Cheerful Giving

It is easier to sing than it is to live: “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.” It was 2009, and I had just started Bible college. Of course, there’s a lot that goes into preparing for that, and there’s a financial aspect as well. You’re not working; you’re hoping you’ll be able to make ends meet, and so on. We had just welcomed our firstborn into our home, adding the new responsibility of caring for a little one. This was all new.

I remember one day being before the Lord, very keenly and deliberately seeking Him, and thinking about the material aspects of being at Bible college. I laid everything before the Lord: “Lord, everything we have is yours. Everything. I give it all to you afresh. I hand it to you. It is yours to manage. It is yours to govern. It’s yours to provide.”

The next day, I was driving to college. In the midst of the early morning traffic, I came to a roundabout—or as the GPS here calls it, a traffic circle. I don’t know; there aren’t that many of them here. Anyway, I came to this huge, very busy, very critical one near Lisburn. There was no traffic coming, and I saw the driver in front of me preparing to move away. I thought they were gone. I looked, saw it was clear, and decided I could go. But for some reason, they had stopped—perhaps they decided there wasn’t enough time to go. Whatever the case, I bumped into their car.

It wasn’t a major accident; there was no serious damage. But it was enough of a bump to damage their bumper, my front bumper, and, as I later found out, the radiator. The engine started overheating, and I had to pull over and realize what had happened.

That night, I remember going home and asking, “Lord, what are you doing? I gave it all to you.” I wrestled in prayer, saying, “Lord, I gave it all to you. It is yours to spend this way, if you see fit—in what seems like waste or just a test of faith. I give it to you.” It was an unexpected expense, over a thousand dollars, that I had not accounted for. It was a test. But I came to a resolution in prayer: “This is yours, Lord. I give it to you. You have control and management of it all.”

So, give it all to God. Trust Him that He will provide, lead, and guide in your home and family. Turn, please, to 2 Corinthians 9. Just step aside from Hebrews. We welcome the Myers back. Good to see them. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless them in their wedded life together. It’s also encouraging to see Wes and his family, his family from Calgary, the Harbordens.

Wes would come on occasion, but his sister would come more often—Sharon. Sharon was a real trophy of grace in the last year in Calgary. Really struggling with assurance, she was able to be shepherded and counseled. I’ve made mention of it before: the person who would drive two hours on a Tuesday night in winter in Canada, of all places. Two hours to the prayer meeting on a Tuesday night and two hours home again to hear the Word of God. How God was using that in her life and how she went on to find that peace and assurance, and then shared the good news of that with the family to great effect and influence.

She did two years then in Whitfield College of the Bible. That was something I was not expecting. She did not let me know she was going to Northern Ireland. One day I was watching a fellow colleague in the ministry and watching one of his services, and there’s a test on, and I said, “Well, the students are there. I’m going to watch the students, see who they are.” And this lady stands there at the test, and I’m going, “I know that lady. But it can’t be. There’s no possible way that she could be in Northern Ireland.” But sure enough, she had entered into the college.

She is finished now. She’s now in Kenya. And many of you know FAME and are aware of the work of FAME. And Stephen has taken trips over there, taking young people over there. And she is now working there with FAME and intends to be there as long as the Lord will have her there. So it’s encouraging just to see God’s connection. We’re thankful for the Lord working and leading His people.

But 2 Corinthians 9 is where we are this morning, and I’m going to take the time to read all of the chapter. There’s some explanation here, so I will read God’s Word, we’ll pray, and then we will proceed. Let us hear the Word of God:

For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready. Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting. Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Ending the reading at the close of that chapter, what you have heard once again is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God that you are to receive and live by. And the people of God said, “Amen.”

Let’s pray.

Lord, bless us around Thy Word. We pray for the Holy Spirit. Thou knowest what we all need to hear. We pray simply that Thou wilt speak. Let all of man fall to the ground. Let that of God remain and bear fruit. Give power now, we ask, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This morning, the message that I am bringing to you is somewhat in light of a change that’s going to occur next Lord’s Day. During the unusual circumstances of COVID, which I’ve already mentioned in another context, in 2020, a number of things in our worship were changed. There was some adaptation that was felt necessary at that time. And then, of course, as we proceeded into some form of normalcy, we began to look at every aspect and reassess again: What is it that we’re doing here? Do we want to change back? Do we want to remain the same, keep this thing as it was, or what do we want to do?

So, one after another, things were reintroduced, things were considered. And when it came to the matter of giving, we had, of course, as you know, put boxes at the door, again because of touching and all that kind of thing that people were concerned about. And we discussed the matter. And I told the brethren—that is, the elders—I told them, “Look, I can go either way here. Really, I see it as a matter of things adiaphora, matters of indifference. It’s not specifically told exactly how it should be. And so, it can go either way. And I can see an argument for one way and an argument for another and whatever you decide.”

And so it was decided just to leave it as it was, leave the boxes at the doors. And so, it’s been that way for three and a half years. And nothing has changed, really, as far as our practice in terms of… there’s no concern, there’s no thought, “I think people no longer are giving.” The giving hasn’t dipped in any way. There’s been no concern that maybe people are now not aware of the need to support the work. None of that in terms of the adults, the grown-ups, and everything—none of that at all.

But, a few months back, I was in conversation, visiting with a family, and a highly respected lady—she would not want me to name her—mentioned to me that she had observed the change in some of the children in Sunday school. Over the last three and a half years, there had been a distinct change in their behavior because our children are encouraged to give a little, a quarter or whatever they can bring in, bring something in to support missionaries. And it’s teaching them the importance of supporting missionary endeavors and so on. And that’s been part of the Sunday school for many years.

And she noticed a change—a kind of ignorance, if you like, a lack of awareness or a confusion. And I appreciate the feedback. I said to her, “Well, I’ll take it to the elders. We’ll talk about it,” which we did. I brought it to them. I gave time then for us to think about it and muse on it. And then we came back and made a decision: What do we want to do? Keep things as they are or see this in some way as something that needs to be considered and maybe do something different.

And so we decided three things. First, reinstate receiving the offering in the morning worship only. Second, during our middle hymn when we are seated. And third, have a deacon pray for it after it is received and just give that significance of needing God’s blessing and recognizing God’s goodness in that.

So that was what was decided, and it will begin on the first Lord’s Day of December, which of course is next Lord’s Day. So that is what I am letting you be aware of—that there’s going to be a change then. And don’t worry; I think there was one or two who said, “Well, how do you pass and sing the hymn at the same time?” People in Ulster have been doing it forever. There’s always been a way there. They’ve figured out a way. You maybe have to stop your singing if you haven’t got it memorized, like certain people in our church who have nearly the whole hymnal memorized. They’ll be able to sing on. But if you don’t, that’s okay. You can stop for that moment, put in what the Lord has blessed you with, and then move on. Pick up your hymnal and carry on in the singing. You’ll figure it out, I’m sure.

But I’m not coming here today to reprimand or in any way discourage you—quite the opposite, in some ways. Our church is irregular in a number of ways, and I say irregular in a positive way. Even with regard to how we labor, how we pull together, how there are many things going on in the life of this church, I would say there’s an irregularity in terms of the number of people invested actively in this congregation. And I would say that it’s disproportionate. If you look at most congregations, I can go down through the church directory and I can say, “This person’s doing that; this person’s doing the other,” and so on and so forth. And it’s all integral, all plays a part.

And it’s not that you’re just pew warmers. The vast majority of the members of this church are actively involved in something that contributes to the life of the congregation. And that, as I say, is not usual. And it’s the same with the giving as well. It’s also unusual or different. Many churches during COVID, for example, they were struggling; they were seeing a dip; there wasn’t commitment from the people because they weren’t gathering and so on. Didn’t miss a beat here. Didn’t miss a beat. Continued on. If anything, in fact, there was an influx of more, especially in regard to benevolence, as we were hearing some of the trouble in other places, especially in Mexico and a few other locations where such were the strains that were brought upon them by their city and nation that people were forbidden from working, and there were huge consequences. And we were able to supply and help them, just as you find here in this very portion where there was a need and there was a collection that was for a specific need for a people at a given time.

So what are we doing then? Well, the decision that the session made is based upon the church’s commitment to discipleship. We must be discipling. This is our work. This is the Great Commission: discipling the nations. We recognize that, again, some may have different opinions as to how the practice takes place.

In the Jewish treasury, they had boxes and so on, and that’s why some follow that. But sometimes people mistake that practice as God-ordained, a God-ordained pattern to follow, and that is not the case. The use of the treasury boxes was not appointed by God. It was simply what best fit the context, the logistics of Jewish worship. The principle stipulated was giving. The method was left as a matter of good and necessary consequence. How do we help the people contribute in obedience to God?

So what the church is required to do is to disciple, and the return then to in-worship giving has been raised due to what we believe is a legitimate discipleship issue that could have ramifications on the church in years to come. That’s part of the fear. If there’s already in the last three and a half years a witnessed ignorance in the little ones, we don’t want to contribute or support that ignorance. We want to help them. We want to encourage them. We want the entire body to be a teaching instrument in the hand of God.

We do this when we sing. There are people who sometimes come from churches that are not singing churches, if I can say that. They have their singing, but they’re not really vibrant singing churches. And they come in here, and before long, they are being moved along by the discipleship of the corporate body to engage heartily—not sleepily, not lazily, not merely observing. This church, I feel myself pulled along to sing with all my might. You’re teaching them that.

Our children are growing up in that context, not knowing anything different. And we all know it. We go to church, my children comment on it when we’re on vacation and we go to other churches, and there’s a kind of dullness, or a deadness, or a lack of vibrancy within the context of the corporate singing of the church. And there doesn’t seem to be an understanding of that vibrant, uplifting worship unto God that comes from the unified voices of the people. And it’s remarked upon. The children notice a difference.

So in the same fashion, we want this whole body to teach the next generation. We want them to see the importance of this aspect of worship—of giving to God. When we visibly give, we teach the next generation and remind one another that generosity is part of following Christ. It’s part of the Christian life.

And given the context, the session also suggests, well, just deal with the topic. Don’t just introduce a change. Deal with the topic. And of course, I’m immediately reticent because I don’t… The only time I like talking about giving is when a missionary is in town, or we’re supporting a missionary in some way, or VBS, right? For those who know, there’s always a real push. And of course, that’s for missionaries. And the kids get really excited about giving, and the boys trying to beat the girls and vice versa.

So I’m taking this opportunity not again to reprimand, not to tell you to, you know, do better or whatever—quite the opposite. It’s really just to encourage you, if anything, just to continue doing what you’re doing and make sure you’re doing it joyfully as to the Lord.

The text for this morning is 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” The Holy Spirit instructs in these two chapters of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 in a very powerful way with regard to the aspect of giving. And I commend your own study of it. If you want to know about giving and the heart of giving, go study these two chapters and you will come to a greater understanding of what is to be expected and encouraged in light of the gospel.

The believers in the context of now-Greece, at this time separated into two massive regions, you have Macedonia in the north, Achaia in the south, and Achaia is wealthy. This is where Corinth is. They are wealthy. They have much by way of means. The Macedonians are less so. They don’t have as much.

And so, as the need in Jerusalem becomes known, and there’s been this appeal to help the believers—the Christian believers who are surrounded by Jews who will not help, who refuse to give any aid in a time that was difficult—they had nowhere to turn. And the call is going out to the churches to collect, to begin to gather in, weekly contribute something, so that when the messengers arrive, there is this huge gathering of funds that can go and be dispensed to the church in Jerusalem and that region.

And this is what Paul is bringing up again, because this church had said that they were going to help. Out of the abundance that they had, they were prepared to help. And now it seems that there’s a waning of interest. And what Paul does is he sends men with this letter to encourage them to not lose heart in this, don’t give up, and don’t leave it until I arrive. The apostle was thinking that once I get there, there’s going to be this sense of compulsion to do something. Don’t do that. Be giving, be contributing constantly, even before that. Do it out of the joy of your heart that you may fulfill the promise that you’ve already given or the commitment you’ve already shown.

So that’s the context. And this morning, with the time that remains, we’re going to look at cheerful giving. Cheerful giving. I have three heads here. Very simple. There’s individual assessment, first of all. There’s also personal attitude, and then divine admiration. Individual assessment, personal attitude, and divine admiration.

So, individual assessment. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart.” Paul, when he discusses giving, repeatedly uses a specific Greek word. You’ll find it, for example, in 1 Corinthians 16:2: “On the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Acts 11:29 also says: “Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea.” And it uses it here as well.

Every man. Right out of the gate, there’s this focus on the “every man.” And each time the giving is, as he presents the case, he focuses on the individual contribution, the need for every single person to assess in themselves their responsibility before God in the given cause. He wants people then to realize that giving isn’t something that you say, “This is for the wealthy and those that have means,” or “This is for an elite group or a select group.” Every single person, every single person, is to make an assessment as to what their responsibility is before God, what their feeling of contribution can be, looking at their own context and what they can do.

Giving then isn’t something we solely do on impulse. It requires consideration. We’re assessing ourselves. We’re looking at where we are and the context of what we are dealing with.

Now, this brings up, I know, the whole subject of tithing. And I’m not really wanting to get into that this morning. That’s not my purpose, but I feel like I must touch on it at least. It’s a huge topic. And as soon as you say the word “tithing,” people have all sorts of ideas, sometimes very unhelpful, coming in strong opinions one way or the other and different ideas.

But if you look at the Scriptures, you find that in Israel, there were three tithes. One was for the Levites. That was annual. Another one was a festival of thanksgiving tithe as well. That was also annual. And then there was another tithe, a third tithe, that was a form of benevolence tithe that was given every three years. And so the contribution that God required from Israel was somewhere in the region of over 20%. I’d say 23% or thereabouts was to be given in some fashion on an annual basis for various things, as we’ve said.

And so when people start talking about tithing, they say, “Well, you know, that was Israel. That’s back then, and we’re not to do that.” And there’s a certain truth there. I have to say that you’re dealing with a nation. You’re dealing with a nation, and they’re obligated under God to obey the rules or give themselves to what is established as a nation. And so you look at us: Well, we’re not part of a nation. There’s no taxation here or anything of that nature. And so does tithing have any relevance at all?

The interesting thing is that tithing exists before Israel is Israel. Abraham pays tithes to Melchizedek. So you have a natural principle already at play. And where Abraham, before there’s any governance or any nation, he is moved to contribute a tenth of what he has and able to give to Melchizedek.

And I think, as you assess things carefully, that when you come to a passage like this, and many men look and say, “Well, there’s no mention. Paul could have said, ‘Bring your tithe.’” But the whole context of the passage is not about tithing. The context is: there’s a need over here. These are offerings that are in addition to the life of the local church, in addition to the ministry of the local church, in addition to what’s going on in that locality. This is where there’s a need—of these people. It’s very similar to the appeal that was made, as I’ve said, during the time of COVID and some of the news we were hearing from Mexico and so on. And we’re hearing there’s need within the families of these churches. “Let’s raise what we can. Let’s send it and contribute some relief to those people.”

So he’s not going to make mention of the tithe because it’s not relevant to the point.

I was asked just last Lord’s Day in our college and career Sunday school class about my policy for giving. It’s kind of an uncomfortable thing to talk about. We don’t really want to share it. And one of the reasons I feel uncomfortable about it is because I don’t believe I’m… I believe there are people who are far better at this than I am. And there are examples that are far better than I can be to anyone.

But I shared it with them, and I’ll share it here this morning. I have no shame in sharing how the Lord dealt with me as a new believer and how He continued to teach me, and so on. When I was saved at 19 years of age—again, no church background, nothing at all—I saw a church that contributed and gave. And very, very quickly, I was like, “Okay, I don’t know how it came to me, but I understand. There’s a tenth here that I should be able to give.” And so I found that tithe, wherever that was—I’m living on minimum wage—and 10% of after-tax earnings, right? So whatever 10% of what I had after taxation, that’s what I would give.

A short time after that, probably a couple of years or so, I had a sort of thought, and a seed had been dropped by a friend, an older gentleman, someone who was 20 years older than me, and we used to pray together. And he happened to say something. He wasn’t telling me anything; he just happened to say. And he talked about, like, “How can it be after tax? Like, God doesn’t get a tenth of all that you earn.” And I just… I was like, “Okay.” And I started thinking about it, and it completely changed. “Okay, it has to be 10% before taxation. That’s the minimum that God should get.”

Now, we have missionaries come all the time. I’ve told you that before. Mr. Park always has missionaries coming. Every Thursday, there’s what they would call a retiring offering for missionaries that are regularly there. And so you’d be giving as you come to prayer meeting. You’d be giving. It might only be a dollar, maybe five dollars, depending on if there was a missionary there, usually you would give more. But there was always a retiring offering every prayer meeting. And that money was taken and given to missionary work. And if there was a specific missionary there, then all of that would go to that missionary.

So you’re learning to give. Give out of what you have. And that feeling, that sense of wanting to contribute, was very strong. And all of that, all of that giving, I was taught and instructed and I maintain it to this day, that bare minimum, that bare minimum goes to the local church. It’s not divvied up across various things. It’s like a bare minimum goes to the local church, and then over and above, if you’re able, you give to missionary causes and other considerations—maybe charitable works or whatever you might want to support.

That has been how I’ve governed myself. Even when we were sent to Australia, I called the Reverend Park and said, “Okay, I’m a member of Ballymoney Free Presbyterian Church, or Hebron as it was by then. I’m a member here, and I’m going to Australia. I don’t know what they’re going to pay me, but should I send my tithe here?” And he said, “No, no, don’t do that. You don’t need to do that. Just contribute back to the local church there.” And so that’s what I did. But that’s the bare minimum.

And when I come to a passage like 2 Corinthians 9, and people want to take a certain liberty with it and say that these people who had all this abundance and they’re to assess what they’re able to give, it only makes sense to me if they were a people who are already contributing to the cause, and now they’re trying to assess what more they can give. Paul’s not coming to a people who refuse utterly to give, but a people who are being encouraged to give over and above. Again, they had been blessed, and they get contrasted with the Macedonians who had not the same material blessings but were giving abundantly to the cause and were doing all they could in their power.

I say all of this not to create laws for you, but for you to consider before God. Because I’ll tell you something, the day in which an elder or a minister of this church comes to your door and says, “You need to give more,” that day, I will not be here. It’s not going to happen. And there’s a reason for that. There’s a reason for that.

Number one, I cannot bless you for your giving. Now, the Bible’s clear: there’s a blessing in giving. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” There is an inherent blessing in giving, and it is God’s work to contribute that blessing. I can’t do it for you. I can say thank you if it’s toward me or something I represent, but I cannot bless you in the way God blesses. It is His to bless.

And it’s also His to judge. He sees. He knows. He understands all the conditions in a way that even an outside assessment may not have all those details. And so it’s His to either bless or to judge. God’s people in the past were warned in Malachi 3:8 and following, where God says to them: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

This is individual assessment. This is every man according as he purposeth in his heart, before God assessing, “What way do I honor God with my substance?” Does the Bible give counsel? This passage lumps in a sense of generosity that is to be seen in light of the gospel. It ends with that tremendous text: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” And our giving is to reflect that kind of sacrifice and be formed by that which we have received from our Lord Jesus.

Secondly, personal attitude. There’s also personal attitude here. “Not grudgingly, or of necessity.” Paul is clear: giving should not feel like a burden. It should not feel like a mere obligation alone. Instead, it should flow from a heart filled with gratitude, a heart filled with trust.

Paul emphasizes in the context here, as I’ve said, the Macedonian churches. He talks about them in the previous chapter, elevates them, that despite their poverty, they gave joyfully. They gave sacrificially, and they were an example. And of course, the commitment of those in Achaia had fed into encouraging others to be of the same mind. And yet, they had waned in their commitment. And now Paul is saying, “Don’t make this embarrassing. Don’t let my boasting of you,” verse 3, “be in vain in this behalf. Make sure you’re ready. Make sure you follow through on your commitment, and that there will be no kind of embarrassment, so to speak, when I find that there has been a reluctance to do what you said you would.”

Paul is fighting legalism. Legalism in the approach. Any sense of inward sorrow because of what was given, any sense of “I have to do this purely out of some compulsion.” Giving, once you do that, once you’re feeling just pure compulsion—and I know there are guidelines. There have to be. There have to be guidelines. There have to be certain types of things that help sort of shape us and give us a sense of what… how is God honored in this?

The idea that everything can just kind of be up in the air for your choice without any guidance from God’s Word doesn’t make any sense in any other area of life. There are all sorts of many things in life that you… Take sleep, for example. Something like sleep. Arbitrary like that. How many hours are enough? What’s the right time? The Bible warns about too much sleep: turning on your bed like a hinge and rolling over and sleeping more, giving yourself more slumber than you should, and so on. But what’s too much and what’s too little? It also warns against not sleeping. It warns against burning the candle at both ends as well. “He giveth his beloved sleep,” it’s said, to those who work both ends, as it were, encouraging them to have more faith that God will bless the labor of their hands, and they don’t need to feel like it all depends on them and their hard work.

“Not grudgingly, or of necessity.” You’re not looking at God and seeing a God who felt like, “I just must do this. I must send my Son.” There’s a willingness in it. Now, in His providence and plan to fulfill His will and so on, there’s a certain “must” within the divine will. There’s a certain “must” that’s there, but there’s also that sense of the joy of it: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” It’s seen—this compassion, this heartfelt, as it were, sense of understanding of the whole context—and “I can help there.” And we are to reflect that.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” There’s an aspect to this that gets ruined by the prosperity preaching, isn’t it? You know, you hear them constantly emphasizing giving, and like every single message includes giving. And they’re always saying, “Sow this as a seed, and God will bless you tenfold,” and so on and so forth. Of course, the only person who’s flying around in a jet is the person who’s saying that. And it twists the whole thing, really, doesn’t it? I mean, you’re giving purely to get back. Purely.

And I think we can go overboard where we can say, “Well, I don’t want to give in order to get back.” But in a sense, in a sense, there’s an element of truth in that. You cannot read the Bible and not see it. God is motivating giving. He is motivating giving by giving evidence or giving encouragement of what will come on the other end. You have it right here: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. The liberal soul shall be made fat. He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” There’s encouragement there that, generally speaking, the one who makes a commitment to give liberally will find that God will constantly supply the need, many times even beyond it.

So we have these prosperity preachers who are solely moved by a sense—or trying to get their people to be convinced like—“Give, motivated only for self-interest.” But there are passages that they use and manipulate that also should encourage us, right? Our Lord does not hold back on speaking in terms of reward. Those who live for Christ, those who put Christ first, those who honor Him, they’re going to receive reward.

And why is that revealed in the Scripture? It didn’t have to be. We could have all been kept in the dark with regard to a sense of reward after our lives are lived, and then we get there, and like, surprise, there’s reward. But it’s there. The Holy Spirit inspires, gives to us inspired understanding that God will reward His people who have lived for Him and for His glory. Why is He doing that? Because adults are no different than children. A sense of reward can motivate. It can help. “Finish your homework in time, and I will do this, and we will…” And the kids go, “Okay, great, I want ice cream. Gonna go and do it. Tidy my room.”

But the adults are no different, and God’s Word addresses it, and it’s here with regard to giving too. Make sure—I guess this is my main exhortation—because I see your liberality. I see your willingness to respond. I see your commitment to give. So I do not possess any concern there whatsoever. I am not aware of any need to be concerned there. The bit I don’t know anything about is your spirit, your attitude, how you give, how you support, what’s going on in your mind and heart. “Let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity.”

So there’s this reluctance feeling of like, “Okay, these people are in Judea, and they have a need. I guess I better…” No. See how God condescended to you in a time of need, as a sinner lost and undone, and contributed out of His divine wisdom and power, His love toward His people, sending His Son.

Which brings us finally then to divine admiration: “God loveth a cheerful giver.” He loveth a cheerful giver. God’s making something of someone who gives in this way, yes. And so Paul’s helping them understand it’s not just the believers in Judea who are going to be really happy about what you have done for them. Don’t do it just for them. Look up. “God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Why does God delight in cheerful giving? Why? Why does He love to see this? Now, you have to understand that with the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and our standing in Christ—that we’re justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—that there’s a standing that is complete, that needs no addition by you or me, neither by any kind of works or acts of kindness toward people, or evangelistic endeavor and discipleship, or even our material giving. He doesn’t need any of that. Our position in Christ, our justification in Christ because of Christ, is complete from beginning to end.

And we are loved because Christ is loved. Our lives are hid with Christ in God. We are accepted in the Beloved. We are in Him. We are seen through Him. We are seated in heavenly places with Him. We are a blessed people in union with Christ. And yet, Scripture does not shy away from statements of divine pleasure in the activity and behavior of His people. “God loveth a cheerful giver.” He sees it. He sees it all. He sees, yes, the amount. But He sees the spirit. He sees the motivation. He sees the will. He sees the lack of faith. He feels a sense of reluctance. He sees all of that. And He loves to see cheerful givers.

It’s like, yes, I have another opportunity to bless. To be of encouragement. And so God delights in this. He is the ultimate giver. He’s delighting in His own work and that which reflects His own nature. He gave us life. He gave us His Word. He gave us His Son, His unspeakable gift, His salvation, His grace, eternal life He has given to us. And when we cheerfully give, we imitate His generosity. We reflect something in a very small fashion. We imitate something of that which He loves to see, honors Him, and reflects Christ in us. Yes, yes, that person’s mine. Can you see it? Can you see how they’re mine? Can you see how I govern over every area of their life? I’ve taken ownership so that it can be said, “Not a mite would I withhold.”

You know, faith is the factor in this. If you’re struggling, if you struggle with this, I’m gonna tell you right now—and I know some of you, I’m quite sure—I don’t know, I actually have no clue, but I’m quite confident that there are people here who have far more faith than I have here. Far more. And so, when it comes to giving more, it is not about gritting our teeth and doing it reluctantly, and it’s not about just mechanically doing it. There is an element in which God must give gift by His Spirit, faith in us.

And that faith trusts more. That faith sees beyond what others fear, and they know He’ll provide. Giving does more than glorify God—it produces fruit. It inspires thanksgiving, doesn’t it? At times as a student, and I didn’t have… there was one gentleman who would send me monthly—I think it was £25 a month. And that was the only steady support I got as a student. Thirty bucks or whatever. But occasionally, individuals would come. Occasionally. And the timing of their contributions at times, it’s like, “Lord, thank you. Thank you.” Because you keep giving, you keep supporting, you keep contributing yourself, but you need the cruse of oil not to fail. And it never did. And it produces this thanksgiving in your heart. You see God time and time again meeting needs.

I remember one time—I still wasn’t married at this point—I remember my mom was encouraging me, “Son, you need to get some new clothes.” I can’t remember whether it was church clothes or more casual clothes. She was like, “You need to get a new shirt or something like that. Something.” I said, “Mom, I’m saving. I don’t have the money.” And then she’s like, “Come on.” She’s trying to encourage me to go and spend like $30 on a shirt or something, whatever it was. I don’t know what it was. And I was so, “No, no, I can’t afford it.” And like within—I don’t know how long it was, but it was very short. It might have been like the next day—an anonymous gift. Now, I don’t know if it came from her. I don’t know. Maybe it did. Maybe she thought, “That’s the way. If I give him an anonymous gift, maybe he’ll go and buy a new shirt.” I don’t know. But it was there, and I took it from the Lord, and I thought, “Well, maybe I should go and get a shirt.” Whatever it was.

In the context of this passage, the giving of the believers in Corinth was doing something else. There were cultural barriers between the believers in Judea and the believers in Achaia. Now there were Jews in Corinth for sure, but as a whole, there was a sense of… there were Judean Jews and then the rest of the world. And when they’re in desperate need, when famine is threatening their very lives, to have this input from people they’ve never seen, never met, would have worked wonders in breaking down all the barriers of animosity, of hate rhetoric, suspicion, or whatever. It was actually going to contribute to the furtherance of the gospel—I have no doubt—in opening up the spirit and attitude of these believers. “Why would they care about us? We probably wouldn’t send anything to them.” It produces fruit.

In closing, our shift in practice next week is because we want another generation. We want to give another generation every advantage to understanding and even asking questions about what we do and why. Just this week, my seven-year-old asked me about communion. Why? Because she sees it every month. She sits. She’s still. She’s in the pew. She’s watching what’s going on, and she sees the believers participating in communion, and the questions arise: “What is this? When will I get to participate?” So on and so forth. And in the frame, the context of just sitting here and worshiping and passing and the visibility of it, it’s going to raise questions.

You might teach your children well, but there’s a certain principle. Often, that which is caught is more effective than that which is taught. Given the choice between a sermon that teaches a principle of giving every so often and a weekly habit that compounds over decades in the child’s mind that this world is not first and foremost about the material—that we can give it away to a cause higher than ourselves—I will take the impact of the latter every single time.

If we are not to be a church constantly hammering people to give, which is not in our DNA, then let us teach it by modeling it. Let our children see it. Let them ask the questions: “Why, Mom? Why, Dad? What meaneth this?” Ultimately, I want our children to prioritize Christ over their comforts, to appreciate the cross more than a coin, to give with compassion, not out of compulsion. I want them to know what God’s love does in the heart. I want them to see, in light of the forgiveness that is offered to us in Christ, we can give of ourselves and of our substance and trust that having given His Son, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.

And there’s something about the context of our worship and the stillness of it. I think in all likelihood it is the best setting to instruct as our children reflect, consider, and another generation arise who will not. God forbid that I oversee in my ministry a generation who will arise and impoverish the future church. I don’t want that on me. So after sober reflection and consideration and discussion with the elders, next week, that will bring a change in our policy.

But let me say it again clearly: Thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your giving. Thank you for your ongoing support of the work of God here. It is crucial not only to the life of this body, but we are pivotal as far as our denomination in North America. And you contribute significantly to the things we are able to do, what we’re able to achieve, and where we’re able to send the gospel. And in the Lord’s name, I thank you. May God bless us all. May He favor us. May He continue to help us see how even with these material things, He advances His cause for His name’s sake.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Thanksgiving is a notable season, perhaps the best holiday of the year, forcing us to really reflect upon the Lord and His mercy to us. I hope that you’ll be able to do that, and even in light of God’s Word, be thankful for how He has met your need—that you’ve been young and now you’re old, and you’ve not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. May we give and be glad of what He’s given to us.

Lord, bless us, please. Continue to enable us to grow in our faith, to extend in our reach of support, to perceive in Your providence when You bring perhaps a man who’s half-dead by the side of the road, that we may emulate the good Samaritan, that we may have a heart. We can’t help the entire world, but Your providence governs every detail. And what’s in front of us is what You put there. And may we do what we can with what we have.

Bless this people. Thank You for the grace that You’ve given to this congregation. Continue it. Add to it. May it grow and increase. May another generation arise who are even more generous, even more giving, even more supportive, and see even more done for the cause of Christ. So we thank You for Your love and Your care for us. Please, please help us. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit, be the portion of all the people of God now and evermore. Amen.