God Loves A Cheerful Giver.

2 Cor 9.6-15

      [The Koh-i-noor diamond is among the most spectacular in the world. Queen Victoria received it as a gift from a maharajah when he was a lad. Later as a grown man this maharajah visited Queen Victoria again. He requested that the stone be brought from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace. The maharajah took the diamond and, kneeling before the Queen, gave it back to her, saying, "Your Majesty, I gave this jewel when I was a child, too young to know what I was doing. I want to give it to you again in the fullness of my strength, with all of my heart and affection, and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do."]

     [As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to reiterate those words offering again our lives to Jesus Christ: "I want to give You back my life, Lord Jesus, that I gave You several years ago. I want to give it again to you with gratitude, fully cognizant of all that I am doing." ]   [ --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House  Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 240.] 

A.   Consider the Bountiful Harvest (vs 6) [- The sowing and reaping principle.  In sowing and reaping there are certain things that are irrefutable.  They will not change, they are the natural result of sowing and reaping and in this sense they are the laws of sowing and reaping.] 

1.      The Law of the Seed (Gal 6.7-9; Matt 7.16-18) [- What you sow, is what you will reap.)] 

[Galatians 6:7-9 ⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.]

[Matthew 7:16-18 ¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ¹⁷ Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ]

2.      The Law of Sowing (vs 6)  [- “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” - Hoarded seeds yield no harvest .The quantity that is sown is directly proportional to the abundance of the harvest.] 

a.       [In stewardship and giving it's not so much about how much you give, but what you have left after you give.] 

3.      The Law of Service (vs 6)  [- “. . . shall reap . . . – once the seed is sown there will come a harvest, and the harvest must be worked.] 

[Taking and Receiving]

["It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).] 

[There is an old story that goes like this:] 

[An unusual tree grew outside the gates of a desert city in the Middle East. It was an old tree, a landmark as a matter of fact. It seemed to have been touched by the finger of God, for it bore fruit perpetually. Despite its old age, its limbs were constantly laden with fruit. Hundreds of passersby refreshed themselves from the tree as it never failed to give freely.] 

[But then a greedy merchant purchased the property on which the tree grew. He saw hundreds of travelers "robbing" his tree, and he built a high fence around it. Travelers pleaded, "Share with us." The merchant quoted in return, "It is my tree, my fruit, bought with my money." And a strange thing happened: the old tree died! What had happened? The law of giving, as predictable as the law of gravity, had expressed its immutable principle: when a tree stops giving, it stops bearing, and it dies.] 

[Yes, this story illustrates well the law of give-and-receive. And when I think of how much I take from God's world, I bow in guilt at how little I give to His work. "But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly" (2 Cor. 9:6).—Bible Illustrations] 

B.   Notice the Bonded Heart (vs 7-8) [- Meeting God in the garden of your heart.] 

[2 Corinthians 9:7-8 ⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:]

1.      [Moved by the Spirit of God.] 

a.       [Purposeth (gk) - To bring forward.] 

(1)   [If one has accepted Jesus Christ, and received the Ernest of the Spirit, then it is only logical that he can be moved by the God that dwells within him.] 

(2)   [What has God brought forward in your heart?  What is God leading you to give?] 

2.      We struggle to give because:  [Struggling against God - Grieving the Spirit of God (Eph 4.30).] 

Ephesians 4:30 ³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

a.       We are Distressed (2 Cor 8.1-5; Psalm 37.16).  [We often feel bound by our circumstances - perhaps we are not comfortable with our current finances.] 

[2 Corinthians 8:1-5 ¹ Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; ² How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. ³ For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; ⁴ Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵ And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.]

[Psalms 37:16 ¹⁶ A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.]

b.      We are Distracted (1 John 4.1).  [There are other spiritual voices telling us that what we have is all that we will ever have - They would have you to believe that God cannot pour out Himself upon you.] 

[1 John 4:1 ¹ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.]

c.       We have not Discerned (vs 7).  [We may not be accustomed to hearing and discerning God's will and God's vioce - God really does "walk with us and talk with us."] 

[2 Corinthians 9:7 ⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. ] 

3.      [Rejoicing in our service and relationship with God - Cheerful giver.] 

a.       [Cheerful - hilaros hil-ar-os'(gk) - 1) cheerful, joyous, prompt to do anything.] 

(1)   [With spiritual experience there comes the hilarious obedience to God, we can cheerfully obey in any circumstance for we have learned that when God moves, God provides.] 

b.      [God opens the very windows of heaven (vs 8; Mal 3.10) – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”] 

(1)   [The tithe is 10% and already belongs to God (Lev 27.30,32 ; Mal 3.8-12)] 

Leviticus 27:30 ³⁰ And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.

Leviticus 27:32 ³² And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

Malachi 3:8-12 ⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. ⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. ¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. ¹² And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

(2)   [The offering is anything over this minimum biblical requirement.] 

c.       [The most difficult lesson for a Christian to learn is to let go and let God.] 

4.      Giving back to God.  Cheerfully give of your:  [When we talk about giving to God, we must be careful not to restrict ourselves to only our finances.] 

a.       Time [- Those precious moments that can never be reclaimed, yet unless yielded will cause ministry to fail.] 

(1)   [Note - I have seen those that felt compelled to spent their every moment seeking finacial gain only to work harder to have what appeared to be less. Then when they fianlly yielded a portion of their time to God's ministry, they were amazed to find that God was able to take what seemed like less, and make it more.] 

b.      Talents [- Our abilities are vital to the body of Jesus Christ.] 

c.       Treasure [- Our financial abilities are essential to the ministry of the body of Christ.] 

C.   Realize the Boundless Honor (vs 11-13) - The results of cheerful giving include: 

1.      Giving Satisfies the Soul (vs 11) [– “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.”  - God will be Thanked. 

a.       [Faithfulness in giving our time, talents, and treasure will always result in thanksgiving unto God.] 

b.      [Two aspects of this thanksgiving:] 

(1)   [Those who have needs met will give thanks.] 

(2)   [Those who are used by God will give thanks for the privilege to be used by God.] 

2.      Giving Edifies the Church (vs 12, cf. 10) [– “For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;” - God will Supply. Needs will be met - supplieth the want.]  

[2 Corinthians 9:10 ¹⁰ Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)]

b.      [Our treasures allow the Body of Jesus Christ to function in ministry.] 

c.       [Our time will allow this local body to minister to the spiritual needs of our community.] 

d.      [Our talents help us to come together as a fulfilled and complete brotherhood of believers.] 

3.      Giving Magnifies the Lord (vs 13-15) [– “Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; ¹⁴ And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. ¹⁵ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”- Our giving Magnifies God through:] 

a.       [Our Submission to the Word of God – “. . . subjection unto the gospel . . .” – We are commanded to give our Tithes and Offerings.]   

b.      [Our Glorification of the Grace of God - Whenever the Spirit of God moves people to do what they otherwise would not do, then the world sees Jesus living in and through us, and God is glorified.] 

D.   [What are good Christian people to do.] 

1.      [Give cheerfully unto God of your Time, Talents, and Treasure.] 

2.      [Give cheerfully unto God even if that giving is hilarious, but is obedient to God's action in your heart.] 

3.      [Give cheerfully unto God knowing that His grace will abound, and His supplies will not fail.] 

[Poem] 

[I gave them to Him,
All the things I'd valued so  
Until I stood there empty-handed.
Every glittering toy did go.  

And I walked earth's lonely highways
In my rags and poverty;  
Till I heard His voice entreating,
"Lift your empty hands to Me."
 
Empty hands I lifted to Him,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches
Till my hands could hold no more.

And at last I comprehended,
With my mind so slow and dull,  
That God could not pour His riches
Into hands already full.]

[--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House  Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 245-246.]

CrossRoads Baptist Church, October 28 2007