Ready to Give Sacrificially

Jesus was with the father and the holy spirit speaking the world into existence. He was sitting on the throne ruling the entire universe. And he looked at us and saw our sin. He saw us separated from him. He saw every attempt we tried to make to get closer to God fail fail fail fail fail. So Jesus stepped off the throne of heaven. He gave up the riches of heaven to come slummit with us. [Music] But today, as we get into 2 Corinthians chapter 8, Paul is going to show us how we're ready for something greater than just a football season. How we're ready for something greater than maybe a job change or a family uh shift in our life, but we are ready for what God is doing. And throughout this series, in these last six chapters in the book of 2 Corinthians, this theme is going to continually emerge as Paul pushes the church of Corinth and pushes us throughout these weeks is we need to be moving from reluctance to readiness in what God has for our lives. It's too often, if we're being honest, I think we're reluctant to go where God is going. We're reluctant to give up maybe our routine, our comfort. to reluctant to give up and go out of our comfort zone for what has. But as Paul is going down this road, he is going to show the church at Corenth of how they are going to move with God and be ready for what God has. Next week, we're going to look at chapter 9. But I just love in chapter 9:3. And Paul will use this word ready five times throughout the rest of the book of 2 Corinthians. But in verse three, he's saying, "I'm sending the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter would not prove empty and so that you would be ready just as I said." He was prompting action in their life. In verse 5, he said, "I consider it necessary to urge brothers to go on ahead." He said into you and arrange it so that it will be ready as a gift and not an exhortation. He's pushing them. He's saying something greater is coming and are you going to be ready for it? And today, as we dive into this, we're going to see, are we ready to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves? Few weeks ago, uh, we had a fantasy draft. And fantasy drafts are fun cuz it's the closest I'll get to a draft room, right? And it's just on my phone telling me what the best next available player is. But anyway, so as we were at fantasy, we were just eating a lot of food and and talking about sports. And I got a lot of heat from guys because I'm talking about the Cardinals and how they're going to make the playoffs this year. and they were and one guy said, "You're using the word we a lot." I'm like, "Because it's my team because we are going to the playoffs." And I'm like, "I might be more of a we than half the players are because players come and go, but fans are there until a death." All right. And I'm like, we are part of something. And today, Paul is going to call us of what are we a part of? something that is bigger than ourselves, something that is moving. And are we ready when God sends his harvest, when God sends what is coming, when God pushes the movement of the church, and will we be ready to ride that wave with him? And today comes a fun topic as we dive into chapter 8. Paul is going to say, are we ready with our riches? And the question comes for you today is, are you ready with your riches? Now, as you hear that, some of the natural reaction be like, "Oh, I just got goated. I wore a jersey. I came to church. Someone drugged me here. Now they're going to talk about money." And the answer is yes, that's true. Uh, but I promise it's not a Ponzi scheme or something as we keep going. But it's like Paul's going to talk and address this topic of money today. Now here when you hear that word and you might hear riches. The first thought that might be in your head is like good thing he's not talking about me cuz I don't have enough of those riches. He must be talking about those other people cuz I'm not rich. I'm just making ends meet or I'm just have what's comfortable in my lifestyle. I'm not rich. But if we look at our world, we actually are more rich than we think we are. According to recent statistics, if you make $34,000 a year, you're in the top 1% globally. 1%. If you make 34 grand a year, now I know that gets you a box in Phoenix for rent, but worldwide, if you have a phone and you have you know where you're you can choose what you're going to eat today. If you have shelter over your head, you are a lot richer and a better place than most of our worlds. But this definition goes beyond this. It's not just talking about our money, but Paul gets into this and really the lynchpin verse that we will come back to a few times today. But in chapter 8:9, I just love this verse. He says this, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor so that by his poverty you might become rich." See, Paul is saying we're not just talking about the riches of our money. Although we will, although it reveals where our heart is, but we are also talking about the spiritual richness that we don't have apart from our relationship with Christ who became poor through the death and resurrection so that we could have a new life, a new riches in him. So the question becomes, are we ready with our riches? Are we ready to move from reluctance to readiness? And Paul dives in in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, starting in verse one. You can follow along with me as we read. And he says this, "We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia during a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy in their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I can testify that according to their ability and even beyond their ability of their accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God's will. In verse six, so we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he would should also complete among you this act of grace. You see, as we dive into this, Paul is going to show how the church of Corenth in this example that he gives us, it readies us to be ready with our riches in a few key areas. And the first way we see through this passage is we are readied with a model of sacrificial giving. I love as Paul jumps into this, he starts by telling the original audience of this letter, the Corinthian church. He tells them about these other churches in this region that he calls Macedonia. In Macedonia, more specifically, this would be a region. So, it' be some different churches in there. One of those churches would be the church in Philippi, which later the letter of Philippians would be written to. It's also Thessalonica where first and second Thessalonians would be written to, and then even Berea, which would have those circulation of letters and letters like those to the Romans. And these were all young churches started in really difficult and hard areas. And he gives them through these churches a great example to the church at Corenth and to us today what real giving looks like. Check out in verse two. He says during a severe trial brought about affliction. First he was saying, "Hey, this church, these collection of churches, they didn't have it easy. They were enduring hardship. They're being afflicted. They're being persecuted. things were not going their way. Then he continues to talk. He also says that they in their extreme poverty. He's like they were poor. This was not the suburb churches. These were the urban churches. These are the churches that were barely making ends meets. And the funny thing is he's writing to this a church in Corenth that was very affluent. That was very much like our suburbs that we're in today in surprise Arizona. But then here's what he tells about these churches that had this affliction that had this extreme poverty. He says that they were filled with abundant joy despite their circumstances. They were joyful. And this joy actually overflowed in a wealth of generosity is despite the fact that they had little means they gave out of their sacrificially out of the little they had to be a part of what God was doing in his kingdom. And here's it's what's so big about this. It's like Paul is saying, "The Macedonians had every excuse not to give, but they did anyway." I don't know about you, but I hear this excuse often from other people. And I hear it from myself cuz I give it too. Is people ask me to either give to something or ask me to show up to something, ask me to give my time and my resources, and I'm like, "Now's just not a good time." And I always blame it on my wife's schedule or my kids. I got four of them to blame. So, it's always great when you can blame someone else in your family why you say no, right? Um, but I'm like, now is not just a good season. Like I would love to do that, but I can't do that. I would love, and I hear this all the time when it comes in church, like, "Hey, can you serve? Can you start being involved?" You like, "Now is just not a good time." Guess what? There's not going to be a good time. Because even in this season, the next season is just going to come with its own problems. And so often we make excuses, be like, "Man, I would be more generous with my time if all of a sudden I had less kids in my household. You're going to get less kids and you're just going to fill it with more time. I would be more generous if I had more money if I had less of this. And then all a sudden you get more money and more stuff fills that up. And it's like I will be generous if and that if just keeps on filling up. And Paul says, "Hey, this these churches in Macedonia, they had little to nothing. Yet they still made it a priority." And get this, look at how he describes them in verse four is they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry. They begged to give to God's church. Just a little quick show of hands. Anyone's kids or grandkids beg to do their chores? Yeah. I didn't think so. I'm looking. All right. Uh some lady came up after. She's like, "My kids do." I'm like, "You didn't raise your hand." She's like, "I did, but you didn't see me." I'm like, "Whatever." And she's like, "Well, they do it half the time." I'm like, "So that's a no." All right. Uh it's not happening. It's like these. They had every excuse not to, but they begged to be a part of what God was doing. And here's the problem. I think most of us think of giving our time and our resources as an obligation, as a duty. Maybe there's some some guilt, some religious or Catholic guilt deep in your life that you give because you feel like you have to. And we'll still take your money. We'll talk about that later. We'll work you through that, right? Um that was a joke. All right. Uh we'll warm you guys up. But it's like sometimes we think we have to give because we're in we're we're forced to and pushed to. But this isn't the case at all. God is saying that I want you to give so you are part of something greater. And and here's how this moves is maturity in discipline is moving I from I have to do this to I get to do this. I have to give my time to I get to do my time. Think about this in other areas of your life. There's I have to exercise and then there's I get to exercise. You think about in your family. I have to make my family dinner or I get to make my family dinner and do life and love is I have to be nice to my neighbors cuz they'll report me to the HOA or I get to be nice to my neighbors cuz I get to share with them Jesus. My HOA sent me a letter about my tree dying but I think the leaves just fell off so I'm watering that thing a lot cuz it's totally coming back. All right. They're like, they're like, you have 14 days to rip that tree out and replant it. I did not say this in first service. I'm sorry. Um, but maturity is moving from I have to do something to I get to do it. And Paul is showing the church at Corenth, guys, you don't have to be a part of this. You get to be a part of this. And if you keep pushing it out, you are missing out on what God has for you. But he keeps going in verse 7. He says, "Now, as you excel in everything, in faith, speech, knowledge, and all diligence, and all the love for us," Paul is saying, "Hey, the things we've been talking about for a whole letter in 1 Corinthians and for seven chapters in 2 Corinthians, you guys are making progress in these areas. You're starting to excel in them and in your love for us." But he says this at the end of verse 7, "Excel also in this act of grace, as generosity. I am not saying this as a command, rather by means of the diligence of others. I am testing the genuiness of your faith. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, he left the throne of heaven so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving advice because it is profitable for you who began last year not only to do something but also to want to do it. Now also finish the task so that just as there was an eager desire, there also may be a completion according to what you have. Verse 12, for if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. It is not that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but is a question of equality. At the present time, your surplus is available for their need. He's talking about these churches in Macedonia. so later that their abundance may in turn meet your need in order that there may be equality. As is written, the person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little. You see, the church of Corinth not just readies us with the model of sacrificial giving, but also with the matter of sacrificial giving. Paul shifts in here. He's saying, "Hey, this is this model we see. This is this is the way that you should give. You should give not when it's convenient. You should give not because you have to, but because you get to. But here he moves in. This is why we give. This is the source. This is the lynch pin. This is what it's pushing to. In verse 7, he says, "You've excelled in these other areas, but now you also need to excel in this generosity aspect." He said, "The Corinthians," and it's kind of funny that maybe he's buttering up a little bit. He's like, "You're excelling in these areas." It's like, dude, I think I just read like two letters from you yelling at these guys, saying they're all morons, right? Um, but he's like, "You're getting better in these." But if you all of a sudden just get better at reading your Bible, if you get better at following Jesus more in these areas, if you're a little bit nicer to your family and those people at church, if you're all of a sudden smiling when you're coming to church, he's like, "Those are all great things. Keep it up. But also, don't be afraid to start giving of yourself." He said, "Because if we don't, something is going to be missing." Couple weeks ago, I had to take my daughter to the eye doctor. And when you take this is new for me. She she's my oldest. She just turned nine. But this is the first kid we've had to take to the eye doctor and she's already had to have braces. Like poor girl got dealt a hand and I'm my ball's paying for it. All right. Um but when your kid goes to the eye doctor, you're like are you like faking this right now? Like you know that answer like say the right letter. And I'm like that's D. Like I'm I'm about to like cheat for you so we don't have to get glasses. But after it all came, she needs glasses and she's in third grade. And it was a little PTSD for me cuz I got glasses in fourth grade. And shortly after that, I asked out my first girl at school and was rejected. Um, never happened since. All right. Just that one time. But I thought it was cuz my glasses, so I didn't wear glasses for like a year and I just all blurry for all fourth grade. Um, so I'm just like cheating off my friends the whole time. Anyway, uh so but as we let go, she she needs glasses and she's farsighted, so she can't see near and and one of the things is like they said because her eyes are so struggling so far to see close, it's hurting her vision far too. And Paul is almost giving us the same example that when we struggle in one area of our life, like when we struggle in being generous with our time and our resources and giving back to the church and the kingdom of God, it's going to hurt the rest of the areas too. And Paul is implanting and pushing this church. He's saying if you are spiritually mature everywhere else, but you're not being generous, you are not actually spiritually mature at all. And you will see it start to fall apart. And he's kind of giving the gospel in in this other way. And and he all leads to this lynchpin verse that is kind of like the middle and the core of this entire chapter. In verse 9, we could preach a whole another sermon. How much time you guys got? I got some time, right? But in verse 9, he says this. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just listen to these words for a second. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor. You hear that? That that that Jesus when he says he was rich, he was sitting on his throne in heaven ruling the entire universe. The Bible tells us in the beginning was the word and the word spoke the world into existence. That we see in Genesis, we see in John 1:1. God is Jesus Christ. Jesus was with the father and the holy spirit speaking the world into existence. He was sitting on the throne ruling the entire universe. And he looked at us and saw our sin. He saw us separated from him. He saw every attempt we tried to make to get closer to God fail, fail, fail, fail, fail. So Jesus stepped off the throne of heaven. He gave up the riches of heaven to come slummit with us. He gave up his riches to become poor. But listen the second half of that verse. So what did this lead to? But by his poverty when he took on the sins of the world when he died for your sins on the cross and was raised again that poverty all of a sudden was paid and all of a sudden we could experience the riches of heaven. Think about this for a second. If the God of the universe can vacate his throne for 33 years of shame and mocking, in bitterness, in beatings, in sufferings, what can we give up? Can we give up maybe having that new boat another year? Can we give up not having a bigger TV when football season starts? I got my TV eventually, but it's not a projector. I'm working on that with my wife for future years. All right. Can we give up not having that new car we think we need? Can we give up not renovating that room yet? Can we give up financial things in our life because God gave up so much for us? And Paul is challenging is convicting a church in Corenth that you think that you are falling after all these things of the world. think that will fulfill you, but I want you to be a part of something better, but it's going to cause some sacrifice in your life. There are things you might be able to give up that you have to give up with your time, with your energy, with all these things, but I promise it will lead to something greater. And I love this because Paul is actually talking to people in Corenth who had already pledged to be more involved. And in verses 10 and 12, he said, "You already said you do this. Now actually pay up." and actually do it. And often times we come and on Sunday we're like we feel all fired up. We're like, "Yeah, I'm going to do it. I'm going to leave for Jesus. I'm going to do this." And then we go back to our life of sin when the stuff gets hard during the week cuz it's like we're pulled back in and Paul's pulling us the other direction towards Christ and be like, "Make good on your word. Follow Jesus like he is your everything. Follow Jesus like he is all you need." And he continues in verse 16 as he just implants this into the church as he is calling them to be a part of something greater than themselves. And in the second half of this chapter, he says this, "Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. For he welcomed our appeal and being very diligent, he went out to you by his own choice. We have sent him with a brother who has praised among all the churches for his gospel ministry. And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with the gracious gift that we are administering for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. Verse 20, we are talk taking this precaution so that no one will criticize us about this large sum that we are administrating. Paul is talking about how he's going to collect the money for these churches. Indeed, we are giving careful thought to do what is right, not only before the Lord, but also before people. We have also sent them with our brothers. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker for you. As for our brothers, they are the messengers of the churches to the glory of Christ. You see, Paul shows us this model of sacrificial giving. He shows us the matter that that we do this because of how much Christ has given us. So we are then generous to others. But then he ends this with the ministry of sacrificial giving. In these final verses, Paul talks about the practical administration of how they are to give and what it's going to go to. He's sending Titus along with other men who are trusted to collect this money. And and this was before QuickBooks or wire transfers. All right? So, it's like you put a guy on a horse and say, "Go get that money and then bring it here and then we're going to spend it there." And it's like before all this, right? He's like, "We're going to make sure we handle this money the right way so that it goes to the field to start more churches and make Jesus known in more places." And as he gives these specifics, he he's telling them something uh that we need to understand today is how we handle money matters. What we spend our money on, what we do with our money, it matters because it reveals what is in our heart. And we need to do this with integrity. Paul from a church perspective, he's establishing accountability and transparency. He wants to make sure that when it comes to money, everything is above board. It is honest and is beyond reproach. We think about this in our day today is we are entering or we are in one of the most generous generations we have ever seen in history. This time there are more people giving to causes and nonprofits than ever before. And it's awesome to see. And as we see that, but here's what's sad I think happening is there are young people in the church who will give to charities but will not give to the church because they're scared of where their money or the church is going. They've seen it be mishandled. They've seen mega churches flying jets. If you ever worried I'm going to get a jet, don't you worry. It's not going to happen. All right. I drive a used uh minivan and SUV and I am not getting anything anytime soon. It's going to hit 300,000 miles, die on the side of the road, and then um I'm going to pray that it's gifted me a new used car to me. All right. Um and then I looked in my backyard, I'm like, "This can't fit a jet. Like, where am I going to put that?" All right. It just doesn't work. But when we look at our world and we see how money has been mishandled and people are apprehensive. That's why one of the things at Cross Church is we we value is doing that transparency is we have accounting done that is outside of us to do our books, right? So, we know it is right. We have a stewardship team that just helps prepare all our budgeting. Then we send annually that out to all our members. They vote on it. They know where that's coming because we want these dollars that we come to truly make Jesus known in our world. Not just here at Surprise, but in Phoenix and in Cornville and in Elm Mirage, in the stories we saw in Myamar in the Philippines. Kyle didn't say one of the cities in the Philippines for starting is Kennotarkin. He didn't say it cuz he couldn't say it. Um he he decided to skip that. All right. But in Cebu City and we are taking the money of the saints to do the work of the kingdom. And Paul was doing the exact same thing. He was saying, "Guys, check the books. Check the account. It's going to the right places." And he calls us to do the same thing both in the ministry of the church, but in the personal ministry of our hearts. And as Paul goes here, he he shows us in this whole chapter and maybe as you came today, especially if you're a guest, welcome. You picked a great Sunday, right? Um but you're like, man, this is just all about money. It's just all about asking for what God has for us. Like, I don't know. It's like Paul, even in this letter, he's just begging another church for money so he can start more churches. And absolutely, that is what this is. But here's what the underlying tones of it that we see is we see this amazing model of how we are able to give despite how much we have. We don't have to give but we get to give. And we see this model. We see this amazing matter that we give because Jesus has given so much to us that he stepped off his throne. He entered into our poverty so the riches he gives us we can give back. And we see this ministry, this amazing ministry in the big C church and in the local church that we give to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves. And all of this leads to how Paul wraps this up in verse 24. And I just love this verse that just kind of puts a bow on this whole passage. He says, "Therefore," that's that's an important word there. He said like in conclusion as a result because I said all this other stuff he says therefore because of all this I have called you to do show them proof but the for the churches of your love and our boasting about you. Paul was telling these churches in Macedonia he's like guys there is this church in Corinth it's been rocky. They've been influenced by their culture. At one point, I had to tell them to stop going to the cult prostitutes because we're not doing that anymore as Christians. At one point, I had to tell him to kick out a dude who was sleeping with his stepmom. He's like, "It's been rocky, but this church is legit." He's like, "They are so awesome. They are on fire for you. They're going to do something great in the kingdom to help funnel and send people out and send resources out." And now Paul is coming to the church at Corenth and he says, "Now show them proof that you truly love your community both where you are and beyond it. Show them proof that the boasting I had about you wasn't in vain. Show them proof that you are part of something that is bigger than yourself." And here's where this leads for us today. When we ask this key question at the start when we say how do we move from this reluctance to this readiness for what God has for us and we ask this question of are you ready with your riches? Are you ready with your time and your resources and your energy? Are you ready with it all? Here is the response we get from this passage is giving to the church is how God demands proof as Paul says here that we have moved from reluctance to readiness with our riches. giving to the church, giving to cross church in the big C church to do kingdom work to make Jesus known beyond here both here and surprise and beyond our borders is how God demands proof that we are no longer reluctant with our riches but we are ready to make an impact in a great way now you hear that like man pastor I knew you were just going to ask for my money I knew that's where you're going you set that up you spent 40 minutes talking maybe 30 uh 30 minutes talking about this leading up to it. But here's the thing, it's not about all of a sudden opening up your bank account and giving every single dime you have. It's about praying in your heart, having the conversations of God, and asking God, "Where is my next step? How am I working? What is he prompting and asking me to do? How is he acting me a sacrifice in some area of my life and in my money and in my time and in my energy to give back to the church and to be a part of what God is doing. You I had the privilege I I thought this was a bad thing for part of my life. I thought I didn't have a cool enough testimony at times, but I had the privilege of growing up in the church. And one of the things with growing up in the church is I got to go to kids church and then I got to go to big church. When I went to big church, we used to pass plates. Co killed that, right? You're like, "Thank goodness." But as we did that, I I used to watch my dad get out his checkbook. Four of us still have those, right? And as he got out his checkbook, he would write his check. And then more impressive is he would balance it at the end of that, too. don't know how to do that. But as he wrote his check, every single week I watched my dad write that check, give, write that check, give. As I got older and I got to become an adult and newly married and getting this, I I was like, I'm going to be like my dad. I'm going to give like I I started getting my checkbook out and I' each week I'd write my check and then one week I forgot my checkbook. I'm like, "Sorry, God. I'll get you next week. I'll double it up." I didn't double it up that next week. Stuff happened. stuck on the way. Things were came and then I was like, "All right, God. I I'll get consistent. I'll get better at this." And and and thank the Lord for online giving. That changed some things, right? But here's what happened in my life is God finally said, "Hey, it is not about you writing a check or giving cash or giving online or whatever it is. What you are showing me is you do not prioritize giving to me first. Your heart is not in the right place. You are not first seeking me and then letting everything else fall into place. I remember very convicting in my early married life prekids in having that moment and thinking that I would have more money for the rest of my life. So it'd be great. Giving would be easy before I go into ministry and four kids. All right. I remember in that moment God prompted me, you got to just set up and you got to start giving consistently. And from then on, every time I got paid and my paycheck hit, there was an automatic give to the church. And from there, life happens. That we've had lean years, we've had abundant years, we've had years that are tight. We've had years I'm like, I don't know if I make this. I'm going have years I'm like, stop going to Target, please. I'm like, I've had years where I'm like, I don't know how this is going to work. But me and my wife have never turned off that giving to the church. And God has provided a way. And here's what I want to impress upon you. And here's what I want to encourage you with today. It is not about how much you give. It is not about having to give. It is about getting to give when we are part of the kingdom of God. Has God put on your heart that I get to be a part of something that is bigger than me? that when I leave here, I truly get to say we as the church because you actually play unlike the fact that I don't play on Sundays for the Cardinals. You actually get to play inside the church. You are the church. You get to go out. You get to make Jesus known. And you get to be a part of giving to what God is doing. And all of this is possible because of this hinge verse in chapter 8 that in the grace of Jesus Christ though he was rich for your sake for your sin for your separation from God he became poor so that through his death through his resurrection we can become spiritually rich and we can participate in what God is doing in the life of his church. As you go this week, I want you to dwell on I want you to pray about. I want you to seek the father and ask God, how can I be ready with my riches? How can I be ready for the harvest that you are sending? To be a part of a church that is bigger than me. A part of a church that is a family will pick me up when I need to pick up and will let me pick others up. How can I be a part of a movement that is moving me from reluctance to readiness for whatever you have? [Music]