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Have you heard about the small town with one bank and three churches? Early one Monday morning, the bank manager phoned all three churches with the same request: "Could you bring in Sunday's collection right away? You see, we're all out of $1.00 bills." I wanted to share that joke this morning to break the ice for us a little bit on this whole topic of generous giving.
o Today and next week we'll be taking a look at Paul's instructions to the Corinthians in his second letter to the churches of that city in the Roman province of Achaia.
o The apostle Paul starts to encourage the Corinthians toward completing the gift for the Palestinian Christians with the example of the Macedonian churches, some were, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.
o Macedonia was a Provence in the Roman empire in modern day Northern Greece.
o Let's begin to look at our text [read verses one and two]. Despite persecution and despite abject poverty, the Macedonian church's gave generously. Just as their suffering did not decrease their joy, so also their poverty did not decrease their generosity.
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o The provinces of Achaia and Macedonia were long time historical rivals, so Paul, in one respect, appealed to the Corinthian's competitive spirit.
o Would the Achaian capital city of Corinth want to be outdone in generosity by their Macedonian brothers and sisters? Hardly!
o Paul lists three things he saw in Macedonian generosity:
o First, [read verse three] they gave more than their incomes and their conditions really permitted them to give, more than their earnings and situations would have allowed. Why? Because their eagerness to give led them to give beyond anyone's expectations.
o That happens to us sometimes, doesn't it. We get so excited about something God is doing and we want to get in on it so we find a way.
o If we are excited about anything and want to be involved or invest, then we will find a way. That is just what the Macedonians did. They didn't really have the money. They were destitute, dirt poor, but they found a way.
o Second,[read verse four] this verse implies that Paul was reluctant to include Macedonia in the collection for the Jerusalem Christians because he knew that they likely could have used a collection themselves in their poverty.
o The Macedonians, however, refused to be excluded. They urgently pleaded with Paul because they considered it a privilege
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of sharing, that word "sharing" in the Greek New Testament is, koinonia that means fellowship, sharing the common bond of fellowship of service to the saints.
o Should anyone ever be denied the privilege of the fellowship of giving? Have you ever looked at giving in those ways? Do you see giving as a privilege in which God has invited you to participate? Do you see your giving as an opportunity to share in the service of fellow believers as a privilege of fellowship? The Macedonians did and they excelled in it.
o May God's Spirit change our hearts and minds. May he give us eager, generous, and discerning spirits concerning this grace of giving.
o Third,[read verse five] the Macedonians did not do as Paul expected because they did not limit their giving to just money.
o Plenty of people in our wealthy western culture have the idea that any problem will go away if you throw enough money at it.
o But that just is not true, and the impoverished Macedonians knew it.
o The Lord doesn't want our money only, he wants all of me and he wants all of you. Like the Macedonians, we need to give ourselves first to the Lord, then to the leadership of the church, and to our fellow Christians.
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o Why? Because that is " in keeping with God's will." We are not our own, but we are bought at a high price and belong to the One who bought us.
o Like the Macedonians, Paul did not want the Corinthian church to limit the ways they gave, but to show themselves fully devoted, fully dedicated to God and to God's people, the church.
o Paul tells his readers that the Macedonian churches set a shining example of what it means to be generous. If you want to know what generous people look like so you can learn to be generous too, then look no further than Macedonia.
o Out of their example, Paul sets about arranging for the Corinthian churches to finish their offering[read verses six and seven].
o Were the Corinthians facing persecution? No! Were the Corinthian's living in abject poverty? No! Therefore, how willingly ought they be to contribute generously!
o So Paul sent Titus to them to help finish what they started.
o All too easily, we forget the plight, the troubles, of others, when we ourselves are comfortable and live in peace.
o The Corinthian's needed some extra help to remain eager and finish raising the money they committed to give because they were comfortable and lived in peace.
o We also have comfort and peace so we have at least these two very good reasons to discipline our hearts and minds by remaining dedicated to generous giving.
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o Our own personal comforts and relative peace can and will lull us into a false sense of security, and make us selfish and greedy.
o Instead, let us be like the Macedonian churches, who, out of their love for the Lord, their leaders, and fellow Christians, gave freely and generously.
o Just as faith, speech, and knowledge show the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and love shows the fruit of the Holy Spirit, so also is giving an example of the grace of the Holy Spirit.
o Paul does not give commands, instead, he points to Jesus[read verses eight and nine]. Jesus left the Glory of eternity for the shame of a cross. He is the standard. He made the supreme sacrifice. It is him who all believers must follow.
o In verses 10 and 11 Paul explains why the Corinthian's needed to finish up their collection quickly [read them]. Let's list what Paul tells them:
o 1. A year had passed since they said they were willing to help;
o 2. Since they had already started, they needed to finish what they started;
o 3. They decided to give first. The Corinthians made a decision to give before the Macedonians, but the Macedonians had already completed their gift;
o 4. The Macedonians gave beyond their ability, but the Corinthians were asked to give according to their means, their ability.
o Paul then explained to them that God accepts their gifts based on what they have not on what they don't have [read verse 12].
o Isn't it frightening and wonderful at the same time to know that we serve a God who measures our gifts based on what we do have not on what we don't have?
o God never expects anyone to give what they don't have. He does not expect the wealthy to impoverish themselves to make the poor rich. That would merely reverse their roles.
o God expects that the poor be cared for, that is, that their needs are provided for [read verses 13 and 14].
o God made each one of us. We all stand as equals on a level playing field before him.
o We should, therefore, share generously because it is, after all, God who has provided all that we have. That is why Paul makes reference to how the Israelites gathered the manna in the desert[read verse 15]. Have you ever wondered if we've gathered too much and left too little?
o Why did Paul encourage the Corinthians to excel in the grace of giving?
o He wanted to test the sincerity of their love and prove their love for the Lord is genuine.
o What is the proof of our love for him?
o Generous giving is the proof of our love for the Lord
