1609 (see 1093)
I really appreciate the opportunity to be with you today. We used the Growing Through Giving material in Gore a few years ago and it was a huge blessing. Clearly it was about fund-raising but, for us, it was much more than that. It was primarily about faith-raising. We asked people to pray, seek to hear God’s voice and then respond, trusting Him. That was challenging but people did it. People obeyed God. And we found God to be faithful. When we announced the result of the pledges, it was almost exactly the amount that had been our target and then some more came in over the following week.
There was no way we could organise that. It was out of our hands. We had no idea what the result would be but we experienced the goodness of God. That was a faith-builder for me and many others.
And it can be for you. There is an opportunity here for you to grow in faith by trusting God and finding Him to be faithful. I pray that that will be your experience. May God bless you.
There’s a saying that you can’t out-give God. You’ll never win. God always gives us more than we can give Him. There are hundreds of stories about God honouring those who have been generous givers – including those who perhaps have very little but still give sacrificially, and God honours it.
Remember the boy who gave his lunch to Jesus to feed the 5000. He could have held onto his lunch so that he had plenty to eat. What difference could his little lunch make? Rationally, it did not make sense. But think of the result. He could have gone home thankful that he had been selfish but by giving, he was central to one of the world’s most amazing miracles. God used him. He must have felt God smiling on him. He learnt a lesson in giving. His gift is recorded for ever. God gave him more than he gave.
It seems to me that there is one point stated three different ways in our passage. The point is this:
God gives generously and makes us rich, so that we can give. And as we give, God gives more. It becomes a cycle. God gives first. Then He expects us to give. And as we give, God gives more.
It is stated in v.6 which is a principle I think it would be worth writing on a sheet of paper and pinning up in a prominent place in our homes: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. The more we give, the more we get back. Isn’t that an amazing promise? If we sow generously, we will reap generously.
It is stated in v.8: 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.
Isn’t that an amazing promise? God richly blesses us out of His grace so that we will have all we need to abound in every good work – so that we can be generous in our good works. God gives so that we can give. Our giving might be visiting people or providing food for a family in need or letter writing to encourage Christian workers or leading worship or simply cheering people up or inviting people for meals or praying… God gives generously so that we can give generously
It is stated in v.11: You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.
Why does God give to us? So that we can give. And, if we give generously, God gives generously.
Three times it is virtually the same thing.
There is a real emphasis here on God’s generosity.
9:8 God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need…
9:9 He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures for ever
9:10 Now, He who supplies seed for the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness
9:11 You will be made rich in every way
9:14 …the surpassing grace God has given you
9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
Ultimately, His indescribable gift is the gift of salvation, possible only because of the gift of His Son. The starting point is the generosity of God, but God, having been generous, calls us to follow suit.
Sometimes, for us, it is a struggle because there are competing voices. God says, “Give away and you will receive more” but other voices say, “Don’t give away. You’ll be poor.” Which is true? A) If I give away what I have, I’ll be rich. B) If I give away what I have, I’ll be poor.
B sounds logical. A sounds illogical, but A is what God says.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Will we believe something that sounds illogical but God says is true? It is a question of trust, isn’t it? God says, “Be generous and I will be generous to you.” Will He really? What if I believe Him and give away a large part of my savings and nothing happens? It’s too late then, isn’t it? By then I’ve burnt my bridges. No, I’m not taking that risk. I’ll hang on to what I’ve got.
Or will He? Would I be far better off giving away? Would I receive back far more, just like the boy who gave his lunch rather than hold onto it?
There are reasons for trusting God.
He has already demonstrated His generosity.
He has promised
Many people can testify to mind-boggling miracles of God’s provision.
Here’s an example I heard this week. A Christian couple are restoring a run-down campsite as a place of healing for those who are battered and bruised. They have invested their own resources into a place for restoring others. The wife was at a meeting recently, talking to a lady about work that needs to be done. The woman asked how much it was going to cost. $40,000. The woman said, “It will be in your account by tomorrow”. God does that sort of thing.
If a farmer sows only a little seed, he can expect only a little harvest. If he sows more generously, he can expect a more generous return. It’s a law of nature and put that way it sounds more logical. The more you give away, the more you get back.
Are you a generous sower or a sparing sower and consequently a sparing reaper?
The word “generously” raises a question of attitude. “Generous” doesn’t just mean to give lots. In fact, if you look up the dictionary definition – at least in my dictionary – it says nothing about quantity. To be generous means to be magnanimous, noble-minded, not mean, free to give, munificent.
Someone could have very little to give but still be generous. In fact, often that is the way it is. Those with the least are often most generous.
I read of a lady called Hetty Green who died in 1916 leaving a fortune of over $100,000,000 – comparable to maybe two billion dollars today. But she was a miserly woman. She ate cold oatmeal because she resented the expense of heating the water. When her son suffered a serious leg injury she spent so long trying to find a free clinic to treat him that the leg had to be amputated. She is said to have hastened her own death by bringing on a seizure because she was arguing about the merits of skim milk because it was cheaper than whole milk.
When I was younger, I often went door-to-door collecting for charities. It was very clear that those in expensive houses were less generous. The statistics bear that out. Most money is given to charities by people on relatively modest incomes. Comparatively little is given by the rich. Generosity is an attitude. It is not by accident that the word “miser” is at the root of the word “miserable”.
God says each person should give what he/she has decided in his/her heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. Not because of pressure and not resenting it but giving because he has chosen to give and wants to give. God loves a cheerful giver.
You’ve possibly heard that the Greek word for “cheerful” is hilarion from which we get hilarious and so we should all give, rolling around on the floor with laughter. Well, actually, I wonder if we couldn’t paraphrase it as, “God loves an enthusiastic giver” or “a keen giver” – like the Macedonians in the previous chapter, who pleaded for the privilege of giving.
This is a heart thing. Where is your heart on this? People might think we are being very generous but inside we are muttering and really resenting giving. Or we might be giving only because we feel we have to. A car bumper sticker says, “God loves a cheerful giver but He accepts from a grouch” That’s funny but it’s not true. God doesn’t want your money if you give it grudgingly. God doesn’t want your time if you give it grudgingly or your talent if you give it resentfully. Why? Because He doesn’t need it. He wants what it represents – your heart. God is more interested in the attitude of our giving than the amount of our giving. If you ever feel pressured to give or pressured to do something and you resent it, God says, “Don’t bother. I don’t need your money. I don’t need your talent. What I want is your life.” When we want to give and we give cheerfully, God loves that.
The cycle of generosity doesn’t work when we give resentfully, or we give with a mercenary motive thinking that we will get rich by giving. It works when we give generously – when we just love giving.
I am not sure what Aaron would say but here’s a secret: If you don’t want to give, don’t give. I give you permission to not give. On the other hand, if you know how generous God has been to you and you want to give, then your giving will bless God’s heart.
One last thing: look at the results of cheerful giving.
v.10 says that God will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. We will see results we never dreamed of. God will multiply it. God will do things with it we wouldn’t have believed possible – just as it was for the boy who gave his lunch and then stood wide-eyed when he saw what God did with it. God will enlarge the harvest of your generosity.
v.11 says that our generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. When we give for the sake of other people, those people will recognise the sacrifice made and will give thanks to God. V.12 says that. We not only supply the needs of God’s people, but our serving is overflowing with expressions of thanks to God. Think of the people who will thank God for your generosity.
Think of the people in this community who will one day thank God for the people who sacrificed to provide a church in this place. It is not just the building; it is the mission that the building facilitates. They will give thanks for the people who sacrificed to provide ministries to families and the poor and the sick in this community and who cared enough to share the good news of Jesus. One day people will look back and say, “I am so grateful that God led his people to do this because it has changed my life.”
When His people are generous, God gets a lot of glory: thanksgiving in vv.11, 12, and 15, praise in v,13.
v.13 also says that it is by our service that we prove ourselves to be Jesus-followers. Jesus said, “By their fruit you will know them.” We show ourselves to be Jesus-followers when we are generous with our money and our time and our compassion.
They will praise God for our obedience that accompanies our confession of the gospel. It is not just sharing the gospel; it is obedient service.
Let the people of Hawea see that God does provide when His people are faithful.
Lastly, people will pray for you. V.14 says, “And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.” People will love you and pray for you.
According to God’s word, there are many wonderful results when we are generous. Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. If we believe that God is calling us to give to this project – we have to discern that; don’t be pressured; listen to God – but, if He is, can we give, believing that God will keep His promises? This is about faith-raising.