Overflowing Grace

 

"Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, ² that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. ⁶ So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. ⁸ I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 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. ¹⁰ I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. ¹² For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— ¹⁴ at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; ¹⁵ as it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack."
II Corinthians 8:1-15  

Good Morning Beloved,

Welcome to worship, we're so glad you're hope.

What a wonderful privilege today of returning to our study of II Corinthians. I am blessed to have the great honor and privilege of sharing with you this marvelous portion of Scripture. I must confess, I am most happy, most overjoyed, fulfilled, and most blessed when I am studying the Word of God.

Today in our ongoing study, we come to the 8th chapter of II Corinthians. 

This portion of Scripture talks about the grace giver. The grace giver gives with Christ Jesus in mind. Every gift that Christ Jesus has given us has been a gift of Grace. We deserve nothing any better. Nothing that He gave us did we deserve. When we get to the place that we give as Jesus did, then we certainly are doing well. The grace giver also gives with heaven in mind. When one truly has heaven in mind, it will significantly affect his attitude towards the things of the earth. In other words, he will not mind turning lose the earthly to gain the heavenly.

Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

In II Corinthians 9:6, Paul says "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

Acts 20:35 teaches "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive."

And in Ruth chapter 3, we see this imagery beautifully illustrated in verses 15 through 17. "Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. She said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed." I know that's rather a long introduction, however, I wanted to give you some, what I believe, is essential background.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You again for this wondrous opportunity to assemble together, for prompting the hearts of those joining us today from around the world. You have already poured out such abundant blessing on us. You have given us so much, and more. Yet, there is much we haven't even received, riches and blessing in abundance, because we haven't given graciously to experience it.

Father, you have clearly shown us in Your Word, the path to obedience, for abundance, for blessing, giving. You've asked that we obey, that we believe and trust You. However, we must confess, that we do not always walk that out. Lord, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would touch the hearts of all of here today, that we would not only trust You, but that we would also be obedient to You. Teach us O' Lord, that we might believe Your promises given to us in Your Word, so that we might come to know the fullness of joy, Your blessing and abundance and eternal glory in Your presence.
In Jesus' name
Amen

Today's Message: Overflowing Grace

Open with me your Bibles to the eighth chapter of the book of II Corinthians.
It is my belief, that if Christians really understood the teaching of the Scriptures and truly understood what God has promised us, there would certainly be more people looking forward to the offering, rather than avoiding it. In other words, our giving overflows from God’s grace.

In fact, in Malachi chapter 3, God encourages us to test him on this when He says "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

Follow along with me as I read to you from II Corinthians 8:1-15, to get it settled in our minds.

"Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 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. I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; as it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack."

Here, Paul is complementing the giving practices of the Macedonians as he encourages the Corinthians to give. The northern part of Greece was called Macedonia, the southern part was called Achaia; Corinth was in Achaia. The Macedonians who were the northern neighbors of Corinth were very generous in their giving to the ministries that Paul was involved in. They gave this way even though they were very poor. They gave out of their poverty. The Lord gives this as an example in His Word to show that a person does not have to be wealthy to exercise faith promise giving. 

The poverty of the Macedonians is confirmed historically after the land of Alexander the Great was conquered by the Romans. This land was several hundred years earlier the home of Alexander the Great, with all of its wealth. During the time of Paul, a people wealthier than what they were in Alexander’s day occupied it. But their wealth was of a different kind. It had a people who were materially poor, but who were rich in God’s grace.

In verse 2 this kind of giving is described: "That in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality."

I find it to be wonderful that the church at Macedonia did not allow their poverty, their afflictions, to affect their giving, in a negative way.

The word "liberality," aplotētos in the Greek, means openhearted generosity, giving or spending freely. The generosity Paul describes here, is of the sacrificial kind. It was with joy that they made their gifts unto the Lord; they did it sacrificially. Paul witnessed this willingness, by Macedonia in their giving in the manner in which they did.

Paul uses this church as an example to challenge the church at Corinth to give; we too should also give. Our giving should not be determined by our bank accounts, but instead by God's riches in glory. He has far more than we have. This becomes the basis of "Faith Promise Giving". This also is the highest level of giving. It is given prayerfully, believing that God is directing your giving, while trusting God to provide the gift.

In verses 3 and 4, which says "For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,"

They gave beyond their ability, however, this was not careless giving, it was faith giving. The Macedonia Church did not know exactly where their gifts were going to come from, however, they did know Whom the gifts were coming from.

As we support the Church, we should do it as a faith ministry. Now, to some, to operate by faith may have the appearances of doing so foolishly. Someone once said, "You never test the resources of God until you attempt the impossible." Modern day testimonies abound as to the way God blesses when one gives by faith.

The story in Mark 12:41-44, of the poor widow giving sacrificially, in fact, she gave everything she owned, and she was beggarly poor. Yet, still she gave. And gave sacrificially.  

Allow me to quickly read this to you. "And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

The Macedonians "first gave their own selves to the Lord." They gave unselfishly. First things first, God wants you first. When a person truly gives himself to the Lord, then God has all that that one has including all of his potential. Grace giving is a kind of giving that must require God for it to truly be grace giving. God by His Spirit directs the gift. It is the highest form of unselfish giving. It is a kind of giving that surrenders the gift with absolutely no strings attached. It is a kind of giving that can give even if the gift is undeserved. After all, when Christ gave Himself to us, not one of us deserved it. God gave Himself proving that His love is an unselfish love. Grace giving requires that same kind of love.

In verses 7 and 8, Paul says "But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also."

Paul commended the things that he could kindly say about the church at Corinth, such as their abounding in "faith, utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence." He complemented the love that they had for Paul and his ministry. However, he still wanted them to have the same giving spirit, as the churches in Macedonia. It seemed that the church at Corinth did not have a giving spirit. This could be for a number of reasons, one being they had become accustomed to having "things" and may have been reluctant to give up those things which could be bought with money.

Paul challenges their giving by telling them that they could mature beyond where they were, and in doing so prove the sincerity of their love.

There is a very practical way of demonstrating, of proving your love. Paul told the church at Corinth that they could prove their love by their giving. Christ loved the church, He therefore gave Himself for it. He expressed this love as He gave Himself on the cross. In the 8th verse of our text, Paul tells how Jesus who was rich became poor. This giving involved what Christ did on the cross; this was the way that He expressed His love.

Verse 9 says, "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."

Christ proved His love for us. Our giving to the church proves our love for Jesus Christ and His church. Our love for missions is proven by our support of missions, in a financial way. Our love for anything is expressed by our giving. You give to what you love. You support what you love. The church must faithfully demonstrate their love. And, that is demonstrated by being obedient to this truth.

God, the Creator of the universe, and of all that there is in it, voluntarily gave up His all becoming poor. He demonstrated that He was willing to make Himself poor that we might be rich. Such love! Beloved, there is no greater example of grace giving than this. His example is our challenge.

May we be challenged, by the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ Jesus. May His complete sacrifice, be a challenge to each of us to willingly sacrifice for the things that God loves. God loves our Church, the souls of men, the poor and mission. When you unselfishly give to these, you are proving you love in a very practical way.

The giving that is described in verses 10 through 15, beginning in verse 10, which says, "I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it," is based upon what possessions that one has.

Paul is speaking to the Corinthians believers, being mindful that they had not followed through with that they had already committed. It appears that he recognizes that they do not have the same sacrificial spirit that the churches in Macedonia had. He is telling them that they do not have to give to the extent that they will deprive themselves.

The immaturity of their giving must be addressed. Here, that is what Paul is doing. This provides us with the lesson that not everyone will give as the Macedonians gave, however, we should be encouraged to give at whatever level they will.

In chapter 9, Paul encourages the Corinthians further by saying that the person that sows sparingly will also reap that way, and the person that sows bountifully will then reap that way. Hopefully, when one starts giving and begins to prove God, seeing the way He blesses, he will get to the place that he will by faith give what he does not even have. When the giver gets to that place, he is then practicing the highest level of giving, Faith Promise Giving.

Paul says in verse 12, "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have."

Every consistent and continuing giver must first have a willing heart. He must be willing to give to whatever need that there is, in order for the giving to continue. The giver needs to clearly see where the want or the need is. If he does not see the need, he is not likely to give with the commitment that is needed.

In Closing..

When we change the way we look at our contributions and offerings, we begin to see that the opportunity to give, is in itself a gift from God’s grace. I know that thought is so radical. In fact, its hard to put into words without sounding incoherent. Our giving is a gift, not a gift from us but a gift to us from God. As you put your money in the offering plate, God is giving to you. I’m not talking about some blessing down the road. The very fact that you have the opportunity today to give to support his work both here in Hancock and around the world through the WELS, that opportunity by itself is a gift from God’s grace.

As your Pastor, I want to encourage you to give yourself to our gracious Lord. I have been patiently laying the ground work for the purpose of your eternal dividends, and benefits. Because when you give, you become a part in spreading the message of gospel throughout the world. When you are helping others, you become a wonderful light, a beacon, that will be shining brightly in darkest of places, until the Lord comes to collect His own.

Our giving overflows from God’s grace. So beloved, drink in God’s grace. Hear the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hear that He became poor paying your debt of sin to bring you His rich forgiveness. Take to heart all the goodness and kindnesses of your heavenly Father. Trust him to take care of you. For filled with God’s grace, we give ourselves to our Lord, trusting His grace, with an undivided heart. Then our offering will overflow from His grace.

May it be so...

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

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