Producing thanksgiving to God
2 Corinthians 9 · Vern Peterman · Aug 8, 2010
1 & 2 Corinthians, No. 58
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926212193591

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. The introduction that was given and all the comings and goings, I think that was something I particularly wanted to Just to make people aware of, we have some very special people with us here, and some of them will be leaving quickly. And if we could keep them here, I wish we could. But anyway, we will entrust them into the Lord's hands, I guess, as we should always, right? We're going to be stepping into this passage in 2 Corinthians. This is part of the series in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. where Paul has been talking about giving materially, financially, to the church and to Christian ministry. And here in chapter 9, he is going to continue on with this theme of giving.

After having written already about giving, you're not going to believe this, he talks even more about giving. And so anyway, as he tells them even more about this giving, and he starts to write additionally about it, he's about to write more about giving, and he even says it's really kind of over the top. This is a bit much.

However, his point in doing so is for the sake of emphasis, for the sake of clarity. There is good purpose for him to write about this giving topic. And here's one of the key things. While it would be typical or common for churches to get real focused on, you know, boy, you got to write out that check and make sure there's a lot of zeros, you know, in this thing. He puts the focus where it really counts. He puts the focus on the relationship with the Lord and the motive for giving.

And that's what I think is really special. Matter of fact, we consider it so special, if you really ask with emphasis and repetition, you might be told where you can give here at Holly Hills. But the one place that you can give, we have this verse out of this passage here, 2 Corinthians 9.7, and we'll be addressing that. It's a precious verse, a very special one.

In order to give this, I think, a proper context, I'm going to step back, and you'll have this also in the slides in your handout on page 1. I'm going to step back into 1 Corinthians 16 and kind of review what he put forth there. I think that's an appropriate background for us to look at this. So this is dense truth on giving for believers who aren't dense.

In 1 Corinthians 16, 1-4, Paul wrote this, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of each week, each one of you is to put aside and save, as ye may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me."

As we saw in last week's passage, Paul, by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, has arranged for Titus and two other men to go with him. We don't know their names, but it's pretty clear that the Corinthians do. But what we do know about the other men that went along with Titus is their character. Paul continues here in this 1 Corinthians 16 passage.

He packed a great deal of truth here in these few verses for the body of Christ. And the principles for financial giving are pretty well laid out there in a concise form. And they include these. The collection is for the saints. It's part of building up the body of Christ. It's for the benefiting of other believers. It's not just for keeping a program in motion or lining pockets or anything of the sort. It is ultimately for building up the body of Christ. That's the purpose. That's why we give. Paul goes on there.

It isn't just some private deal with the Corinthian church. The instructions here are given objectively and openly, even with the idea that he had also given the same kind of instruction to the churches in Galatia. And so this wasn't some package deal, some special deal for them.

It was a set of principles that would apply to all the churches. And what that helps us do as we look at the passage, it gives us assurance that it applies to us as well. It's not a special deal for them, but it applies, in fact, to all of us in the churches. Paul wrote about all the churches in a number of other passages, including this one. He was conveying what he wrote so that there would be consistency of understanding among all the believers.

Paul has them set aside funds the first day of each week. We would call that Sunday. Later it would be called the Lord's Day. And so there is a consistency in the giving. There's a regularity in the giving. There's a tendency among some Christians and even some churches to kind of make things impulsive and sporadic, to shove something under people's noses and, here, give. Oh, suddenly in this panic to start seeing if you have something to give.

This says, no, this is actually something to be thoughtful about. And in fact, each person to individually think about it and ponder about it, as we'll see soon, It's consideration before the Lord. There is also a tendency to make the giving a very public thing and where everybody's watching what everybody else does. And the reality is the focus here is not on that. The focus here is on thoughtfully doing the giving and the giving being more a matter of one's relationship with the Lord.

Next thing is Paul says, each one of you, Do you see there was a tendency among the Gentiles, particularly, for the Gentiles to say, well, that's true for you, but not for me. Have you ever heard that? A tendency to individually kind of think, well, that's a nice general principle, but it doesn't apply to me.

So he makes the emphatic point, each one of you, he did something similar in Ephesians 5.33, each individual among you also is to love his own wife as himself. He had to make it emphatic because there was a tendency to say, well, that's for somebody else. The next thing, he says, to put aside, so they are to take the initiative to see to it that they do it personally, individually. They take the initiative to do that.

Importantly, Paul says in the next phrase, whatever he may be prospered in, each person takes not from some promise for the future, but for right now. This is a matter of looking at, here is how the Lord has given to me, and so from that, Notice he doesn't give any special percentage, but it has a strong implication, as he says that, of accumulating for giving not on the presumption of some future income. This is no matter of making a, some churches will call it a faith promise. We don't ask for that. And one reason is because there's no such thing as a faith promise. It's a faith presumption. We don't presume upon future income. Paul makes the point specifically here. It is a matter of as the Lord has prospered you, as it is evident that the Lord has prospered you. It's for real, actual income. We made a point previously.

Scripture does not talk about going and hawk for Jesus. That's not the biblical pattern. Collection for the Saints is not to be some panicky, rushed, last-minute, oh, oh, heavens, they're asking for money, I wonder if I got some. That's not the pattern. It's thoughtful, it's regular, it is having to do with one's relationship with the Lord, not what will everybody else think. There's also this proportionality as the Lord has prospered, but you notice He doesn't give you a specific percentage.

A lot of folks will look at a holy percentage and say, well, it's got to be the 10%, right? Well, in fact, that was not all the Jews were required to give. What they gave was in a range of about 25% to 33%. We mentioned here about 30% would be more typical of what the Jews actually gave, not 10%.

Finally, Paul wanted all these gifts from the saints in Corinth. to be escorted and taken with adequate security. Theft along the road was common, and he also wanted people of character to be taking it and not to be spending it along the way. Paul's point then, and it certainly fits us, is that the gift should truly get to the place it's needed. Will it really meet the need and not be taken out along the way so that by the time it actually comes to the real need, they're not getting the full due?

And so finally, we have here this principle of stewardship. All the principles that we've said above, they apply to our giving in the body of Christ. The last part, seeing that the funds reach their intended goal and are put to use, that's a very important one. Christians have sometimes had a pattern, especially here in the U.S., of just kind of throwing money at things and not checking into where's this going? What's it being used for?

And so it's a matter of stewardship. Believers need to be certainly discerning. And it's appropriate to ask questions, to have some accountability. Is this really going to build up the body of Christ? Is this really being used efficiently and effectively? It's appropriate for us to ask those questions and you should never feel like, you know, that's somehow inappropriate. In fact, yes, you should ask questions if you have some and make sure that things are going where they're supposed to. Not every ministry and everyone who asks for money is valid.

I can recall a time some years past, my son Randy was listening to one of the televangelists on the TV, and he kept track of how often the guy asked for money. Every 11 minutes, he asked for money. It's yakety, yakety, yakety, yak, money. Yakety, yakety, yakety, yak, money. And every 11 minutes, the money request came in.

Then, returning to 2 Corinthians 9, 1-6 here, Paul says that he knows already, and the way he says it in what's called the perfect tense, he says, I fully know, completely, that they are quite inclined to give, and in fact, they were inclined to give with even zeal.

He's been speaking well of the zeal that they have and their willingness to give and telling the believers in Macedonia about it, a neighboring area just to the north, letting them know about the willingness to give and the zeal of the believers in Corinth. Paul, in this passage, however, is emphatic that the believers in Corinth are already ready, prepared to contribute to the needs of the saints.

He wants to make quite sure that everything is communicated. I don't know why he just didn't get on the cell phone and call him, but anyway, he has to write it. Now, he also talks repeatedly here about preparation and readiness. That's something that's very clear in these first six verses of 2 Corinthians 9. Paul uses lots of words that convey a preparation and readiness again and again for the time when the gift would need to be taken to Jerusalem. What he's doing is kind of on your mark, get set, go, so that when Titus and the two other men are ready to take the gift, that the gift is indeed ready, that everything is prepared.

No surprises, right? What he doesn't want is to have panic and last-minute desperation. Oh, heaven sakes! We didn't know we'd... and people scrambling. Not that. He did not want to see that. What Paul's looking for is steady progress towards the time when the funds must go. Steadiness is the characteristic God's looking for. Not a mad scramble. Not a, I'm not ready for this, so I've got to go and hawk for Jesus. Right? Not that. Steady and ready makes for good words and prevents the I should have. You'll notice that in the, I can't believe I'm saying this, there's this cabinet out there with this little slot and the sign underneath it, right?

And that's the only place that we have forgiving. But contributing to the needs of the saints is done by first communicating the need. One of the things, we don't talk about money hardly at all around here. If you're visiting, you need to know that this is really exceptional. And matter of fact, you would have to press us real hard to talk about money, except that's what the passage talks about. What I'm really glad to be able to say, however, is that it doesn't talk about superficial things about money or anything legalistic. It's all about depth and principles and relationship with the Lord. And that's cool. That's great. We need to know how things are being used. Right near the slot that we have, we have some papers that report monthly on what has come in.

And by the way, I'll tell you again, I have no idea who gives what. And that's probably the way it should be. I have the foggiest idea who gives what. That's not my place. And it's better that I don't know. you see the funds that come in and then on the flip side will be here is the way the money is spent and that's reported each month so you can take a look at that feel free to do so and it'll tell you the missionaries and missionary organizations that we're supporting and let you know how the different funds are spent here to support the facility and for support of the teaching ministry here.

A panic appeal, pressure, lack of integrity in how the funds are collected and distributed, as well as dubious purposes, all are to be avoided in the body of Christ. No arm-twisting. None of this pressured appeal. No holy percentages. That's precisely what he wants to avoid here.

He does, in verse 6, bring up the principle of sowing and reaping. And it's very important that I clarify a couple of things. This is not sowing and ripping. This is sowing and reaping. And when we talk about sowing and reaping, the other point of clarification, more seriously, is this.

There are those who will present the idea that if you give a certain amount of money to God, God will give you that much money and even more back, as if somehow God owes you. If you put the money in the offering slot, box, plate, however it is, that somehow God's got to pay you back and more.

The sowing and reaping principle is not that. The principle of sowing and reaping is a spiritual principle, not a way to make a lot of money. It is a spiritual sowing. When you are giving to ministry, when you are giving to the needs of the saints, It's not the physical money that is really being sowed. You are building up the body of Christ, and it is a spiritual reaping. Got that? A spiritual reaping that comes back. Key principle.

It's not, if I give this amount of money, God owes that money plus some more. It's not a way to make a lot of money. It's a way to have a lot of spiritual productivity. That's his point. We have to keep it in context here, and the context is not about how do I make a lot of money or how do I make God obligated to pay me back. Sowing spiritually, even with finances, is spiritually productive. When the person goes out to sow the seed, the idea is that he actually gets more seed back than what he puts in.

God is looking for spiritual productivity. That's his point, not how do I get the bucks back that I put in the offering plate. Now, I typically don't actually put the verse in the handout or on the slides, except in this case I have to make an exception. And I'm going to read it.

2 Corinthians 9.7 says this, each one must do, and this is in the context of giving, each one must give, just as he has purposed in his heart. What? No magic percentage? Each one must give exactly as the person next to him is expecting?

No. In his heart. It's a heart issue. Not grudgingly or under compulsion. Heavens sakes, somebody ought to read this. For God loves cheerful giver now there's something I need to let you know that word cheerful is the Greek word from which we get our word hilarious okay I somehow think that that's not quite exactly what is intended there okay so not not what he means what does it mean there's a universal principle here for every believer each person giving is a heart issue Giving is a heart issue. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks about my giving or what I think or even what I feel about my giving, at least between me and myself, right?

Let me tell you a little story about a couple of boys and an older gentleman. At least they thought he was older. There were a couple of boys in church and they would make it a habit. This was at a church where they pass an offering plate. They would make it a habit to watch. In fact, they purposely sat next to a fellow that they knew was quite wealthy. And so anyway, the boys would watch. And they'd look over and they'd see this fellow who was quite wealthy drop a dime in the offering plate. Oh, beyond belief. The next Sunday, they watched him do it again. After church, each one of them got on a side and grabbed hold of him and said, we saw that you put a dime in the offering plate two Sundays in a row.

How come that's all you give? And the man answered, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and that's all I can cheerfully give. Giving is not to be done with reluctance, that is, oh, oh, I guess so, and do it, all right. The painful plopping of the check into the slot or the plate. Nor because there's this great pressure. And because, boy, are they relentless about telling you about it.

Giving is to be done before God, and His heart is for, His heart is all about cheerful giving before Him. That's what matters. Does giving matter? Yeah, but it's the heart. It's relationship with the Lord. Unlike these boys I told you in the joke. It's not before what other people think. It's before the Lord. We had this series of verses that we've actually shown several weeks now. I repeated here.

From 2 Corinthians 2.17 on to 2 Corinthians 12.19, it has repeatedly, in the sight of God, in the sight of God, in the sight of God, in the sight of the Lord, in the sight of God.

Why do I include it here? The reason is this. This passage is not one that has that phrase, in the sight of God or in the sight of the Lord, but 2 Corinthians certainly has that theme from start to finish and, and this is I think the big principle, God loves a cheerful giver. What does that say? It says that God knows and cares about the condition of our hearts even when it comes to giving. And I'd like you to notice something else. That's in the singular. Do you ever wonder if God cares about you individually? Just you?

This verse answers that question. He doesn't say God loves the hearts of cheerful givers. He says singular, a cheerful giver, singular. That means you, each one of you, God cares what's going on in your heart. God's looking for what's going on in your heart. He's not big brother looking for, ah, how can I get you? But he is one who cares about each individual one of us. God is not so overwhelmed and so busy with all the different things that He somehow can't pay attention to you. He can, He does, and He will. He does care about you personally. So God loves a cheerful giver. This verse certainly, I would say, glitters deeply. It's sparkling, but not in a superficial way.

It tells us what really matters, what's really at the heart of God about financial giving. God doesn't want us to just do it out of some sort of reluctance, but just do it. God doesn't want us to just fulfill what everyone else expects us to give. God doesn't want the church leaders to define holiness by percentage of income or levels of pain.

I have heard this, give until it hurts, then keep on giving until it feels better. Let's hope it feels better, right? So we really have to ask, what's the principle here? The principle is not give until it hurts or keep giving until it feels better. The principle is relationship with the Lord.

I have said even recently, I do once in a while take a look at the giving numbers at Holly Hills. I don't look at it with intensity, but I take a look at it, and if I see the numbers dropping down, you know what that tells me? I need to talk about grace, and I need to talk about intimacy with the Lord, because that's where the motivation is going to come from. That's where the motivation is going to come from for giving. I would not recommend that you give till it hurts and keep on giving until it feels better. I'm not sure where that comes from. It's not scriptural.

God cherishes, and I'm going to use the singular here, the heart of the one who gives based on gracious fellowship with Him. on your individual relationship. He cares about you. And you know what really thrills God? Is cheerful giving out of one who realizes how gracious the Lord has been with us.

In verses 8 and 9, Paul says God is able to provide and to motivate. He is able to make all grace abound, is the way he puts it. You see, God is not into wimpy skimpy grace. God isn't into grace that's just enough. He's able to make all grace abound to give the financial resources and all the grace for all of our giving. He's able to do it. Our giving does not put God under some obligation to give money back for what we gave plus more. That's not the way it works.

That's not grace. God's gracious provision is not from having to pay us back for what we've already given. God's gracious provision is for the initial giving in the first place. That's where God's grace comes in. We don't owe God and God doesn't owe us. That's not grace. But grace says that God provides for all the needs, including forgiving. In verses 10 through 12 we have this, God's provision for financial giving and his motivation for believers is out of a motive of grace.

It is spiritually productive and it has a spiritual yield. Just like the sower doesn't expect to get back just as many seeds as he sowed, he expects to get back more, that's why he puts it in the ground. There is a spiritual yield. from what is given with a spiritual heart. One way that our grace-motivated financial giving is spiritually productive is that it causes others to be thankful. It produces thankfulness in others. Thankfulness to God, who is the source of all grace.

Thanks here in this passage is actually literally good gracing. We good grace the Lord. What's interesting when you look at verses 11 through 13, he talks about producing thanksgiving to God. And even in verse 12, it goes into the plural, thanksgivings to God and finally glorifying God. You see, biblical giving has an unmistakable productivity. It results in believers thanking and glorifying God.

And you notice I was looking at the heavenly scenes in Revelation, and you know what we're going to be doing for eternity? Thanking and glorifying God, right? Thanking and glorifying God comes out of fellowship with Him. When we understand how gracious God has been, our response is thankfulness. In verse 15, thanks be to God. Thanks be to God in verse 15, I believe is referring to His gift of Jesus Christ, the one through whom we have salvation and all blessings. Hassan and I were looking at Romans 5 and 1 through 11.

And one of the things that's abundantly clear in there is the free gift of grace. Grace, grace, grace comes again and again. It's through our Lord Jesus Christ. God's gift through Him. Our ministry of giving, our ministry of giving is patterned after the Lord's ministry of giving. He was gracious in His Son.

Do you know how much our forgiveness cost? That was pricey. Paying for all of our sins. And by the way, we're never going to pay that back. We're not expected to. That's what grace is. Our ministry of giving is patterned after God's ultimate ministry of giving. His infinite love. He says His indescribable gift. More than can be fully described. Doesn't mean you can't describe it. It means that you can begin to describe it. But the gift is so awesome that you just can't continue and finish it.

I'm afraid it's come to this, folks. Sowing and reaping is a spiritual principle. It's not a means of making God obligated to us. Our holiness is from faith in Christ, not from giving a holy percentage of our income. If you want to feel guilty today, I can't help you. You'll have to go somewhere else. I just can't help you.

Faith is believing God, not presuming some future income level and making a promise. Faith is believing what God said, not presuming something and calling it faith. The quality of our giving is the highest priority in God's view of things. Quality is measured by what God sees.

And what does He look at? Is He aware of the check? Yes. But what's He really focused on, even to the point of saying God loves it? Your heart. He's focused on your heart. You, individually. You, personally. The size of the check is humanly measured. And a cheerful heart is by God most treasured. Hear that? The size of the check is humanly measured. And a cheerful heart is by God most treasured. God loves a cheerful giver. It's the heart that matters. The Lord is watching your heart right now, not because he wants to catch you in something. But he loves it. He loves it when the character of Jesus Christ is coming from the inside out. He loves that. He loves you individually. And he delights to see the Lord Jesus Christ and the giving, gracious character of Christ lived out in you.

That's what giving is all about. Let's pray. Lord, as we look at this passage, how awesome and how wonderful. Giving is not the superficial thing. Oh, it's good that we have accountants and bookkeepers and that we can keep track of the numbers and we do need to be accountable to the church body with what's done with the funds here. But how wonderful to know what you're counting. that you're counting a heart, each one of us, each individual person you care about us. You're looking at our hearts. You're treasuring what no one else can see. Thank you, Lord, for your love for each of us, your care for each of us, your awesome and most amazing grace. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.