Managing God’$ Money 3- Why & How do I give it? 2 Cor 8:1-15

REVIEW: We are in the 3rd part of our series on money. What we are really finding out is that it’s not really about money, it’s about our heart. Last week we learned how to earn money God’s way. This week we are finally going to answer two questions: Why and How do I give it? I know that we “know” that we are suppose to be generous people and the whole “better to give than to get” but what does that really look like?

INTRO> As I was thinking about that question this week it hit me on our morning routine with the kids. We live off of Township Line Road and have a kid that goes to Oak Grove then Kindergarten center. We always hit the Roundabout on township (PIC) I love this thing… sometimes. Sometimes there are people who don’t know how to use one and they… stop (PIC). Have you ever seen someone stop at a round about? It’s not good.

APP> Actually the Bible says that when it comes to our lives and money, our life is suppose to look like a Roundabout sign, not a stop sign.

• • • • • “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” Proverbs 11:24

APP> Now again… we know this to be true… but there is a problem sin’t there? When it comes to generosity, there are two main problems that are actually a result of a deeper problem. Fruit and root if you will:

Two barriers to generosity:

• • • Consuming
    • Hoarding

The base of both of these barriers? GREED GREED is the NEED to FEED my obsession.

APP> There is a very practical way that we can make war on greed in our lives. Most of us live this way: LIVE, SAVE, GIVE That’s why we never seem to be as generous as we want to be. The scripture actually teaches us to : GIVE, SAVE, LIVE

CONTEXT> So how do we combat this? How do we fight this Greed? Easy. Generosity! Crazy right? 2 Corinthians 8-9 is one of the most central teaching in the NT on generosity and giving in the NT. The Apostle Paul is raising funds for some churches, he is writing to a wealthy church telling them to follow through basically with their giving. We see in these short verses Paul teaches us WHY we give and HOW we give.

1. Why we give. v1 & v9

• • • • “we want you to know brothers about the grace of God” isn’t that awesome! That’s the very first thing that Paul mentions when he is talking to a church about money, grace! Paul uses the word 10x in 2 chapters!
      • “for you to know about the grace of our lord Jesus Christ that for our sake..” GOOD NEWS! Gospel! Write that in the margin of your bibles! Funny.. for Paul it seems to be ALL ABOUT JESUS!

*ILL> We love hearing about generosity don’t we? I just recently heard that J.K. Rowlings has fallen off the FORBES list. She was at one time one of the most wealthiest women in the entire world from her book series, Harry Potter. in 2016 she had given away and estimated 150 million dollars in charities. She said in an article, “I know what its like to come from nothing..”

APP> You see we know these stories, but Paul isn’t saying that. Here is what Paul is saying:

• • • • • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
        • “He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.” Romans 8:32
        • “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all…” 1 Tim 2:5-6

APP> Our giving is motivated by the gospel.

2) How we give. v2-15

• • • • I need to do a little work here because many of us have a misunderstanding of the AMOUNT. In the OT, God instructed the people of Israel to give a tithe with literally translates a 10th. A 10th of their income before anything they did anything. It actually became close to 20% when you see all they gave. Then we see in the NT AFTER the cross no specific amount ever given.
      • Tithing is the training wheels of giving.
      • Giving is less about percentages and more about priorities.

1. We give generously. v2-3 – Generosity is not dependent upon your absence of resource or your abundance of resources but rather your attitude toward your resources.
2. We give eagerly. v4 – lets all cheer for the offering!
3. We give consistently. v6-7,10-11 Your giving and your priorities should be as much apart of your budget a your light bill. Consistency comes with preparation.
4. We give sacrificially. v9 – “Jesus didn’t tithe his blood.” Keller Christians budget with a calculator and a cross.
5. We give willingly v10-11 This should never be demanded, it should be desired.
6. We give intelligently. v11-15 Again, when we look all through scripture we see this principle: God uses what you have to supply what you don’t.

I want you to notice something in the text. Look at verse 15. Paul quotes Exodus 16:18. That’s the story of the people of Israel and how God fed them in the desert with literal bread from heaven.

• • • • • “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger. and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
        • “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15

Big Idea > Giving is the gauge of gratitude

“If you’re afraid to give away your money, it’s your hope. If you’re afraid to give away your money, it’s your significance. If you see what Jesus has done for you, he has secured your significance. He has secured your security. If that’s the case, then no longer is your money your hope; your money becomes a sign of your hope, the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, and you’re part of his story. God sort of says to us, “Look at what happened when my Son made himself poor. Look at what is going on in your life. Look at what happened when Jesus sowed his power. He let go of his wealth, impoverished himself. Look at the harvest already. Look at the righteousness. Look at the richness. Look at what has happened to you. Look at what has happened to me. It’s already begun. Now go and do likewise.”  Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

(Portions of this sermon are influenced by Randy Alcron’s Book “Managing God’s Money” Andy Stanleys sermon “Making Change” and Tim Kellers sermon “Christian Hope and Money”)