Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Few things cause anger and guilt in the church like the subject of giving.

And, few things bring greater joy into the life of the church and Christians like giving.

After all, it was Jesus himself that said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

It’s an interesting paradox.

But, I find it to be remarkably true.

I know that whenever I preach on what the Bible says about money and giving that there are some that take offense, or in the least, are overcome with guilt.

And then, I know that there are others that want to stand up and testify because the Lord has taught them so much and given them such delight through giving that they are anxious for other Christians to discover this glorious, life-giving truth.

And, if I’m honest that’s my desire here this morning.

My desire is not to add to your guilt, but to open up for you a whole new world of delight in Christ.

I want to increase your joy and increase you Kingdom impact and strengthen your faith in God the Father, the Provider of all things.

So, please turn with me in your Bibles to .

God’s Word

Read

God Blesses Through the Church

“so that it may be a willing gift, not as an exaction” Paul is here following up on issue that he has already invited the Corinthian church to be a part of and of which they have apparently agreed.

They are even zealous to do it.

A financial need has arisen in the Jerusalem church and Paul has called on the church at Corinth to meet that need.

And his primary concern here is that they do this with the right motive and right heart.

In verse 5, he says that he wants to talk with them so that their gift, their offering would be a willing gift, not an exaction.

That is, that they would give it as a willing offering to God, not as a financial loan to another local church for which they would expect some type of retribution from that church.

So, the context here is giving within the life of the local church for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God THROUGH the local church.

I believe there are other responsibilities that a Christian has in their lives with their money, but it all begins with the local church.

So, this is not talking about charities or outside ministries or even individually giving to those in need.

All of those things are good, and none of those things are unbiblical.

But, they all rank behind the work of the local church, and it is the repeated teaching of the NT that the local church family is responsible for financially supporting the work of their local church, both locally and abroad.

And, here we're given this fascinating glimpse into the concern that this local church is called to have for another local church.

APPLICATION: God has created the church to be a blessing to the world and to be a glimpse into the Kingdom of God.

Out of all of the organizations on earth that we can give to and support the work of, only one of them can be found in the Bible and this is the church.

It's really an amazing thought.

That we are standing should-to-shoulder with these saints from 2000 years ago to continue on with Kingdom work so that we might, too, be a blessing to the world.

Harvesting Righteousness, Not Selfishness

“whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly” To prepare the Corinthian church for a God-centered offering, he starts by stating a principle that is found frequently in the Bible.

It is a proverb that is given to us on more than one occasion and is often applied to money.

It says that the more that you sow, the more that you will reap.

This is a nerve-wracking principle for so many of us, and if I'm honest, for myself.

And, it is so because we have seen this so abused in our day by the prosperity Gospel preachers that we have heard.

I detest the prosperity Gospel because it cheapens Christ and his cross while at the very same time it preys upon people, often the poorest of the poor.

I detest it because there are "preachers" right now "preaching" on this very morning in West Anniston that if the people there will give them all of their money as a "seed" then God will pour out lottery winnings on their lives like they can't even imagine.

And so, single mothers are handing over their checks to these wolves a while their children don't have good food to eat or clothes to wear.

I detest it because this morning there are preachers in Swaziland, Africa that are preaching to poverty-stricken, HIV infected people that if they will turn over everything that they own to the church then God will make them better and make them wealthy enough to give money to the generations that follow.

Meanwhile, he drives a luxury car while the people perish.

So, when I say that I detest the prosperity gospel, I mean it.

"that you may abound in every good work" But, though this text may be nerve-wracking for us, this is not its intention.

The intention of this text is not to be nerve-wracking but life-giving.

And, it is wonderful and true and life-changing to discover.

Here's what the prosperity gospel preaches: Sow bountifully in the Kingdom of God and reap bountifully in the kingdoms of the world.

This perspective says that if you invest in the Kingdom of God then you will reap rewards in the kingdom of man.

And, I think this is exactly the opposite of what Jesus and his apostles teach us in the NT.

Instead, they teach us: Invest whatever you have on earth into God's Kingdom, and you will reap a reward that far outlasts this world.

If you sow bountifully in the Kingdom of God, then you will reap bountifully IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

And, I think that is what Paul is teaching here.

He says that God 'will make all grace abound' to you SO THAT 'you may abound in every good work.'

In other words, God will reward your generosity by his grace to ensure that you always have exactly what you need to do the 'good work' that He has called you to do.

And, sometimes, often times even, that means that He will reward your generosity with even greater opportunity for generosity.

In other words, He gives you money and resources, you use them for His glory, and so He replenishes those resources, perhaps to an even greater amount, so that you might do it again.

But, I am convinced that it is short-sighted to see this as being primarily what Paul is talking about here.

He goes on to say that 'He (God) will increase your seed.' And, many prosperity preachers say, "See!

God is going to take your one seed and give you many seeds!

God is going to take your $100 seed and give a $1000 harvest!

God is going to take your $1000 seed and give you a Bentley harvest!

But, what does Paul say the harvest will be?

He says that He's going to 'increase your harvest of righteousness!' Maybe that involves him increasing your giving capacity and going capacity.

Maybe that's him giving you an effective and fruitful ministry in a third world country where you have to filter the water you drink.

The goal here is not to give to that which is eternal so that you can gain that which is temporary.

Instead, the glory of what Paul is teaching us and what Jesus has taught us is that if I follow Christ, if I live as He lived, if my goal is his glory that I can actually take that which will not last very long in a way that allows it to impact that which will last forever.

A dollar doesn't last very long, but if I use that dollar to help someone hear about and know the Lord, then the impact of that dollar will last forever!

A minute doesn't last very long.

In fact, it's only 60 seconds.

But, if I use those 60 seconds to help someone see Christ or grow in Christ then the impact of those 60 seconds endures forever!