February 7, 2016 The Act of Grace

the great love of God infants third we want to help people Experience of Life fully alive in Christ that is what we want to do and as imitators of God and His grace, that's what happens. now again, how does that have anything to do with giving? it's a good question because Grace is connected to giving 2nd 2nd Corinthians

2nd Corinthians chapter 8

Now I may have to do this some from memory because I forgot my glasses.

First one let's look at the first two verses by the way. We want you to know Brothers about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. In a severe test of Affliction their Abundance of Joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed and a wealth of generosity on their part. Let me set the stage for you. Paul is riding the church. riding to the Church of Corinth Torrance by the standards of the day was a well-to-do church.

They were a well-to-do church, but they are grown in different to the needs of the church.

And the Apostle Paul is writing to them and sing. I want you to consider the church in Macedonia. The Church of Macedonia was probably actually several congregations, but there was something that these churches held in common one. They were under incredible affliction. East churches were suffering also, these churches were impoverished. These churches have a lot of problems as far as resources that they didn't have much. But there was something in their heart. Bet that became 45 as they begin to understand the need that was out there for the church and they wanted to be a full participant of that need regardless of their own circumstances. There was an attitude that was so critically important for them to possess and Paul saw it as a way of helping the church in Corinth to move from indifference to being a church that God can use to make a difference. Know what I want you to understand this morning. Is that God's grace? Is displayed in overflowing generosity? I want you to understand that that's that's my my first point. If you can if you can move that to to that point there it is the connection between grace and giving the grace of God is displayed in overflowing generosity and see that's what church in Macedonia demonstrated this church in Macedonia. They were not stingy by any means they recognize that that the act of God's grace. Is is demonstrated in overflowing generosity? Let me do that. Let me flip that around a church that is not overflowing generosity is a church that is struggling to fully understand the grace of God. In fact that that is what the scripture tells us. Okay, and so let's move on and inverse number 3. It says for they gave according to their means as I can testify. And beyond their means of their own accord.

This was a church.

That not only gave out of the Surplus they gave out of their poverty. See, I think sometimes we get it wrong and we think the only thing that God is interested is in our Surplus. And so we we we we snake all we do is is the only time that were okay to give is when when after we've done all that we need to do then what's left over we can give the god. And that's how many of us have practice this but that's not what the Bible says for the church in Macedonia. What they did was date they decided that. That it wasn't just out of their Surplus, but even out of the their lack they would give whatever. God wanted God could have that was their attitude. That was how babe Focus their entire demeanor their attitude. Their direction of ministry was they were going to do whatever God wanted them to do because they did not want to just sit on the sidelines. They wanted to be full participant and what God was do they wanted to be right in the center of the game. Tonight there's going to be this little game that's going to happen What in California? Is that where it's happening and in there's two to their they're going to fight over this little little piece of leather. Okay, and and many of you are going to be be watching it and you some of you use may not be, you know interested in who are playing the Broncos and who else the Panthers is not the Seahawks you're going to be involved in it. And you're going to your going to win when something happens are going to be emotionally connected with it. Okay.

I wonder how much emotionally connected we are to something. That's far greater. And I know this is a cliche forgive me for saying it. I know it's a cheap shot, but forgive me for saying it but I wonder how much we can compare our motion to a game as to something. That's far more serious. And that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Forgive me again for the cheap shot. I'm sorry, but I think we'd sometimes we get things out of order.

So what's important is that that we need to recognize see see when they did this when this church Macedonia begin to realize this when when they begin to understand what was happening something incredible was going on and look with me and verse number for the verse number for it says says begging us. They were begging us meaning they were begging Paul earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the Saints.

You know.

Even though this church in Macedonia are these churches in Macedonia didn't have much. Their Joy was being fully connected and fully aligned with what God was doing their Joy was not in their circumstances. Listen to me this this second important principle. The Christians experience of Joy has no correlation to his or her outward circumstances remember that You can be in the middle of the storm and praise God you could be in the circumstances of one. I'm wondering how you're going to get through but there's something deep within you as a child of the king that you know that you know that you know that you know that God is by your side that he has has has redeemed you that you are his child that nothing but nothing that this life can throw watch you can take that away.

And so our joy is not in gathering stuff. In fact, our joy is fully participating in what God is doing and giving it away.

You know as I shared with you before I love Christmas and part of Christmas is getting around that tree and giving are the gifts that that and tell him I got for a kid and seeing them open it up and just seeing that Joy on in the inside doesn't matter. If we get a thing. We just love giving gifts. We love to see their faces and the joy that comes from that in friends. See this church in Macedonia date the knew what it meant to experience the joy of being fully aligned with what God was doing.

Then inverse number 5 we see this. and and this not as we expected Paul didn't know that they were going to do this. The sort of surprised how destitute these churches were the struggle that these churches were going through he was blown away and go to them and he didn't do any arm-twisting. He didn't do any guilt trip. I mean if there was any church that needed something this in these churches were the two churches that needed something and they exceeded anything that he could have imagined. In this lot as we expected but that they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. There it is. There it is the heart and soul of what it means to be a giver as this is that when Christians respond generously to the need they demonstrate the act of working of God's grace. They demonstrated.

Friends, we need to understand also something else. And it's it's really my fourth point when people give themselves over to God and His will the ministry of the church can advance. And friends, so so we need to realize this we need to understand this. That when we are aligning our self with God what we need to understand as a church, we need to put God first in his will first and what he wants to do first. And when we put him first what happened since then we are sensitive to whatever he needs done. We are sensitive to the ministry that's happening around us and we want to we want to engage in making certain that what happens is happening by whatever God has given to us.

It changes our heart friends when we realized that we're not just participating in something to be entertained on a weekly basis, but we begin to understand that there is something Supernatural going on what God has called people together to do something greater than ourselves. The Church of Macedonia recognized and so they were fully aligned wanting to demonstrate that they were going to put God first and foremost. It will be demonstrated in their life. That's what they were concerned about more than anything else.

anything else

actually move it to the the next light. That's what I just preached on. I'm sorry. There you go. There's that fourth point.

and then Paul Mal takes the argument to the people in Corinth Titus is is a minister friend of Paul and he's going to take this message this light letter to the church in Corinth. and so he says he says accordingly we orange Titus. So that's where Titus comes in. He's brain the message that Paul is writing here to the church in Corinth. We archetype that as he had started so he should complete among you this act of Grace. There it is. what is this act of Grace there is no other way to define it as to the act of giving their it is this act of Grace is the act of giving And not just giving begrudgingly but out of an overflow of generosity.

But as you excel in everything, so Paul wasn't trying to hit this church in Corinth over the head and beat them up and make them feel still low and discourage. No heat you recognize there were some good things happening in this church. But as you excel in everything in faith, this was a church of faith. This was a church that moved mountains. This was a church that saw healings. This was a church of seeing people filled with the Holy Spirit. This was a church that whatever God said they believed it. In speech this was a church where the people in the church demonstrated the love of God in their words. The word of God was proclaimed people people talked about the word of God. The one another there was something something excelling in their speech in in knowledge this church new God's word and they knew how to quiet. So there was a lot of great things happening in this church in all earnestness. This was a church that that was persistent hard-working ready to move forward. And in our love for you, they knew that this church was special and they were loved see that you excel in this active Grace.

see to it that you excel in this act of Grace in the act of giving it's not on my list. So it's not going to be shown on the screen here and I apologize. But in verse 8, I think it could be easily said it can connect to this paragraph. I say this not as a command but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. God wants us to make it but God in his incredible design. Of reaching this world has ordained that he's going to reach this world through the church. Some of us if we were God would probably choose another way of doing it. But God chose the church to reach this world and be the Hope in this world. And what we need to understand is that God wants to do something very important in our life in my final point. I think you just had it up there. But God God has chosen to advance the ministry of grace through the church and that includes the active brace generous giving overflowing generosity. That's the kind of church. I believe that God wants us to be. But let me tell you there's a challenge. There's a challenge.

In our culture in our society money is very very important, isn't it? videos It's it's hard to function without it. You can go to Piggly Wiggly and when you buy something, they're expecting you to give the money.

When you work at a workplace, you're expecting to get paid, don't you? And you want to be good stewards so that you pay your bills. on time you want to make certain you're saving money so that if there is an unexpected thing that happens like your air conditioning blows up that you can have air conditioning. Pay for it.

But here's the problem.

If we're not careful.

We become very close fisted when it comes to money.

And let me put this to the test.

Because I could talk about a lot of different things. I could talk about God's grace and his love and his Mercy across the blood of Jesus. I could talk about all those things.

But you know. There's one thing I could talk about that can put all of us sort of on the defense. And that's money. I was told by someone this week. That she read from Crown Ministries, which is a financial Ministry helping people in their finances that said over 2,000 times in scripture talks about money. In fact, Jesus talked a lot about money in his ministry including The Sermon on the Mount that we've been going through.

But what happens is if we're not careful we come to these conclusions.

We say well.

There are other people in the church that have the gift of giving Will rely on them to be givers. God doesn't need what I have.

And that's not what the Bible says. In fact what the Bible is saying is that he wants all of us to be a part and full partner in the act of Grace.

now it's not about some legalistic formula that we figure out and It's not about me snooping around and seeing who gives and who doesn't by the way, I never do that. If you gave me an envelope because you forgot to give it in the offering. I will not look at it and I immediately put it either in in in the box that it goes into our give it to to one of the deacons or somebody else because I don't want to know and there's a reason for it. I'm a human being and I do not want to minister to somebody and show favoritism by based on what they give. I do not do that. So, I don't know who gives and who doesn't.

That's my decisions other pastors do it differently and they're not wrong and I'm right or vice versa said that's what I choose to do K, but I believe what God is saying to our church when I read the scripture. I cannot walk away from it and say I can't walk away with with a false conclusion that this that giving only applies to certain people and not others. It applies to all of us every single one of us. That we are going to be full participants of what God is doing. Lord God I know Lord, as I prepared this message and even as I was preaching this message. Lord there's sometimes when I feel a little awkward. Because God I don't want people to.

To assume that all the church talks about is money because Ward, you know that we rarely do.

Lord in the two years that I've been here, this is probably my fourth message. out of

over a hundred messages preached that I talked about the subject.

But Lord, I pray that we will see what your word says that your word is calling everyone of us. To be a participant in this act of Grace that every person every believer. Is to be a giver.

Now some can give grade and some give small, but all of us have been called by Your Word to be a giver.

Lord I pray that you will You will open our our heart to receive. your truth

one of the one of the challenges that we face is especially in our society as we've become very consumer-oriented and we've become

we will have elevated money almost something we worship.

Friends God is calling the church to an overflowing generosity. God is calling the church to go above and beyond like the church in Macedonia.

There was this little church. South Central, Illinois

their empire building Was half the size of the sanctuary.

There was no place to grow anymore from where they were at, but the property that they own was a very expensive piece of property.

and after a season of Prayer

the church made a decision

They knew they would get a lot of money for this piece of property.

And when they really thought about it, it would be much more than what they they would really need.

So they made a decision.

They called up a man by the name of Jay covert some of you might remember Jake over the missionary in East St. Louis. They said Jay. We know that your ministry needs Financial Resources. And we want to give towards your ministry and they gave this little church gave such an incredible amount of money to finance the ministry in East St. Louis. It blue jay covert away of what they did.

That's not the end of the story, even though in a sense. They gave sacrificially all they could have had this incredible building that they were dreaming of in a credible location that they were dreaming ups, but they felt word of God to make sacrifice for the kingdom of God cuz they knew the people in St. Louis need to be transformed by the power of God and maybe they can go in but somebody was there they could team up with them and they could see what God to do.

Did you know end of the story was this? Not only did they gave but then God gave it back. the Church Brew And everything they originally wanted God gave them.

friends I want Racine Assembly of God. To be known for its outflowing generosity. That we can fully fund our missionaries every month. That we can make certain we're good stewards of this building. So that future Generations until Jesus comes back will never be saddled with huge maintenance costs.

And that everyone of our Ministries can be fully funded so that we can effectively reach Racine with the message of Jesus Christ. That's what I'm praying about. But it means sacrifice. I want to invite you to stay on with me.

This is one of those messages.

That you need to chew on and you need to pray about.

Get no arm-twisting. No hands raised. No, no, none of that because this is this is something you don't so involves many of you to talk it over with your spouse's. Are we doing what God has called us to do in the next two weeks. I want you to be praying Lord. What do you want me to do?

Lord, how can I step out in faith? How can I be generous? All I'm asking you to do. and in 2 weeks we're going to come back on the 24th be back next week, by the way, but the two weeks from now we're going to we're going to come and we're going to have an offering and we're going to take it just like any other offered by the way. Shepherd offering but we're not going to have a parade and you know, I'm I'm praying. For something very sizable so that we can get a lot of this stuff done. But all I'm asking you to do is I want you to pray. I want you to ask the lord lord. What do you want me to do? That's all I'm asking you to do. God's going to do through you. Because I want you to know God loves. Not only does he love a cheerful Giver. He loves the gift through a cheerful Giver. And I want you to I want you to see what God will do through you in overflowing sacrificial generosity. That sound fair. Is that sound fair?

I'm going to the Smiths and I'm going to remain down here if there's any of you that need prayer I'm going to be available to you to pray but I know we have a couple meetings going on right after the service. I think those working in the sound booth. You're going to meet Alyssa is going to meet with them. And then after all the members of the deacons screening committee were meeting in the conference room. And if I can ask one of our board members if you can unlock that James if you could be the one to unlock. I appreciate that. Let's pray father. Thank you for this day and thank you for your word may you be glorified that you be exalted and Lord Lord. They will be open to what you want to do in and through Us in Jesus name. Amen. God bless you.