2 Corinthians 8:1-15
January 15th,
2012 AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
What Does it Cost to
have Church?
A.
Take this leaflet home and
read over it a few times. Pray about what it says.
B.
But right now, take a good
look at the back side. Do you see those numbers?
C.
THAT’S what it cost last year
to have this church!
D.
Maybe you thought that a
church should be free to come to – and it IS
E.
But it still costs to have
Church
F.
This church doesn’t just exist
– we don’t just meet here and say a few prayers and then go home!
1.
We Influence the world around
us
a.
We Warn folks
b.
We Bless people – encourage
them
c.
We Restrain evil
2.
We Invest in the future – we
don’t sit still!
3.
We work hard to make an
eternal difference in people’s lives!
G.
It takes money to make a
difference. It takes people – committed people – who faithfully give to the Lord
through their local Church!
H.
So, I wanted to talk about
money this morning
1.
God has given us very clear
instructions on what to do with money
2.
The Lord Jesus designed the
Church to be self-sufficient – always able to pay its bills
II.
Introduction
A.
A Tale of Three Cities
1.
a.
Time of hard famine and
persecution
b.
The Christians in
c.
There were no government
programmes to help people out
d.
The Christians were worst hit
2.
Churches in
a.
Also going through a hard time
b.
But they heard how bad things
were in
c.
So they started giving to meet
the need – they were going to send money to the churches there to help buy food
and supplies
3.
The Christians in
a.
Paul saw it as an opportunity
to motivate the Corinthian Christians to become givers as well
b.
The Corinthian Christians
enjoyed everything else about Christianity, but needed to become givers as well!
B.
These three cities are going
to teach us about tithing! About faithfully giving of your monies so that we can
impact our world!
C.
If you are not tithing… if you
only come, and throw in a “few bob” on occasion, then you are missing out on a
very important part of the Christian life! GIVING!
III.
Message
A.
The Grace of Giving
(2Cor 8:1-3)
1.
A Christian gives because of
GRACE in their lives
a.
Grace if the ability to give,
to forgive, to put up with something
b.
The opposite of grace is
meanness, harshness
2.
Grace is Bestowed by God
a.
We don’t naturally have grace
– we GET grace from God. It is something we desperately need
1)
God gives us the ability to
give!
2)
We are selfish, takers until
the grace of God comes (Titus 3:3-7)
a)
Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
b)
Tit 3:4 But after that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
c)
Tit 3:5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
d)
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
e)
Tit 3:7 That being justified
by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
3)
Grace is God’s attitude
towards us, especially when we don’t deserve it (Ephesians 2:8,9)!
b.
It is an attitude about life
that is freely given by God
c.
It is said here to be “poured
out upon groups of believers” – churches – who bind themselves together for a
bigger purpose than just their own benefit
d.
Why?
1)
Not so that we get a warm,
fuzzy, good feeling
2)
But so that WE can turn around
and give of ourselves!
3)
God’s grace turns selfish,
misers into GIVERS!
3.
Grace abounds during troubles
a.
Great trials
b.
Afflictions
c.
Deep poverty
d.
That’s when God pours out His
grace upon us! When we need it the most!
4.
Grace produces two fruits in a
believer:
a.
Great joy!
1)
If you lack joy, it is because
you haven’t been experiencing the GRACE of God much lately
b.
Great giving
1)
Liberality – being a liberal
giver is a good thing
2)
Giving a lot of your money
away is the result of God’s Grace
5.
Grace is a miracle! It works
BEYOND your ability
a.
Paul took notice of their
power, their ability only went so far – quit limited
b.
It was amazing to see what
these churches did with what little they had
c.
But Paul was an eyewitness
that they were giving beyond what they should have been able to give!
d.
That’s the proof of God’s
grace, not of their wealth!
B.
The Fellowship of Giving
(2Cor 8:4)
1.
Giving brings people closer
a.
Expectations ruin
relationships – they are necessary, but rarely do people respond to lists of
expectations
b.
Giving, freely from the heart,
motivates people much better!
c.
It is true in a home… and it’s
true in Christianity! People who are givers of themselves and their time make
great friends don’t they?
2.
Giving, is an attitude that
wants to be a blessing – that wants to meet a need – makes for sweet fellowship
amongst Christians
3.
The Macedonian Christians
wanted to be a blessing to the Christians in
4.
Paul called it the
fellowship of ministry – they were becoming a closer knit family of
believers because they cared enough to give!!!
5.
The Macedonian Christians had
to “pray” (BEG) Paul to take the money they had collected – it blew Paul away!
a.
Paul had seen great faith, and
great love in Christians
b.
But now he was seeing great
giving by Christians! Especially POOR ones!
c.
Paul had a hard time accepting
the monies from these Christians, but used it to motivate the Christians in
6.
It created a closer
relationship between the Christians in
C.
The Gifts to Give
(2Cor 8:2-5)
1.
These are God’s suggestions!!!
2.
They gave themselves (8:5)
a.
This was first
b.
They didn’t start small – they
started by giving everything they were
c.
If you get ME, you get my
wallet!
d.
God got ME, and so He NEVER
has had a problem getting anything from my wallet!
e.
There is never any problem
with tithing in a church where the Lord Jesus is truly Lord!
3.
They gave abundantly (8:7)
a.
Talking about money! Couldn’t
ship potatoes or carrots, or hanburgers
b.
Bye-the-way…
1)
God never looks at amounts
2)
He only notices the heart
behind the gift
3)
Are you a miser… wrestling
over every “farthing”
4)
Or do you give and give and
give?
c.
Have you ever noticed the
difference between a quick meal made just to show that they fed you… versus a
dinner where the food never stops coming?
d.
One meal is nice
e.
The other is abundant!
f.
HOW do YOU give when you give?
4.
They gave lovingly (8:8)
a.
It has been said, you can give
without loving, but you will never really love without giving!
b.
Paul was wanting the
Christians in
1)
People say they believe in God
2)
Some even say they love God
3)
But few can prove it!
5.
They gave sacrificially (8:9)
a.
Tithing, giving money has
never been easy! If you find it hard, so do we all!
b.
They gave out of deep poverty
c.
Paul looks at the example of
Jesus, who gave EVERYTHING so that WE could become rich – not in wealth, but in
forgiveness and the abundant life!
D.
The Way of Giving
(2Cor 8:10-15)
1.
Determined (2Cor 8:10,11; 1Cor
16:1)
a.
It doesn’t happen accidently
b.
You have to make a plan as
Hannes says
c.
It has to become a part of
your routine… something you just do because God said it
2.
Willingly (2Cor 8:12)
a.
The Irish government forcibly
takes its share of your money every time you earn it, or try and save it
b.
But God says tithing is
something YOU decide to do
c.
The money already belongs to
God
d.
But He waits for you to admit
that and start to honour and worship Him by giving to Him what belongs to Him
e.
Listen to Jesus talk about tax
money and giving in Luke 20:24,25
1)
Taxes may belong to
2)
But our lives belong to God!
3.
Out of what you have (2Cor
8:12)
a.
We all WISH we had a million
euros to give, but we don’t wait until we have MORE money before we tithe!
b.
10% of your income
1)
€100 a week income means €10
belongs to God
2)
€250 a week means €25
3)
€1500 a week means €150
belongs to God
4)
€20 a week means €2
5)
Just drop the last number!
c.
The Tithe is up to God – it
belongs to God! He said 10% (Mal 2:8-10)
1)
Lev_27:32 And concerning the
tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod,
the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
2)
The first ten percent
(Proverbs 3:9,10)
a)
The first bill we pay
b)
The government TAKES the first
bite out of your wages
c)
But THAT place belongs to GOD!
d.
Any amount more than the tithe
is up to you! (2Cor 9:7) You haven’t actually GIVEN anything until you have
tithed!
4.
Equally (2Cor 8:13-15)
a.
This is not only for the
independently wealthy people
b.
This is for everyone. There
ought not be any Christian in this church who when they get paid, does not
automatically set aside 10% for the Lord of their life!
c.
With everyone in a Church
tithing…
1)
That church will never lack
for funds to do what it needs to do
2)
Those people will be blessed –
their money will go further, and their efforts for souls will be more fruitful
3)
And a church full of givers
enjoys the best fellowship!
IV.
Conclusion
A.
This is going to be a regular
feature for a while – talking about money
B.
It takes money to make a
difference. It takes people – committed people – who faithfully give to the Lord
through their local Church!
C.
If you are not tithing… if you
only come, and throw in a “few bob” on occasion, then you are missing out on a
very important part of the Christian life! GIVING!
D.
The Grace of Giving
(2Cor 8:1-3)
1.
A Christian gives because of
GRACE in their lives
2.
Have YOU experienced the grace
of God? Saving your soul?
3.
Then you SHOULD know a little
about GIVING, and it should be part of your life – not grudging or complaining!
E.
The Fellowship of Giving
(2Cor 8:4)
1.
Giving brings people closer
2.
Giving, is an attitude that
wants to be a blessing
F.
The Gift We Are Giving
(2Cor 8:2-5)
1.
They gave themselves (8:5)
2.
They gave abundantly (8:7)
3.
They gave lovingly (8:8)
4.
They gave sacrificially (8:9)
G.
The Way of Giving
(2Cor 8:10-15)
1.
Determined (2Cor 8:10,11; 1Cor
16:1)
2.
Willingly (2Cor 8:12)
3.
Out of what you have (2Cor
8:12)
4.
Equally (2Cor 8:13-15)
H.
Make this Church, YOUR Church
1.
By assembling
2.
By participating
3.
By giving