SERMON OUTLINE:
Example #1: The Macedonians (vs 1-5)
• They gave generously (vs 1-2):
• They gave sacrificially (vs 3a):
• They gave voluntarily (vs 3b-4):
• They gave whole-heartedly (vs 5):
Example #2: Jesus Christ (vs 9)
• The Macedonians made a promise to give (vs 6)
• The Macedonians should fulfil their promise to give (vs 8)
SERMON BODY:
• We tend not to get too much teaching on money & giving?
• Over the past few years;
• You could probably count on one hand, the sermons you have heard on this subject.
• Probably because the subject of money and giving we find embarrassing;
ill:
• As a guest speaker in invited to speak at other Churches;
• You may get a gift towards your work, or at least your travelling expenses.
• Not always but most of the time.
• Some Church treasurers like last Sunday evening hand you an envelope;
• And say this is from the Church in appreciation of your visit and work.
• Other Church treasurers, for example where I am preaching tonight,
• Leave an envelope with your name and containing a gift on the lectern,
• Some Church treasurers have other invented ways of passing on a gift.
• On more than one occasion;
• I have had somebody shove an envelope into my back trouser pocket!
• Never a good idea and never in these ‘delicate’ times.
• My colleague Bob Telford had that very experience,
• The treasurer hurriedly shoved an envelope into his back trouser pocket!
• When Bob got to his car and opened the envelope,
• He found it was a bill for the hymn books!
• The treasurer had got his envelopes muddled up!
• So Bob being a joker and speaking at their evening service said to the Church;
• “I don’t mind preaching for free but I am blowed if I will buy your hymn books!”
• TRANSITION: WE get embarrassed talking about money;
• But the New Testament does not!
• In fact it has a lot to say concerning both money & giving:
Ill:
• In Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospels 1 in every 6 verses deals with money.
• Of the 29 parables Jesus told, 16 deal with a person and his money.
• Both money and our responsibility to give are open topics in the New Testament.
• So it is a doctrine we ought to be clear about in our thinking.
Ill:
• A car sticker sign in the back of a car had a picture of the seven dwarfs:
• It should have read: “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go.”
• But instead it read: “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”
• TRANSITION: 2 Corinthians chapter 8 is a reminder to every Christian ‘we owe’
• All that we have we owe to the Lord – let me illustrate it.
Ill:
• I guess many of us as parents have taken their kid’s to MacDonald’s.
• You have forked out some of your hard earned cash to pay for it;
• You receive your dinner;
• And now you retire at one of the tables to indulge in these culinary delights.
• As you begin this feast you realize that you’ve only ordered small fries not large,
• And if there is one thing MacDonald’s does extremely well it is their fries,
• So as Father you reach over to one of your children;
• And help yourself to a few extra fries from their packet.
• When suddenly his hand blocks yours and he looks deep into your eyes and says,
• “Don’t eat my fries”.
• His fries! His fries!
• You earned the money for the meal?
• You drove the car to get to the golden arches?
• You ordered the meal?
• You paid for the meal?
• And your offspring is talking about; “His fries!”
• His fries!
• But how often do we refuse to give God some of ‘our’ fries?
• TRANSITION: 2 Corinthians chapters 8 & 9 are reminders that ‘all we have’
• We owe to the Lord;
• But how often do we refuse to give God some of ‘our’ fries?
Note: As we will see, all Christians are called to give!
Ill:
• A man was being baptized by immersion,
• And as he was going down the steps into the pool of water,
• He suddenly remembered he had his wallet in his back pocket.
• So he stopped to remove the wallet and leave it on the side.
• When the Church leader who was baptising him saw this he said;
• “Stop, either I baptise you wallet and al or not at all”.
• TRANSITION: Now the Church leader was not interested in making the mans money wet,
• But he wanted to make the point that if we claim to follow Jesus;
• It will affect every area of our lives including our money!
Quote:
• 500 years ago, the great reformer Martin Luther said something similar:
• “The last place a man is changed by the gospel is in his wallet”
• Christ’s Church (which is of course Christ’s people),
• Should stand out as an island of generosity in a sea of stinginess.
Ill:
• The newspaper the Telegraph ran an online article on Friday.
• (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10885180/Religion-makes-people-more-generous.html)
• Stating that research claims;
• Religious people are more generous than non-believers,
• When it comes to giving to charity,
• Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their worldly goods;
• With a good cause, just ahead of Christians.
• TRANSITION: Christ’s Church (which is of course Christ’s people),
• Should stand out as an island of generosity in a sea of stinginess.
• Now let’s look at the passage.
• In these first nine verses of chapter 8:
• We are given two illustrations of Godly, that is God-like giving.
• And some helpful principles, guidelines regarding giving.
Example #1: The Macedonians (vs 1-5)
• Churches in Macedonia were located in the Greek cities of Philippi, Thessalonica;
• Berea; and perhaps elsewhere in that region.
• This area was Greek and primarily Gentile (non-Jewish)
• Notice:
• That in these first five verses we learn four things about these Macedonian Christians:
FIRST: THEY GAVE GERNEOUSLLY (VS 1-2):
“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
• The Macedonian Church was poor but extremely generous;
• We are told that these Christians open-handedly shared their wealth;
• With other Christians in need.
Question: Who was in need?
Answer:
• During the reign of emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54) a famine had hit Jerusalem.
• The Christians (like all the other residents of the city);
• Experiencing tough times and extreme financial need;
• And they too needed financial support.
• So long before ‘Comic Relief’ or ‘Children in Need’;
• The apostle Paul organised ‘Church Relief’,
• That is he encouraged various Churches from his missionary trip in Macedonia;
• To send money and help relieve the hardships of the Christians in Jerusalem.
• The Macedonian Christians helped despite the fact they had problems of their own.
• Because they themselves were not only extremely poor,
• But they too had also endured a great deal of persecution.
• In many ways they should have been receiving the help;
• But instead they were the ones giving it!
• They gave generously and willingly to help the Christians in Jerusalem.
SECOND: THEY GAVE SACRIIFICIALLY (VS 3A):
“For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability”
• Verse 2 is very telling, it reveals the hardships these Macedonian Christians faced;
• They were experiencing "extreme poverty"
• Note: The words used in verse 2 for "extreme poverty".
• Means "rock-bottom destitution."
• The word describes a beggar who has absolutely nothing;
• And has no hope of getting anything.
• Yet despite their own situation:
• They were still substantial in their giving.
Ill:
• I think the poorest country I have visited is Moldova,
• It’s the poorest country in Europe and the problems facing the country are massive.
• 34 percent of the population live under the poverty rate and survive on less than €1.70
• That is £1.73 a day or £12.11 a week!
• On my first mission trip in the central regions;
• You see people who literally have nothing and yet have a generous spirit.
• After we had an evangelistic house meeting in a small country house,
• The host brought out compote, (which is essentially just fruit-flavoured water).
• And they shared their prized possession for visitors,
• A jar of preserved peaches and we all had half a peach each.
• TRANSITION: For our hosts our visit was costly,
• Costly in fuel as the expensive wood fire burned brightly.
• Costly as they turned on an extra light (they all have three lightbulb fixtures/holders,
• But nearly always only one or at times two are used, never all three)
• Costly as they bring out food, often biscuits or sweets;
• And on this occasion their prized jar of peaches.
Sacrificial giving has nothing to do with the amount of one’s income or bankroll.
• We remember what Jesus said about a woman in Luke chapter 21 verse 3-4:
• The story of the Widows Mite.
• She only had two small coins of little monetary value;
• And yet she placed them in the offering box;
• Before and after her other people were placing far more coins and of a higher value;
• Yet it was the woman Jesus pointed out:
“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
• Quote: Mother Teresa.
• “If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving”.
• Those Macedonian Christians were quite remarkable:
• There they were in deep poverty,
• Facing great trials of affliction,
• And they still managed not just to think about others and their needs;
• But considered how they might also help them.
THIRD: THEY GAVE VOLENTARILLY (VS 3B-4):
“For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,
and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,”
Ill:
• Mark Twain the American author and humourist:
• Said that he was so sickened by the long appeal at one Church service he was at;
• That he not only did not give what he planned to give,
• But he also took a bill out of the plate!
• You gotta love that! Well done Mr Twain.
• TRANSITION: Well no Christian should ever be forced or pressured to give:
• Giving should be a voluntary act and something we do willingly and enthusiastically;
• Notice these Macedonians gave freely and willingly.
• There was no prompting or begging or pressure from the apostle Paul.
• In fact verse 4 says;
“They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people”.
• These Macedonians did not have much money,
• Yet they pleaded with the apostle Paul and Titus to take some of what they did have.
• They did not see giving as an obligation but as a privilege.
FOURTH: THEY GAVE WHOLE-HEARTEDLY (VS 5):
“And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
• Notice that with the Macedonian Christians before they opened their wallets;
• They opened their hearts!
• They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
• Their heart went first and their generous contribution followed.
• If our hearts are truly devoted to our Master,
• Then that too will be reflected in our sacrificial, selfless actions.
Their giving was only one aspect of their spiritual lives, but an important one.
• Their giving was only one aspect of their spiritual lives,
• But it was important one.
• When we give ourselves fully to the Lord;
• Surely we want to give to him our time, our talents, and our treasure to him!
Example #2: Jesus Christ (vs 9)
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Ill:
• 24 years ago, while on holiday Jane Walker stumbled on the Tondo site,
• A rubbish dump in Manila, the Philippians.
• During a three-month break from where she worked.
• She saw something that would change her life forever.
"It was just the most incredible scene," she recalls. "Hundreds of people milling over this site, picking at the garbage. I couldn't forget what I saw, or leave the children behind."
• Jane saw teams of filthy stick-limbed children and adults;
• Foraging through mountains of stinking garbage for scraps.
• At the end of each day, the scavengers retreats to rows of hovels,
• Parked either side of an open sewer,
• Where children and pregnant women survive, literally, on trash.
• 4,000 people call it home.
• Life and death is measured out in quantities of plastic bottles scavenged each day.
• They are considered industrious, even lucky.
• Striding around the in a starched white shirt is Jane Walker,
• She is on first-name terms with many of them.
• Each day she dispenses water, hugs and advice,
• Jane Walker, is known here as "Ma'am."
• In the Philippine press, she is sometimes called, “the angel of the dump”.
• She first came to the country expecting to find a tropical paradise,
• But instead, on her way from the airport she found what she calls
• "some of the worst poverty the world has to offer."
• She has been here, on and off, since, focusing on areas
• "where nobody else wants to work, in one of the most dangerous parts of Manila."
• Jane founded the charity Philippine Community Fund (PCF)
• They have opened up a four-storey school made of container vans at the site.
• The charity provides education, food, health care and skills training;
• To the families living on dump sites in Manila's poorest slums.
• (Youtube: https://youtu.be/9N5SnRa5p_0)
• TRANSITION:
• That is amazing and admirable!
• And yet Jane Walker’s stoop from middle-class England to garbage dump,
• Is still not as astonishing as the journey Jesus took from heaven to earth.
• When God the Son entered the world of his own creation.
• “The Word became a human being and ‘pitched his tent’ among us”
Question: When was Jesus rich?
• Notice the verse does not say, “he is rich,” or “he became rich,” but “he was rich.”
• The Lord Jesus Christ was also rich in all he possessed.
“All creation was his, whether things in heaven or earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.
All things were made by him and he is the heir of all things.”
• All the wealth of heaven and also the wealth of earth:
• e.g. The oil resources of the Middle East are all his.
• e.g. The diamonds and precious metals of Africa are all his,
• e.g. Everything this world, in this universe has – all are his.
• He was rich! Listen that small English word cannot ever do him justice,
• We have to add to it,
• He was rich in all respects, rich in all conceptions,
• And rich beyond our limited imagination’s can ever imagine!
• Rich beyond everything you and I will ever conceive of,
• Even when we get to heaven.
• He was so rich, so infinite, so glorious, so divine,
• This is what Jesus had before the foundation of the world.
• And before he chose to be born into this world!
Jesus became poor:
• There is a sense in which Christ’s incarnation itself was an impoverishing act.
• The eternal Son of God chose to become a human being!
Ill:
• Imagine, for the moment, you own a dog,
• And that your dog and every dog is in deep distress.
• Without a remedy they will all die and die an eternal torment
• But you have the remedy to prevent that happening,
• But to save them it would require you to be willing to become a dog.
• And not just for a limited time, but forever remaining a dog!
• Question: Would you put down your human nature?
• Leave your loved ones, your job, hobbies, your art and literature and music,
• And choose instead of enjoying equal human relationships;
• From now on you have the poor substitute of looking into the peoples faces;
• And wagging your tail, unable to smile or speak?
• TRANSITION: Christ by becoming human did all that and much more!
• He laid aside his rights and privileges.
• Jesus set aside the wealth of heaven.
• We know he was born in a foreign city,
• Being placed in a manger (literally a feed trough)
• The gospel according to Matthew tells a story about Jesus as a refugee child.
• Forced to flee to Egypt seeking safety and security.
During his ministry:
• It appears that Christ had very little by way of material possessions
• Consider the following: Jesus…
• Preached from borrowed boats,
• Multiplied borrowed food,
• Rode on a borrowed colt,
• Borrowed a coin for a sermon illustration.
• And was buried in a borrowed tomb.
• In fact, most of Jesus’ material needs, as well as those of his disciples,
• Were met by donations from a group of devoted women who accompanied him.
• In his Gospel, Luke refers to them (Luke 8:2–3; see also Mark 15:40–41).
“Mary, called Magdalene, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager,
and Susanna, and many others, who provided for [Jesus and his disciples] out of their means”
Question: Why did the apostle gave this ultimate example of generous giving?
Answer:
• Because the Church at Corinth (the recipients of this letter);
• Had faltered in their giving.
THEY MADE A PROMISE TO GIVE (VS 6)
• A year or so earlier, this Church had also given generously;
• But over time their initial enthusiasm had waned;
• And they had not followed through on their pledge of support.
• Verse 6:
“So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning,
to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.”
Unlike the Macedonians, the Corinthian Christians were flourishing financially:
• They had plenty of resources;
• Yet their giving had dried up, they had not continued;
• So in verse 7 the apostle Paul gives them a gentle prod.
“But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving”.
• Paul reminds them of their blessings:
• And he commends them for certain qualities that is evident in their lives.
• Yet, he says; there is still one area that can be improved;
• You are neglecting – your pledge to give - that needs working on too!
THEY SHOULD FULFILL THEIR PROMISE TO GIVE (VS 8)
• Notice in verse 8 that Paul is not commanding them to give;
• He simply reminds them of God’s generous, sacrificial love shown in Christ;
• And he expects that to motivate them to give to others.
“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 sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Notice: The subtle contrast:
• The Macedonians were poor,
• Yet they gave as though they were rich!
• Though Jesus was rich; he lived as though he was poor;
• So that you through his poverty might become rich!
• The apostle Paul points out;
• That the Macedonians were following the example of Christ;
• Because they were poor, yet they gave.
• Giving is an evidence of love - Love for Christ, love for God's people.
• So now the apostle asked them to prove that love by sharing in the offering.
As we finish scan down to the last verse of the chapter (vs 24):
• In this verse the apostle Paul returns to this theme of completing their gift.
• That he had mentioned earlier on in verse 8.
• In verse 24 he says:
“So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified”.
• To summarise he says:
• A loving Church is a generous Church;
• And the Corinthian’s generous love would validate the apostle Paul’s boasting;
• To other Churches of how Christ was at work in them!
• After all, the saying simply nails it: “actions speak louder than words!”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=qJwaGUXL2LvVBhVWfvieRhPzNULuSfiy
