6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows generously will also reap generously. 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. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound
to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will
abound in every good work.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
As I was considering different ways to introduce this text, one thought that came to mind was the phrase: "To be continued." We’ve all seen those words, usually at the end of a television program or made-for-TV movie. We also know what they mean. They mean there’s more to the story. They also mean that the next time we tune in we’ll get a recap of what went on in the past in order to see how it connects with the present...
Our text for today is a continuation of the same portion of Scripture as last week. Since it builds on the thoughts we considered at that time, allow me to review the situation as well as the instruction God, through the Apostle Paul, provided to us...
Last week the Apostle Paul introduced the Corinthian congregation (and us) to the Macedonian (northern Greek) churches. A composite picture of these churches would indicate they were made up of people who were hard working, but not wealthy; spiritually rich, but financially struggling. Nevertheless, when it came time to give an offering that would provide relief for Christians who were in need in Jerusalem, they were right there.
The reason Paul mentioned them is because of the example they set not just for the Corinthian church "back then," but for our church today. Without Paul ever resorting to trite phrases like "give till it hurts" or using the Gospel as a club to guilt them into "sacrificial giving," the Macedonian Christians willingly and freely responded far beyond what Paul expected, anticipated, or even desired from them...
Listen again to what he wrote to the Corinthians: "And now brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."
Why? What moved them? If you listened closely you heard the reason. God’s grace. God’s grace as exemplified in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ moved them, equipped them and empowered them to act as they did. And it is on that note that Paul closes this section of Scripture with these magnificent words: "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."
That having been said, Paul encouraged the Corinthian Christians to EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF GIVING. Today, on the basis of our text, we’d like to build on that sentiment and add a single modification. Today Paul addresses not the motivation, but the attitude behind Christian giving and challenges us to:
EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF CHEERFUL GIVING
1. By examining our blessings
2. By understanding the joy of Christian stewardship
Let’s take a closer look at our text. "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Paul tells us that each person "should give what he has decided in his heart to give..." In other words, giving calls for a decision. And a decision calls for honesty. We need to honestly consider our blessings and then decide to respond in kind.
If you are a sports fan you might know that one of the pre-game strategies sometimes practiced by opposing coaches is to "poor-mouth" their own team. This means that regardless of how strong they really are, they give the impression that they are weak.
Would you agree that the practice of "poor-mouthing" is not restricted to the field of American athletics? Is it not true that many times because of our own personal weakness and sinful tendencies toward selfishness we can find ourselves engaging in the practice of personal "poor-mouthing," that is, underestimating the degree to which we’ve been blessed and overestimating what we may need "to get by"?
Let me give you an illustration... Maybe you’ve heard the story about the farmer who was visited by the preacher when their country church was falling on hard times. The farmer showed him around his land and admitted that it provided him with a comfortable living. The talk eventually turned to the matter at hand and in the course of the conversation, the preacher asked, "If you had two barns, would you be willing to sell one and give the proceeds to the Lord?" To which the farmer replied, "Most certainly. If I had two barns I’d gladly sell one and give it to the Lord."
The preacher looked around and then asked, "If you had two fields, would you be willing to give one to the Lord?" To which the farmer again replied, "Certainly. If I had two fields, I’d gladly give one to the Lord." Then the preacher said, "My friend, if you had two pigs, would you be willing to give one of them to the Lord?" To which the farmer replied, "That’s not fair, preacher. You know I have two pigs."
The point? Most of us have more than we think we have. It’s easy to be generous with what we feel we don’t have, yet not always so generous with what we do have. We owe it to ourselves and to our Heavenly Father to make an honest evaluation of what He has given us and then, as Paul tells us, "decide in our hearts" what to return to Him.
If honesty is the first attitude toward responsible Christian stewardship, a willingness defined by cheerfulness is the second. Paul says we are to give, but "not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." And we can do that. Why? Because we, like the Macedonian and Corinthian Christians before us, "know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for [our] sakes he became poor, so that [we] through his poverty might become rich." Now and in eternity.
And when we understand that, Christian stewardship takes on a whole different light. We view our life of stewardship not in terms of giving something up, but in terms of joy as we understand, like the Macedonian Christians did, that God is allowing us to be a part of His plan.
Maybe they’ve always been saying it, but over the last decade or so we hear a lot of people declare the reason they have chosen a certain profession or the reason they are following some particular course of action is because somehow, some way, they wish to "make a difference." Presumably that means they wish to make the world a better place by contributing to the betterment of peoples’ lives.
One of the great joys of Christian stewardship is knowing that our gifts, freely and generously offered to God, do make a difference. And not just in people’s earthly lives, but, more importantly, in their eternal lives.
It’s important that we understand it this way. For example, the money given to run our church is not given so that the ministry staff can be paid and the heat can stay on; it is given so that lives can be enriched with the Word for the present and for eternity...
The money used to run our school and Sunday School and given to support Wisconsin Lutheran High School and Wisconsin Lutheran College is not given merely to pay teachers and maintain buildings; it is used to equip young people with the Word of God and a love for Jesus Christ as the foundation of their lives, and in so doing set a solid base for them that will pay dividends forever.
We’re not paying bills here at St. John’s to simply preserve an almost 125 year old institution. We're investing it in people’s spiritual lives. We’re using our offerings to do ministry. In order to do that we have to maintain buildings and provide for called workers and buy materials, etc. But that’s not what we’re giving to. We’re not giving to a budget. We’re giving to the Lord, whose Word makes a difference in our lives...
That’s why we give to missions as well. Do you remember the parable Jesus told about the Shrewd Manager? It’s the one about the servant-manager who was accused of wasting his master’s possessions and was about to get fired. Knowing that he’d soon be out of a job and also knowing he wasn’t strong enough for manual labor and that he was ashamed at the prospect of begging, he came up with a plan that would make him welcome in the homes of the people he worked with. What he did as his last official act was give a huge discount to all who owed his master money...
Later, when his master found out what he had done, he commended the manager. Not for being dishonest, but for being shrewd. The parable ends with Jesus making this statement: "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Meaning: Provide for the spreading the Gospel. Then when we die, those who have been brought to faith through mission work that we supported will welcome us with open arms and grateful hearts.
That’s really a neat thing to think about and certainly puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? This thought was impressed upon me, and perhaps you as well, about six weeks ago when we observed our World Mission Festival Sunday. Our guest speaker, who had been a missionary to Brazil, ended his sermon by individually naming a number of people who had come to faith during his ministry there. He exhorted us to think about the good friends we had made through supporting mission work. I’ve forgotten those names, and I suspect you probably have, too. But someday we’re going to meet those people. What a joyous, grateful occasion that will be...
Christian stewardship is not paying bills. It is the pure joy of knowing that God can and does use us to make a difference. And in order to make that difference...
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
In the week ahead there is going to be a lot of information shared with you. Special stewardship meetings have been planned to alert you to the finances needed to carry out our ongoing ministry. Open forums will be held to inform you of what groundwork has been done by our Master Site Plan Committee and what may be possible, should the Lord allow us to go forward... I don’t think it is an overstatement to say that there are many exciting and uplifting things that are going on at St. John’s at this time in our congregation’s history.
But in order for them to happen, we’re all going to have to commit ourselves to the responsible Christian stewardship that our Lord lovingly has called us to in our sermon texts these last two weeks. We’re going to have to understand Christian stewardship for what it really is – the blessed privilege of being part of God’s plan...
At the very beginning I mentioned that because this sermon picks up where last week’s left off it could have been entitled "To Be Continued."
Well, our life of Christian stewardship – empowered by grace and undergirded with the cheerfulness that comes from the knowledge that we are making a difference – is to be continued. And when it is, the result will be a profound sense of joy and satisfaction and gratification as God uses us for His purposes.
Therefore, may the Lord move each of us to not only excel in the grace of giving, but to EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF CHEERFUL GIVING. Amen.