Sermon Tone Analysis

!!! Church Offerings

!!!

The Greatest Gift:  They Gave Themselves 1 (p)

2 Corinthians 8:1-5

 

 

       How do you give gifts to people?

Remember what we have been learning, “The way you do anything is the way you do everything!”

The way that you give anything to anybody reveals something about your heart!

The way you give in church reveals something about your heart!

We are in the second message of a four message series on “Church Offerings.”

In the first message, we dealt with “The Problem with Prosperity Preaching.”

We pointed out that

 

·        Peasants primarily populate the pages of the New Testament.

While,

·        Many of the main characters of the Old Testament are rich, by the hand of God.

·        God wants to bless His people with prosperity, but how we handle that prosperity is up to us.

·        God is *not* ultimately concerned with our financial status, but with the condition of our hearts.

·        God doesn’t mind us having riches, but He doesn’t want riches to have us.

That was the background for the verses that I want to begin to explore today.

In the eighth chapter of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he deals with the collection of an offering.

This collection of funds was taken up among Jesus-group members in Achaia on behalf of Jesus group members in Jerusalem.[1]

“This collection was like the customary Israelite tithe collected for the poor.”[2]

“Paul solicits these funds first of all because the pillars of Jerusalem asked him to (Galatians 2:10) and, second, because these Israelite Jesus groups knew about tithing and supporting the poor.”[3]

The reason for their giving was to help the original Saints of Jerusalem!

Our giving helps both Saints and Sinners.

Because giving and money are such important actions in life, it is important that we understand them, and these givers are excellent examples for us all.

/(Notice with me please 2 Corinthians 8:1-5.)/

In this passage of Scripture, we have one of the most comprehensive texts on giving in the Bible.

*We must come to realize that giving is a part of our worship of the Lord, as well as a barometer of our spirituality.*

Therefore, the truths found in these six verses require all of our attention.

/(There are five important *principles* talked about in this passage of Scripture.

We only have time to cover the first four principles.

Please keep in mind that principles are cross-cultural and trans-cultural, whereas methods are situational.

The principles of giving never change, but the methods change from situation to situation.

So, let’s consider these important biblical principles of giving!)/

 

I.

Principle Number One:  They Gave Graciously (vv.

1-2).

The churches of Macedonia were operating by the grace of God.  Grace in this instance being defined as

 

grace /5485 charis/ “of the desire to give alms roused by the grace of God.”

 

Grace—acronymically:  *G*od’s *R*iches *A*t *C*hrist’s *E*xpense.

Grace—the demerited favor of God!

The word /charis/ means ‘favor,’ i.e. something that another person needs because it is either *not* available at all or *not* available now.

Rich patrons are usually the dispensers of favor, thereby setting up relationships of generalized reciprocity.

The relationship of reciprocity is established with clients.

The recipients or clients of the favor must praise the patron, which provokes the patron to give more favor, round and round, on and on, ad infinitum, i.e. for eternity!

God is the Patron to the Church, who dispenses favor to us, most notably through the brokerage of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.

The first witnesses of this divine favor are the Saints in Jerusalem!

Because salvation was spread through them, they in a sense are also patrons to Saints in other parts of the world!

*When the Macedonian Saints recognized and realized the favor they had received from God through the Saints in Jerusalem, they desired to help others, because of how blessed they were!*

Do we recognize how blessed we are?  *If we do,* *we should be motivated to help others physically and spiritually because of God’s grace towards us!*

\\        *We are financially blessed!*

 

·        Our last stewardship survey (1990), which was done by Church Growth Services, stated that our average household income was $4,000 higher than the average household income of the city of Akron.

In addition,

·        Our median household income was higher than the city of Akron, Summit County, the state of Ohio and the United States as a whole.

*We are spiritually blessed!*

If we are never financially prosperous, we have many intangible and spiritual blessings which are due to the grace of God.  *Because of the grace of God, we sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and are blessed with every spiritual blessing.*

In Christ we have:

 

   substitution--Christ died for us,

   representation--Christ died as us,

   redemption--Christ purchased us and set us free,

   justification--we are just as if we had never sinned in the sight of God,

   reconciliation--we are brought back into right relationship with God, through Jesus, the Christ,

   regeneration--we are born anew,

   sonship (which includes daughters)--adult spiritual privileges,

   sanctification--set apart unto God, and

   glorification--the full outworking of Christ’s life in us.

Get in touch with the grace of God and let that motivate your giving.

Now, I’m *not* saying that we */feel/* financially and spiritually prosperous!

Many of us don’t /think/ or */feel/* we are blessed, because of our “psychology of entitlement.”

/(But there are two very significant contrasts in these verses:)/

 

1.

A Great Ordeal Of Affliction Versus An Abundance Of Joy.

 

ordeal /1832 dokime/ “1. in an active sense, a proving trial:  through affliction.”

*It is in great affliction that we really learn to have joy!*

It is through the fire of suffering that are finished with joy!  Suffering and joy really go together!

When we have successfully withstood our tests, we will experience joy.

*It is crisis that leads us to the cross, and it is at the cross that we find unconditional acceptance, a stable identity, and true joy.*

\\ Paul said in

 

Romans 5:3-4, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.”

“Hope,” according to /Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon/, is the “*joyful* and *confident* expectation of eternal salvation.”

*Joy is not based on our circumstances, but on our view of our circumstances; and our view of our circumstances must be adjusted to the cross of Christ through Significant Emotional Events, crises, or suffering!*

/(There is another important contrast here.)/

2.

Poverty Versus Liberality.

poverty /4432 ptocheia/  “2. in the N.T. poverty, the condition of one destitute of riches and abundance:  deep, i.e. extreme poverty.”

Poverty, in this passage, is *not* the want of two cars or two television sets, or steak instead of hamburger.

*Poverty, here, is the absence of the necessities of life, i.e. food and clothing.*

You have a much better understanding of what Paul means here by “poverty,” because last week I covered the fact that most of the people who populate the pages of the New Testament are peasants who lived at the subsistence level!

*Yet, in spite of their affliction, the abundance of their joy and their poverty overflowed in the wealth of the liberality.*

liberality /572 haplotes/  “openness of heart manifesting itself by benefactions, liberality.”

Once again, we see that it is about the heart!

*When the heart is right, the wallet is not tight!

Please note:*

 

·        Affliction does *not* destroy joy!

Joy is *not* determined by one’s circumstances, but by one’s evaluation and response to those circumstances.

\\ /(Secondly,)/

 

·        Poverty does *not* destroy liberality!

One’s financial status does *not* determine what is in one’s heart.

Therefore, one’s financial status cannot determine one’s liberality.

Liberality is *not* measured by the amount that one gives, but by 1) what one gives in relationship to what s~/he has to give; and 1) that attitude in which one gives!

Therefore, we must rethink our giving in the light of these Macedonians.

In spite of their affliction and poverty their joy overflowed in the wealth of their liberality!

How are we giving out of our poverty?

How are we giving out of our blessedness?