Sermon Tone Analysis

Pray

Please open with me to 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

As we begin today, and while you are turning in your Bibles, I want to remind you of our vision here at Mililani Baptist Church.

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Our vision is to be a church that glorifies God with a passion for Him and a compassion for people.

In order for us to realize that vision, we have to be on mission.

Our mission is to be a loving family of believers who together worship, share, connect, grow, and serve.

If you’ve been here for more than one Sunday, you’ve heard us talk about that mission.

In fact, the last few Sundays, we’ve been quoting parts of the larger mission statement in our responsive readings.

Today, we are talking about the concept of giving.

Now, before anyone groans or shifts in their seat at the thought of hearing a sermon on tithing, I want to share something with you.

Well it’s kind of a good news bad, news situation.

The bad news, if we can call it that, is that we will talk about tithing at one point.

The good news is in two parts, 1) Tithing isn’t a bad thing, and so it’s good that we are talking about it.

And 2) I’m taking a broader view, meaning I’m not just talking about our money.

So we can relax, I’ll actually be charging us to give more to the kingdom than just money.

If we’re going to be passionate about God, than we have to be focused on what pleases Him and brings Him glory.

Money doesn’t please God.

It’s all His.

He isn’t interested in dollar amounts, He interested in hearts.

Generosity, brotherly love, a willingness to help one another out… those things please God more than you being able to put a price tag on your righteousness.

So today, as we continue our series on Spiritual Disciplines as Tools for the Trade, let’s look at what Paul says about the generosity of the Macedonian churches, and how we can make broad but practical application by giving of our Time, Tithes, and Talents.

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Before we get into how we can apply this passage, we have some unpacking to do, as the context here is vital.

The main thing we’re looking at today, however is the concept of being disciplined in our giving, knowing that God loves a cheerful giver.

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God loves a cheerful giver.

First, though, let’s discuss where this letter is coming from.

A very short version of the background to 1st and 2nd Corinthians is that Paul brought the gospel into Corinth, an important Roman Colony.

With the help of Priscilla and Aquila, Paul saw a church established within about 18 months of ministering in Corinth.

We don’t have time today to dive into all of the craziness that was going on there, but suffice it to say that there was a lot of pagan worship with many festivals and feasts because the belief was that many Romand gods and lords made Corinth their home.

There was also a lot of sexual misconduct, and the word Corinth became synonymous with promiscuous lifestyles.

Shortly after establishing a church there, Paul left for Ephesus, which is where he wrote the letters to the Corinthians from.

During his 3 year stay at Ephesus, Paul heard that there were significant issues among the corinthian church, and so he sent a letter to help them navigate the issues.

We do not have this letter, but Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians, which was written after hearing that they misunderstood his first letter and that things were getting worse in the Corinthian church, including issues of division, immorality, and members being partial to those with social status.

He wrote a strong letter (1 Corinthians) to clarify and correct the behavior he found out of step with the Gospel, and sent Timothy to assist them.

When Timothy arrived, he found things were in terrible shape and Paul decided to come himself to sort things out.

Unfortunately, when he arrived, his opponents had the upper hand, and the church was openly rebelling against Paul.

He felt the best thing to do was to leave rather than cause further division, and so he did.

Upon returning back to Ephesus, he wrote a severe letter warning of God’s judgement if they failed to repent.

We do not have this letter, but like the original letter, Paul alludes to this one in the 2nd letter that we do have to the Corinthians.

Thankfully it was delivered by Titus, and the majority of the people responded well.

In other words, Paul wrote the letter we know as 2 Corinthians to the Corinthian church in response to the broad repentance of the church following a strong letter, which we don’t have, that was delivered by Titus.

After hearing of the majority’s repentance and the continued rebellion of a small minority within the church, Paul gave us this letter that we read from today.

In chapters 1-7, he defends his ministry.

In chapters 8-9, he details the responsibility of those who are faithful.

In chapters 10-13, he proclaims the judgement to come for those who continue to rebel against the gospel.

By the time we get to 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, we find that it is the completion of a much larger section which began in chapter 8, verse 1. Paul had great joy for the repentance of the believers, as he shares in 7:2-16.

Then he begins referring to a collection that was taken up by the Macedonian churches.

He’s using this widespread collection as an example of how the grace of God in manifested in our lives through our generosity to others, when we show that God loves a cheerful giver.

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The Macedonian Collection

To read more about this collection, you can find information in Romans 15:25-32; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; and Galatians 2:9-10.

Though it was begun in Macedonia, Paul was asking the Corinthians to complete the collection.

The funds being raised were going to Jerusalem to assist the poor there.

What’s fascinating, is that the Macedonian’s didn’t have much, but they were giving very sacrificially and amazing things were happening.

Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 8:3-5, saying “3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”

In addition to their financial gifts, Paul was surprised that many were giving themselves to the effort, meaning that they were willing to give of their time, their tithes, and their talents to see the poor have their needs met.

This is important for us to catch.

Paul was explaining to them that the gifts were not commanded, but were being given willingly.

The Corinthians had begun to help with this massive undertaking, and Paul was encouraging them to complete it.

Paul says, knowing that Christ was rich and became poor for our sake, we, by His poverty might become rich.

This means that through Christ’s sacrificial gift for us, we obtain salvation and all the benefits that go along with it.

That ought to be reflected in the way the Corinthian believers share with others.

In fact, Paul say that he’s been boasting about their genuine generosity, indicating that their gifts from from a place of genuine faith.

Should they fail to give generously, they may be giving evidence that their faith is less than genuine.

While that may be true, even in our own lives, there was also danger that in failing to give generously, they would be proving empty, or miss out on the blessings that come with generous giving.

This is to say that we may lose a lot when we choose not to give.

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We lose a lot when we choose not to give.

God does not command a specific dollar amount that we are to give to Him.

He does, however, give many opportunities for us to give generously and those who do will reap bountifully, as Paul says in 9:6.

Saying that God loves a cheerful giver, is Paul’s way of alluding to the Septuagint’s rendering of Proverbs 22:9, which says, “9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”

One commentator says that, “God approves of joy-motivated giving, because it expresses contentment in God’s gracious giving to the believer that makes ever good work possible and results in thanksgiving and glory to God.”

When we choose not to give generously, we are missing out on the blessings that God gives to those who do.

I’m not talking about prosperity.

The only time that God tells His people to test Him is in relation to giving.

Malachi 3:10 says, “10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

When God challenged His people to bring in their tithes to Him and then watch to see if He would be faithful, He was calling them to test His faithfulness to meet their needs, not their greeds.

I’ve heard people use this verse to explain their lavish lifestyle, saying “You can’t out give God.”

That is true, but He may not dramatically increase your bank account just because you are faithful in giving.

He will, however, meet all your needs and dramatically increase the grace He gives you.

That’s the point of what Paul was sharing with the Corinthians.

If you are generous to others, God gives you more blessings of grace.

By not giving, you are missing out on opportunities to show your passion for God and compassion for people, as well as opportunities to receive blessings of God’s grace.

You are also depriving others of opportunities to glorify God in thankfulness when you choose not to give.

As I said, we lose a lot when we choose not to give.

So then, how are we to give?

In the time we have remaining, I want to share three simple ways that we must be disciplined in our giving.

The first is that we must be disciplined in giving our time.

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Give of your Time.

When Rachel and I were first married, we lived in Randleman, North Carolina.

It’s outside of Greensboro.

My close friend from college lived there and we became close with his family.

One day, we were having a meal together at his dad’s house and we were talking about this weird noise that our car was making.

Danny, a full time police officer at the time, asked, what sound?

We told him of how the car made this weird grinding sound every time we came to a stop, but it wasn’t a screeching sound that the brakes give when they’re worn down.

Danny got up from the table and went outside.