Give as Much as You Are Able, Part One
2 Corinthians 8:1-12
Why preach on giving?
Many people inside and outside the church believe that the church only wants their money. Therefore, as we are at the midpoint of our Hoarding Heavenly Treasures series and as we begin three weeks of messages solely on the topic of giving, I want to give you several reasons why our church should be preaching on giving.
First of all, I want you to know that I did not decide to preach on giving because our giving has decreased the last few months. I planned this series about six months ago—long before we knew we had any serious financial problems.
Second, the Bible talks about money and giving so much that we would be doing a disservice to the Scriptures if we skipped over the subject. Money and the Christian life are inseparable.
Third, please don’t think these messages on giving are for “the other guy” sitting next to you. Who among only serves God and never serves money? If we all individually were to ask God if we are giving generously, who among us would hear God say to them, “Yes, my child, you are giving away too much. Please stop reduce your level of giving.”? If you rarely or never give of your God-given resources, then these messages are for you. If you give less than a tithe, them these messages are for you. If you are giving 10%-20% of your income, then these messages are for you. These messages are for everyone—not just “the other guy”—and most definitely including the preacher as well!
Fourth, I feel I can speak with integrity on this subject because I do not know the giving records of anyone in our church. If I knew that family “A” gave $5 per week and family “B” gave $500 per week, I might be inclined to show favoritism to family “B” and come down too hard on family “A”. My responsibility is to faithfully preach the Scriptures—your responsibility is to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, following our congregational meeting this past week, I feel a little bit like George Bush—I feel like I have been given a mandate. A strong consensus from that meeting is the fact that our church does not emphasize the necessity of giving enough! Everyone felt that the topic of giving was underemphasized—can you imagine that! Therefore, I feel like I have been given a mandate to prayerfully and boldly preach on this important subject.
In the comic book world we know that there is an unstoppable force called Superman. Neither bullets, bombs or bad guys can defeat Superman. But as comic book fate would have it, even the man of steel has a particular vulnerability—kryptonite. That green, glowing rock from the planet Krypton can turn the invincible Superman into a weakling. Kryptonite sucks the strength and life out of Superman.
Unlike
the fictional Superman, there is very real unstoppable force in our society. If
it were emblazoned on a man’s chest it would be in the shape of a big, red “M”,
which stands for materialism. Materialism is defined as: “a great or excessive
concern with material things as opposed to spiritual things”. Materialism is
much more than just spending too much money for toys at Christmas. Materialism
can happen any time a thing takes a place in our heart where only God should
dwell. Listen to this quote from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist
Church. “Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out
of my hands as soon as possible lest it should find its way into my heart”.
In
this one quote, Wesley defines both the problem of and solution to materialism.
Wesley was afraid that money and material things could burn him and find a way
into his heart. He did not want materialism to rule his heart instead of God.
Did you notice his solution? He said, “I throw it out of my hands as soon as
possible.” In other words, Wesley practiced a lifelong discipline of generosity.
He knew that there was only one thing that could stop the unstoppable force of
materialism, and that was generosity. And here is our principle: Generosity is
to materialism what kryptonite is to Superman. Just like kryptonite takes the
power out of Superman, generosity takes the power out of materialism.
Generosity conquers materialism, but this principle holds true whether you are a Christian or not. Atheists can realize that generosity conquers materialism just as easy as a Christian can understand it. There is a uniquely Christian aspect to generosity. Generosity and giving are Christ-centered, spiritual activities. This is laid out very clearly for us in 2 Corinthians 8.
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 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. 10 And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
1. Grace always precedes giving. (1)
In this section of his letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to be generous, and he did it my using the example of the church in Macedonia. There was something very special about these Macedonian believers and Paul wanted the Corinthians to know about them. Paul said, “we want you to know about the grace that God has given to the Macedonian churches”. Even before he gets into the topic of giving, Paul gives us our first principle—Grace always precedes giving. As we read, the Macedonian believers were great givers, but they were able to give generously because grace had been generously poured into their lives.
Would you consider yourself to be a generous person? If not, maybe it is because you haven’t understood and experienced the grace of Jesus Christ. When grace has been poured into your life the natural thing would be for that grace to spill out of your life. If you have been given saving grace, then how hard can it be to give a way a little of your money? The Bible makes it very clear that “our money” doesn’t belong to us anyway. We are nothing more than managers of all of God’s resources. Did you in any way earn the grace that was given to you? Most definitely not. Do you own the possessions? No, every possession and every last dollar you have is an act of grace. Grace always precedes giving. If you realize it is all by grace, generosity will come easy. If you think it is of your own doing, generosity will be very difficult.
2. You can have joy despite a severe trial. (2)
An article in Leadership Journal tells of a pastor who was dealing with a lot of conflict in his church. One woman was in his office running through her list of complaints with the pastor. He listened patiently for a while, and finally leaned over to her and asked, “When was the last time you felt joyful?” The woman immediately began to cry and confessed that she could not remember the last time she felt any joy in the Lord. When was the last time you were overflowing with joy? This Macedonian church was in the midst of a severe trial. We are not told the exact problem they were facing, but we do know that when the churches in Macedonia were first formed, Paul and his companions experienced tremendous persecution. The severe trial they were experiencing was probably a continuation of severe persecution. But despite their severe trial, they were able to possess overwhelming joy. How could they do this? The answer to this question lies in the second half of the verse.
3. You can have rich generosity despite extreme poverty. (2)
Verse 2 tells us that their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. These Macedonian Christians were poor, but not all Christians in the first century were poor. Jesus and the 12 disciples didn’t have a lot of money, but they were not poor. They had enough money to be able to share some of their money with the poor. But these believers in Macedonia were poor. Paul said they were living in extreme poverty. I’m not even sure what that would look like. Americans who live below the poverty line still have a place to live and enough food and clothing. But extreme poverty in this culture might mean going without some of the necessities in life. But despite their extreme poverty they welled up in rich generosity.
Now get this—even though they found themselves in extreme poverty, the Christians in Jerusalem were in even worse shape. These believers in Jerusalem were in crisis because there had been a severe famine in the area. Paul and Barnabus had taken an offering to the Jerusalem church several years before this, now Paul was asking for additional help. So here we have the Macedonian churches who are living in extreme poverty, something we cannot even relate to, taking up an offering for other churches who were in even worse shape than them.
Again,
v. 2 tells us that their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. “Welled
up” means that their generosity overflowed, like water spilling over a dam. But
how can poverty spill over into generosity? The only answer is grace. When grace
is poured into a person in poverty, if they also have a poverty of spirit, their
focus is on the grace that is pouring into their lives. When grace is poured
into an empty vessel, there is little concern about what is going out of the
vessel. In this sense, the grace freely passes through the person. That is why
poverty can overflow into generosity. But if that same grace is poured into a
full vessel—a person who is already 
wealthy—instead
of looking at the grace coming in, the wealthy person is concerned about the
wealth going out. The effect is that the grace isn’t seen for what it is—grace
and blessing. The grace gets mixed in with the wealth of the person, therefore
that person is more likely to want to hold onto to everything they have, rather
than serve as a conduit of that freely given grace.
Does this mean that people in
poverty are more generous than wealthy people? In fact, this is true, as I
showed a few weeks ago. The wealthier a person is, the less likely they are to
be generous givers. 
But
it doesn’t have to be this way. Wealthy people can be generous and poor people
can be generous—it all depends on whether they have their eyes on the grace
overflowing into their lives or the money going out. Look at the grace and you
become more generous—look at the money and money trickles out of your hand. As
Randy Alcorn often says, “God prospers you, not to raise your standard of
living, but to raise your standard of giving.”
There is nothing inherently good or bad about being poor and there is nothing inherently good or bad about being wealthy. There are many reasons for being poor. Some people don’t have or can’t get higher paying jobs. Some choose to live a more simple lifestyle, and still others are lazy become dependent on government agencies. There are many reasons why people become wealthy. Some get rich by lying and deceiving. Others are workaholics and neglect their families in order to get rich. Many simply have a talent for making money. Being poor has its unique temptations just as being rich has its temptations. The key is never how much is coming into your life, but how much is going out of it.
Where do you think our church stands in regard to poverty, wealth and especially generosity? I have reminded you on more than one occasion that Vernon County is the third poorest county in the state. Do you think being in an economically depressed area has a subtle effect on our giving habits? Is it possible that we unknowingly can develop a “woe is me” attitude? “We’re just poor, simple folks—we’ll never be able to amount to much.” Is it possible that such an attitude has crept into our lives and therefore into our church?
A speaker at a conference I attended recently was telling us the story of a man who had lived a simple lifestyle. This man had a big garden to provide his food cheaply. He shopped at thrift stores to keep his clothing budget down. He kind of sounds like the average person in Viroqua, doesn’t he? But then he came into some money and his lifestyle changed quite a bit. He stopped gardening and started eating out quite often at nicer restaurants. He didn’t want to wear clothes that were used, so he only shopped in the nicer clothing stores. One day he confessed to this speaker and said, “I finally realized that I was not living a simple lifestyle because I had a great character, I was living a simple lifestyle because I was poor.”
What do you think—do you think God needs your money? Listen to Psalm 50 and then you can decide. “I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” I heard one radio preacher pray this way: “Lord, since you own the cattle on a thousand hills, would you please sell a few and send us the money.” God owns everything, he certainly does not need our money, but he wants our hearts, and money is the floodgate that opens up our hearts. If you are materially wealthy but are not generous, then you are spiritually poor. If you are materially poor and are not generous then you are also spiritually poor. God does not care about the size of the bank account but rather the size of the heart. When Christians gaze upon the grace of God, even extreme poverty can well up into rich generosity.
4. Give as much as you are able. (3)
Any time a message is preached about giving, inevitably the question arises, “how much should I give?” At least part of the answer to that question is found in v. 3, For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Now we should be very careful how we interpret this verse. I could tell you that you should give as much as you are able, and you could sit there thinking—“that’s fine, but I know I am not able to give much. I don’t make very much money. I have a lot of bills and debts. I don’t give very much, but I give what I am able to give.” Do you think that is what Paul meant when he said the Macedonian believers gave as much as they were able? I don’t think so. These Christians not only gave as much as they were able, they gave beyond their ability to give. In our 21st century, American lives, how can we ever know if we are giving what we are able to give, let alone giving beyond what we are able?
Remember the quote I read from John Wesley? He said “I throw money out of my hands as soon as possible lest it find its way into my heart” Next we are going to watch a 3-minute DVD about and learn more about Wesley’s life. (Wesley DVD)
John Wesley was a generous giver. If he were alive today I know he would agree with what we I said earlier. Generosity is to materialism what kryptonite is to Superman. How much should you give? We will talk about that more in the next two weeks, but suffice it to say that you should give enough away to break the power of materialism and to make sure that you see the grace of God flowing into your life.
Rich Maurer
November 7, 2004