Generous Giving 2, "Joyfully Generous" 2 Corinthians 9

o A few weeks back, as we looked at second Corinthians chapter eight, we saw how Paul bragged about how the Macedonian churches were able to complete their collection for the Jerusalem church before the church of Corinth in spite of being extremely poor and facing severe trials.
o Now we hear of Paul telling the Corinthians that he's bragging about them to the churches of Macedonia and their eagerness to give. But were the Corinthians really so eager?[Read verses one to two]
o Ah! So we begin to get an inkling, a hint from Paul that what he said about the Macedonians going through severe trials and extreme poverty was hyperbole. Simply put, Paul exaggerated.
o Many times in the Bible we find language that is figurative, such as poetry, and if we don't keep our wits about us we take it literally. Does that undermine the lesson we learned last week? Fortunately, no.
o Now why would Paul exaggerate? Ancient peoples were familiar with the use of rhetoric in speech and in writing. Humour, irony, simile, metaphor, hyperbole aka exaggeration, and meiosis aka understatement were all available to the ancient authors and orators just as they are to us today. Their function is to make a point and make it clear.
o Paul used hyperbole to make his point. Both you and I need to read our Bibles carefully to pick up on these kinds of things.
o So the Macedonians were poor and facing trials, but they were not all homeless and starving, or suffering martyrs' deaths, if they had been, not only would they been unable to give, but Paul would have been the first in line to die for Christ since he was likely with them when he wrote this letter.
o Paul exaggerated to the Corinthians about the Macedonians and to the Macedonians about the Corinthians.
o Did the Corinthians remain as eager to give as they had been the year before? No, if they had been as eager as Paul was bragging them up to be to the Macedonians, then Paul wouldn't have to be encouraging them to finish their gift.
o So Paul used hyperbole in order to encourage both groups in their giving.
o Another reason Paul exaggerated is that he did not want his boasting about the Corinthians' eagerness to give to be for nothing [read verses three to five]. The year before the Corinthians were so eager to give that they became a motivating example for others, however, their enthusiasm did not translate into action, which is why Paul had to address this issue with them.
o Do we ever get like that, enthusiastic at the beginning of a project and then run out of steam at some point? I know I do. How do we follow through and make sure to keep that initial enthusiasm about what we are investing in and get it done? Well, we need to keep alert to the example we are setting and remember that it is Jesus and our fellow believers that we are really doing it for in the first place. That way we don't end up embarrassed or ashamed for not finishing what we start.
o Paul was concerned for the Corinthians also because if they were not ready when the delegates from Macedonia arrived that would be reason enough for no little embarrassment on the Corinthians' part.
o So Paul urged Titus' and company to prepare the Corinthians for his arrival so he could personally supervise the final arrangements for the collection. That way the Corinthians could finish everything up, save face and they themselves would receive the Lord's blessing through the blessing of their generous gift.
o Paul uses the image of the farmer planting and harvesting in verse 6 [read it]. Then Paul tells his readers that giving is a matter of the heart [read verse seven].
o It's not the amount that we give as much as it is the heart attitude of the giver. What we sow, or give out of a generous heart, we will reap, that is, receive back as eternal blessings.
o "Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven," said Jesus, "for where your treasure is there your heart will be also."
o We see in verses 6 & 7 that generosity and joy go together, hand in hand. They belong together. Typically, joyful people are generous and generous people are joyful. Isn't that true most of the time?
o If I find I am not particularly joyful, then I need to evaluate how generous I am with my time, talents, treasure, and testimony. If I want to experience more joy, then I need to exercise generosity.
o Paul then reminds his readers of the grace of God and how God provides for the needs of the generous hearted so that they can continue to live and give [read verses eight and nine].
o Not only that but God will increase the ability of the joyfully generous so that their acts of generosity may continue to flow and grow righteousness in themselves and in others thanksgiving to God [read verses ten and eleven].
o So it's not that joyfully generous people are self-sufficient, but that they are fully reliant on the all-sufficient God who more than meets their needs so that they may continue to meet the needs of others.
o What Paul is talking about is not name it and claim it and it's not health and wealth. Paul is talking about the God who made you right with him by the blood of Jesus can also make your heart righteous so you are able to do good things for others in Jesus name.
o Nothing about our righteousness entitles us to greater wealth because we don't have a righteousness of our own. God doesn't owe me anything, rather I owe him everything.
o God has blessed us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ by his grace.
o God has blessed us with the person of the Holy Spirit by his grace.
o God has provided us with the Holy Scriptures, the Bible to give us guidance by his grace.
o If God never did another thing for us he has still given us enough to live by faith, joyfully and generously.
o What we don't seem to understand, at least sometimes, is that we already are rich. If you have any amount of money in your wallet or your purse, and if you have any amount of money in the bank, then you have more wealth than 90% of the world. We are rich.
o God has made us rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion which will result in the thanksgiving of others to God.
o Not only does joyful generous giving enrich the giver and the receiver, but joyful generous giving glorifies God for expressions of praise and thanksgiving [Read verses 12 to 15].
o What did Paul tell the Corinthians are the results of joyful generous giving?
o God is glorified because generous giving is evidence of faith in Christ.
o God is glorified because generous giving proves the obedience of the giver.
o God is glorified because generous giving demonstrates the privilege of the fellowship of sharing.
o God is glorified because generous giving warms the heart of the receiver toward the giver.
o And God is glorified because generous giving is further evidence of God's matchless grace in Jesus, the indescribable gift.
o In what does our joyfully generous giving result?
o Joyful generous giving brings glory to God, proving we appreciate His indescribable gift.