later in verse 7, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. We give joyfully.

So we give generously, we give purposefully, we give joyfully. We don’t do it resentfully as I have done sometimes in the past. I’m saying, here’s my check, Lord, but I really wish I could hold on to it. we look at it as a reminder of God’s provision, and we give joyfully, but also not as a result of coercion.

He says not under compulsion, and that’s why I want to be very clear. Nothing about this message is designed to squeeze more money out of you. I want you to know I don’t know who gives.

I don’t know how much anybody gives. As far as I know or am concerned, each one of you is single-handedly giving enough to carry the entire church budget, right? I don’t know.

And so this is not directed at squeezing more money out of anybody or trying to make anybody feel guilty. That’s between you and the Lord. What you give is entirely between you and the Lord.

There’s no compulsion about it. But as your pastor, I want to be faithful to the word. And as we talk about spiritual disciplines, this is an important one.

It’s been important for me because trying to improve in this area has forced me. It’s forced me to confront my own selfishness, but it’s forced me to learn also that I can trust God. And as I’ve been able to trust Him with my checkbook, as much of a struggle as it is, as I’ve been able to trust Him, it’s helped me trust Him in other areas as well.

So please understand my heart in bringing all of this to you this morning. And here in verses 8 and 9, I think this is a key to it. Giving is just a small way of acknowledging God’s own grace and generosity to us.

We know that He’ll bless us for giving. He says that. It doesn’t necessarily financial riches, and we know that He’ll take care of us.

So as we understand God’s goodness, and God’s grace, and God’s generosity, when we realize the character of God, and realize that we can trust Him, that we can rest in Him, it makes it easier to hold loosely what He’s entrusted to us, and not just in finances. Okay, the finances for me were the training wheels, because if there’s one thing I’m more obsessive about than my finances, it’s my children. If the devil wants to stress me out, he messes with my checkbook or my children.

But learning to trust God, learning to trust God with this has helped as a reminder to me when I’m dealing with a difficult situation with them, to be able to say, wait a minute, God, you’ve shown me time and time again, there’s not a situation I can’t trust you with. Lord, deal with your kids. But it’s easier to hold loosely what he’s in trusted to us.

And it’s easier to trust in Him. And verses 8 and 9 tell us that we’re acknowledging His grace, His goodness, and His provision. God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having sufficiency in everything you may have, an abundance of every good deed as it is written, He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.

God has given far more to us than we could ever give back to him. Not that this is a financial deal, but we could not have come out better in this thing. Even if God never blessed us from here on out, the fact that God gave his only begotten son for our salvation is generosity beyond belief, is grace and provision beyond belief.

We didn’t deserve to be loved or forgiven by God, And yet he looked at us in our sin and he chose to love us anyway. And not only that, chose to love us in a practical way by making provisions so that we could be forgiven. And sent Jesus willingly.

Jesus came willingly to the cross and took responsibility for my sins and for yours and paid for them in full so that we could be forgiven. God has been incredibly generous to us. And add on to that every other blessing he’s given us since then.

Add every blessing he’s going to continue to give. Add the blessings that we don’t even realize are blessings from God until maybe years later. And God has outgiven, God has far surpassed any concept of generosity that we have.

And Paul reminds them about the goodness of God. As we give, it’s not because God needs it. It’s not because God’s broke.

It teaches us to rely on Him, and it’s just a small way of saying thank you, of acknowledging His goodness and His grace and His provision. And again, as I said at the beginning this morning, if you’re not somebody who’s trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, that was especially not about trying to get money out of you. Because your interaction with God’s generosity doesn’t start with giving money to Him.

Your interaction and your experience with God’s generosity begins with understanding that you’ve sinned against Him, that you earned a penalty because of that, and that you could have remained separated from God for all eternity because of that sin. And yet God in his love, in his kindness, in his generosity, made a way for that sin to be forgiven. And he gave his only begotten son.

Jesus came and took responsibility for your sins and died in your place. He has given, he has offered you the ultimate gift of forgiveness, eternal life, and a relationship with the Father. And all that’s necessary is for you to believe that he died and rose again to pay for your sins.

And ask for that forgiveness and you’ll have it. God is already the ultimate model of generosity. And if you’ve never taken advantage of that offer of that generosity before this morning, I pray that you do so.