The Grace of Giving: How the Gospel Frees Us to Be Generous

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:10:57] I want to welcome you to our worship service here at Grace Reformed Baptist. Some of you are visiting. We're certainly thankful to have you. We pray that God would meet with you and encourage your soul today as we gather to worship.
[00:11:09] We greet all of our family, our church family, and those who may be watching online.
[00:11:16] It would be a good time for you to take a look at your personal device and make sure that it's silenced. That would be helpful.
[00:11:25] Also, let me tell you, we're having a family meeting next week in the p.m. after our worship.
[00:11:33] We're going to do it a little bit different this year.
[00:11:35] In that, we would like all of you who are visitors, particularly regular visitors, who would like to be a part of that meeting, we're opening that up to those who visit with us.
[00:11:47] And we would like to have you join us as well.
[00:11:51] Also tonight, Brianna Dominguez will be giving her testimony and joining our church.
[00:12:02] One other announcement.
[00:12:04] As a reminder, those of you who received an email about an interest meeting in connection to small group leaders training, that meeting is going to take place this morning after the service, probably about 1230 in the room right off the kitchen.
[00:12:19] It'll be a very brief meeting, but I wanted to remind you of that.
[00:12:27] Our call to worship will come from Hebrews chapter 1.
[00:12:30] You can turn there if you want to, or you can just listen as I read the first four verses out of Hebrews chapter 1.
[00:12:44] Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
[00:12:50] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world christ is the radiance of the glory of god and the exact
[00:13:04] imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power after making purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high having become as much superior
[00:13:19] Clear to angels is the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
[00:13:25] That's who we've come to worship this morning, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, our great prophet, the one who is God's final word until the consummation of this universe as we know it.
[00:13:41] Well, let's pray that the Lord would speak to us this morning.
[00:13:45] God, we thank you for this gathering.
[00:13:47] we pray that your blessings would rest upon us and that you would have mercy upon us and that you would draw near to us and that we might hear you speak to us through the ministry of the
[00:13:58] scriptures bless us as we sing bless us as we pray as we read your word and draw near to us that we might know your presence in Christ's name amen and we're going to sing two songs
[00:14:14] So when we stand together, we'll be singing too.
[00:14:16] We're going to sing, O God, beyond all praising.
[00:14:20] And Martha's going to play through one verse of that prior to beginning.
[00:14:24] And then we will remain standing and we'll sing that moving hymn, Christus Victor.
[00:14:30] So let's stand together as the music begins, brethren.
[00:24:46] A stirring song, is it not?
[00:24:49] Let's turn to John's Gospel for the reading of the Word of God this morning, please.
[00:24:53] To John chapter 12.
[00:24:57] John's Gospel, chapter 12.
[00:25:01] You can find that on page 899 of the Bible that is in the pew in front of you.
[00:25:08] We'll be reading John chapter 12.
[00:25:10] We'll pick up in verse 12 and we'll read down to verse 36.
[00:25:16] John 12, beginning in verse 12.
[00:25:20] Follow along as I read.
[00:25:21] The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
[00:25:31] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel.
[00:25:42] And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.
[00:25:54] His disciples did not understand these things at first.
[00:25:57] But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
[00:26:06] The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
[00:26:13] The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
[00:26:18] So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you're gaining nothing.
[00:26:23] Look, the world has gone after him.
[00:26:28] Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
[00:26:32] So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
[00:26:39] So Philip went and told Andrew, Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
[00:26:44] And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
[00:26:50] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
[00:26:57] But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
[00:27:01] Whoever loves his life loses it.
[00:27:03] Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[00:27:08] If anyone serves me, he must follow me.
[00:27:11] And where I am, there will be my servant also.
[00:27:15] If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
[00:27:20] Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?
[00:27:24] Father, save me from this hour.
[00:27:26] but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. The crowd that stood there heard it and
[00:27:42] said that it had thundered. Others said an angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered this voice has come for your sake not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world
[00:27:58] be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, We have heard
[00:28:13] from the law that Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer.
[00:28:26] walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going while you have the light believe in the light that you may become
[00:28:41] sons of light the grass withers the flower fades but the word of God abides forever join with me as I lead us in prayer As is your name, O living God, so is your praise.
[00:29:09] You who have created the world, you have sent the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to give your final word as the great prophet.
[00:29:20] We thank you for that reality.
[00:29:22] We confess that you, O God, are our refuge.
[00:29:26] You are our strength.
[00:29:29] You are very present help in trouble.
[00:29:31] and we come to worship and adore you father and we come through the lord jesus christ to do so who is our great prophet who is our great priest who intercedes for us who is our king
[00:29:44] who rules over us prophet priest and king lord jesus christ we do praise and worship you and we do thank you oh spirit of god that you have opened our heart to understand these things and
[00:29:59] to identify in the text that we just read this morning and seeing the glory of Christ veiled in humanity.
[00:30:07] And we thank you that we believe upon him and that we have rested our souls in him if you're in Christ this morning.
[00:30:15] Father, we sadly, as a congregation, as individuals, must confess sin.
[00:30:20] We ask that you would forgive us of our many sins, our sins of commission, our sins of omission, things we should have done that we hadn't done, things we should not do that we do.
[00:30:30] Oh, God, help us.
[00:30:32] Help us to know your forgiving mercies.
[00:30:35] They belong to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our great priest.
[00:30:40] We thank you for that.
[00:30:42] We thank you for your kindness.
[00:30:44] We thank you for your patience toward us, oh God.
[00:30:47] And we bless you and worship you this morning.
[00:30:52] We give you thanks for answered prayer.
[00:30:54] We thank you for the elders retreat that we had last week and the profit that was to our souls.
[00:31:00] And we trust the profit that will be to your church.
[00:31:03] We thank you for hearing our prayers and answering it.
[00:31:06] We thank you so much for the sale of the land, how you were pleased to bring that about in such quick order, how you were pleased for us to gain revenue from it that we'd never dreamed of.
[00:31:21] We thank you for your kindness.
[00:31:23] Thank you for those little mercies, O God, we pray.
[00:31:26] Thank you that you preserved us to this hour.
[00:31:28] For your preserving grace that we have known through the week and through the past.
[00:31:33] We look to you for the future.
[00:31:36] As a church, obviously, we have many needs.
[00:31:38] There are many things that we want to accomplish.
[00:31:40] But apart from you, we cannot do it.
[00:31:43] And we cannot do it in a way that glorifies you.
[00:31:46] So even the building project that lies before us, O God, we pray that your blessings would rest upon that.
[00:31:52] and that your spirit would give us principles to operate from in an orderly fashion and that we would do so in a way that we would do so in the fear of God.
[00:32:03] Help us to that end.
[00:32:05] Please have mercy on those in our congregation who have health needs, Father.
[00:32:11] We continue to pray for Brian Horton and all of the matters that face Brian as he wrestles with his health issues.
[00:32:17] We pray for Inga Davis.
[00:32:19] We pray for Doug as he seeks to minister to her that you would strengthen her and her weakness and you would have mercy upon her.
[00:32:27] We remember Ati and Fran as they continue to battle against cancer.
[00:32:32] We pray you'd help them.
[00:32:33] We pray for Liz Bernard and all of the pain that she's having in her shoulder and her neck.
[00:32:38] God have mercy upon her.
[00:32:41] Father, we grieved at the death of Rick Costello.
[00:32:45] We thank you for having known Rick briefly.
[00:32:49] We pray for his family.
[00:32:51] We pray that you would draw near to them.
[00:32:53] we pray especially for his wife Patsy and we pray oh God that this time would be a time of visitation to her soul of your comforting mercy in Jesus Christ help her Lord draw near to her grant her grace
[00:33:07] we pray we minister this afternoon at Compass pray for Nathaniel Johnston he would go there and minister we pray that the word would grip the hearts of some of those aged people to the end that they might
[00:33:22] leave this life trusting in Jesus Christ. We're coming to give our tithes and offerings, Lord. We pray that you would help us to do that as an act of worship, and we pray that you would come and
[00:33:32] meet with us in the preaching of the scriptures as Pastor MZ will open them up to us. We want to hear from you, our great prophet. Bless us to that end, for we offer up our prayers in Jesus' name.
[00:33:46] Amen. Well, we are going to give tithes and offerings as a part of our worship, and we'll remain seated and we'll sing hymn number 506 and then after we have completed that

[00:33:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:33:59] hymn the music will begin again we'll stand and we'll sing show us christ everybody let me invite

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:42:17] us to turn in our bibles to second corinthians chapter 8 second corinthians 8 1 to 9 you can find that passage on page 967, I believe, of the Pew Bibles, 2 Corinthians 8, 1 to 9.
[00:42:50] The Apostle Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit these words, We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty
[00:43:11] have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of
[00:43:28] taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urge Titus that as he had
[00:43:47] started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything, in faith in speech in knowledge in all earnestness and in our love for you see that you excel in this
[00:44:05] act of grace also i say this not as a command but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love is also genuine for you know the grace of our lord jesus christ that though he was rich
[00:44:21] yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich let us pray lord we thank you for your word the power thereof we give you praise that it feeds our souls it
[00:44:42] revives us it makes wise the simple it strengthens us in grace grace comes to us primarily through your word. We pray that you would open our eyes to see Jesus even more clearly here in 2 Corinthians
[00:45:01] 8. I pray for help to be clear, and I pray for faith to be fed and strengthened unto obedience.
[00:45:10] In Jesus' name, amen. One evidence of grace that has marked our church here at Grace Reformed Baptist Church is the generosity of the members of this church, both in the past and in the present.
[00:45:36] The pastors of this church have never had to urge too strongly, whether in the past or in the present, for you, the members of this church, to gladly and joyfully and consistently and sacrificially take
[00:45:53] ownership to pay for the cost of ministry in this church and through this church.
[00:46:00] We praise God for that. That's a mark of God's evident work among us.
[00:46:07] We give thanks to him. In recent years, it's been a pattern that this church has consistently surpassed the projected giving that we would draw up in our budget every year.
[00:46:24] We praise God because that indicates a devotion on the part of the members to God and a devotion on the part of the members to the church and the flourishing of the church and the thriving of the church
[00:46:36] and the success of the ministry of the church.
[00:46:41] And I say all that to let you know that as a church, We have some big, exciting, and humanly speaking, daunting endeavors knocking at our doors in our very near future.
[00:46:57] In addition to our regular cost of ministry here at our church and beyond, we are looking to see a new church planted in Asheboro in a matter of months.
[00:47:09] And some of you have already been giving to that work.
[00:47:12] Thank you very much for your investment in that way in Christ's kingdom.
[00:47:18] Furthermore, we are looking to undertake a significant construction project here, namely to expand our current sanctuary.
[00:47:29] Our aim and hope in that project is to provide more sitting space for people to sit and hear God's word.
[00:47:38] And in light of those responsibilities, I want to take the next two weeks beginning today to remind us of the great privilege and responsibility that is ours to pay for the cost of ministry.
[00:47:56] Being part of God's people confers on us the exalted privilege and responsibility to pay for the cost of ministry that happens in the church where God has placed us and through the church where God has placed us.
[00:48:14] My main argument this morning is very simple and straightforward.
[00:48:19] God's will is for you and me to share the cost of our church's ministry, which, as I said, the members of this church, both historically and in the present, have joyfully and faithfully done.
[00:48:33] This is just a reminder to you that if particularly, if it is true that you are a member here, just be reminded again that the money you have been giving is in keeping with God's will.
[00:48:47] he wills for you to accept and joyfully undertake and carry out the responsibility to pay for the cost of ministry here if you are not a member here but are a believer in jesus christ have
[00:49:02] turned from your sin and trusted in jesus for right standing before the one true and living god of the universe and the lord prompts you to give to these special projects especially that i'm talking about the church plant in ashboro and the expansion of our sanctuary we will gladly
[00:49:20] welcome you to join us in undertaking that privilege in executing that privilege and planting a new church and expanding our sanctuary for the sake of the ministry of the word of god and for this morning i want to ask and answer two questions with you the first is this why does god
[00:49:42] will for you to share the cost of our church's ministry why would god god needs nothing why does he purpose for you to participate in paying for the cost of the ministry of this church or any other church that god ever puts you in question number two is what should
[00:50:03] you are sharing the cost of ministry of a church and in our case grbc look like what should it be like what picture should you have in mind as you think about that Christian stewardship and responsibility Paul gives us answers to those questions here
[00:50:22] in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and and this is what's going on in 2nd Corinthians 8 and 9 Paul is seeking to raise money in Corinth for the relief of the Saints the poor believers in Judea and Jerusalem they had been struck by a
[00:50:38] a famine their harvest was as poor as could be that year and in those years and they were just really struggling to get by and Paul is seeking to raise funds to support them that's what Paul
[00:50:53] is doing and he's wanting to invite the Corinthians to be a part of that endeavor and to instruct the Corinthians in that regard he will hold up the example of the Macedonians as people who have
[00:51:09] given exemplarily so paul has already conducted conducted a collection in the churches in macedonia and is using the macedonians as an example to the corinthians and that's because the macedonians proved the earnestness of their christian commitment in the kind of generosity
[00:51:29] that marked their response to the appeal they were paul was astonished at the extent of the generosity of the macedonians and of course when we talk about macedonia you may remember from our series in the book of acts we are referring to the churches that paul planted in his second
[00:51:47] missionary journey in the northern half of the greek peninsula so we are talking philippi thessalonica berea those are the churches that gave in this exemplary manner and paul draws from what God did among them to instruct the Corinthians and by extension to instruct us as to why we should
[00:52:09] gladly embrace the responsibility to pay for ministry costs in and through our church. Why is that? Here's reason number one. It is an expression of grace. When believers embrace gladly the responsibility to pay for the cost of ministry within their church and through their church
[00:52:35] it is an expression of the grace of god notice verse one of our passage paul says we want you to know brothers so speaking to the corinthians we want you to know brothers about the grace of
[00:52:49] god that has been given among the churches of macedonia so as i said paul is seeking to invite the corinthians to join in collecting money for the relief of the poor saint in the region of
[00:53:02] judea and jerusalem and he will hold up the macedonians as an inspiring example but remarkably enough he does not begin talking about the issue by raising the issue of collection or even talking about the macedonians instead he's he's telling them i do want to talk to you about collection
[00:53:24] I do want to hold up before you the example of the Macedonians, but there's something more burning in my heart for you to know about.
[00:53:31] And it is this, there is a grace that is extraordinary that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.
[00:53:38] And what Paul is doing is to show the Corinthians that when it comes to giving, the true giver in the story is not the human agent.
[00:53:50] it is God himself it is God who is the ultimate source of every God honoring giving it's not the this is not a story ultimately about the Macedonians this is a story about God our God
[00:54:05] is generous and he works in his people for them to be generous so our generosity is an echo of is a faint echo of the generosity of god in other words in paul's mind and for the sake of the
[00:54:20] corinthians and for the sake of us as a people of god we ought to know that our generosity is a fruit whose root is the generosity of god in other words if you sever off this the gospel thoughts that are
[00:54:34] supposed to shape our thinking we will not be generous we will not be a generous people so ultimately, this is not a story about Macedonian generosity. At root, it's a story about the generosity of God. God is present and active in every truly Christian giving in such a way
[00:54:56] that even the human givers are mere receivers of grace. He provides the money. He provides the material wherewithal and by his gospel he overthrows selfishness in our hearts he overthrows a self-oriented life he overthrows the temptation and the propensity of human beings to worship god
[00:55:24] and to worship mammon and wealth and he frees them to gladly give and that's why this section ends by thanking not the macedonians but god so flip to chapter 9 verse 13 paul says this
[00:55:42] by the approval of this service meaning the approval of the poor saint in jerusalem remember these are jews they would have wanted nothing doing with the gentiles but by the approval meaning when they receive this gift they will glorify god because of your submission that comes
[00:55:59] from your confession of the gospel of christ and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of god
[00:56:12] upon you now see the way the section closes thanks be to god for his inexpressible gift god is the giver in all truly christian giving and that's an expression of grace so the thanks for the interchange between the giver and the receiver goes to God because he stands between
[00:56:34] the giver and the receiver as the source of everything and therefore he received the thanks and beloved that's going to be true of our building project as well if we give as much as God has made each one of us able to that will be yet another expression of God's grace among us
[00:56:56] so we should give and take glad ownership of the cost of ministry in our church and through our church because it's an expression of grace here's the second reason it is an important part of
[00:57:11] excelling as a christian it's an important part of excelling as a christian notice verse seven of our passage paul saves but as you excel in everything in faith in speech in knowledge in all earnestness and in all our love for you see that you excel in this act of grace also
[00:57:31] so the corinthians are already excelling in a diversity of spiritual gifts god lavished them richly with all kinds of spiritual gifts in fact one of their problem was a bad stewardship of the multiplicity of spiritual gift that god had given them they were misusing tongues and prophecy
[00:57:53] and so forth and so on if you read first corinthians 1 verse 4 paul says i give thanks to my god always for you because of the grace of god that was given you in christ that in every way
[00:58:06] you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge even as the testimony about christ was confirmed among you so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our
[00:58:18] Lord Jesus Christ. So this was a church extraordinarily enriched by the grace of Christ in spiritual gifts. And what does Paul say to them? As you excel in these various gifts and in these various ministries one to another, see to it that you also excel in the act of this grace
[00:58:41] of giving so so one question we should be asking ourselves is what do we excel in as a church and one question you should be asking yourself is what do i excel in as a christian what graces
[00:58:58] mark my life what do i excel in in christ jesus and then paul will say without abandoning that area in which you are excelling without slacking back in that area in which you are excelling
[00:59:13] continue excelling in that area but in addition to excelling in that area excel also in this grace of giving so why should we give it's an expression of grace it is an important part of excelling as
[00:59:30] a christian and third it is inspired by the cross of christ notice verses eight and nine I say this not as a command, Paul says, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love is also genuine.
[00:59:50] For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich.
[01:00:05] So Paul intentionally makes reference, makes two references to poverty, two references to wealth.
[01:00:13] Because of our poverty, Christ renounced his riches so that through his poverty we might become rich.
[01:00:22] And Paul is not talking about material wealth and poverty here.
[01:00:28] The poverty of Christ is seen in his incarnation, especially in his cross, the suffering he endured, the poverty that appeared to the human eye as Christ hung there on the cross.
[01:00:44] And the wealth he gives us is the salvation with all the rich blessings that come to those who believe in him.
[01:00:52] that's the poverty that Paul is talking about because if he was talking about material wealth as the health wealth preachers would say then that would contradict what he's just saying about this economic condition of the Macedonian believers
[01:01:05] so we have been greatly enriched in Christ by his poverty that was his through the incarnation and the cross beloved isn't it true that we cannot give Christianly unless we reflect on the cross and all of what was achieved for us on the cross.
[01:01:29] And isn't it also true that we cannot fail to be glad, sacrificial givers if we contemplate the reality of the cross and what that means for us for life and eternity, for time and eternity,
[01:01:43] if we truly understand what the cross stands.
[01:01:46] It frees us from the fears and insecurity and greed that marks the world around us and helps us to know that whatever God gives us is so that we might lay up for ourselves treasures that cannot be stolen.
[01:02:03] So the cross is at the center of this kind of giving.
[01:02:09] When we see the cross rightly, we recognize just how meager what we own here on earth is.
[01:02:18] How does your wealth compare to the God who owns the galaxies and the stars and everything there is, visible and invisible?
[01:02:31] The sacrifice of the Macedonians, as an example, is one thing.
[01:02:35] the sacrifice of christ as an example it is of a very different order jesus's incarnation illustrates that grace expressed in love is a willingness to sacrifice something for the good of another when we talk about a church plant in ashboro people will worship there who we have
[01:02:58] maybe some of us have never met when we talk about expanding the building here down the the ages of this church down the years some people will worship in this church that we've never met
[01:03:08] but we will be thankful and rejoicing and be rewarded before the lord that we invested in something that did not directly benefit us forever we see that example in our lord jesus christ i think many unbelievers have a decidedly negative view of the church when it comes to money
[01:03:34] for very understandable reasons.
[01:03:37] They look at the egregious defrauding of unsuspecting people by false teachers and then they watch the lavished and extravagant lifestyles of these false teachers and they conclude that's what the church is about.
[01:03:53] Lie to people, deceive people and swindle them out of their money and take their money away from them.
[01:04:02] But beloved, nothing could be further from the truth.
[01:04:05] The message of the church to every unbeliever is that you don't come to God to give to him.
[01:04:15] He is the self-sufficient benefactor whose resources have never and will never diminish.
[01:04:23] He is self-replenishing and self-sustaining and needs nothing outside of himself.
[01:04:30] Hear the question that Paul asked about giving to God.
[01:04:34] who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid for from god and through god and to god are all things to him be glory forever amen so if you're an unbeliever here this morning
[01:04:50] meaning you have not repented of your sin and trusted in jesus christ for forgiveness and for the gift of righteousness and for right standing before the one true and living god you really don't have something to give to God and to his church you really don't have anything to give
[01:05:12] you have everything to receive from God through Jesus Christ I mean here what Paul defines in this passage as the grace of Jesus Christ it is this though he was rich yet for your sake meaning
[01:05:28] the sake of those who believe he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich so if you repent and trust in jesus christ you become enriched with incorruptible riches with an incorruptible inheritance it becomes yours not for something you have given to the church but
[01:05:48] because of what god has done in jesus christ on the cross so the church does not exist to lie to people and express and show itself as desperate like if you don't give to this project we are
[01:05:58] going to sink. That's not the church of Jesus Christ. The church exists to make you rich in the truest sense of being rich because her Lord has made her rich in the truest sense of being
[01:06:15] rich. So come to him today in repentance and faith. He will forgive you and wash you and deliver you and cleanse you from all the sins that no amount of your own self-made religion could ever bring
[01:06:30] about and he will bring you and usher you into an inheritance that is incorruptible is unfading is undefiled is kept for you in heaven and will keep you by his power until you enter that
[01:06:43] inheritance there's no family on earth however rich that will keep their air for the inheritance that they store up for them.
[01:06:50] They may store up an inheritance, but they can't guarantee that that heir will get into that inheritance.
[01:06:56] But the God of the Bible keeps not only an inheritance, he also keeps those who will enter into that inheritance.
[01:07:04] So why would God have you share in paying for the cost of the ministry in your church?
[01:07:09] Because it's an expression of grace, because it's an area of excelling as a Christian, and because it is inspired by the cross of Jesus Christ.
[01:07:21] Now, what should that kind of giving look like?
[01:07:26] What's it supposed to look like?
[01:07:27] What picture should you have in mind as you think about continuing on as a generous Christian, as you think about excelling in the grace of giving?
[01:07:36] What picture should you have in mind?
[01:07:38] Paul gives us a number of features of how this grace of giving came to expression among the churches of Macedonia, Thessalonica, Berea, Philippi, how these churches showed a glorious astonishingly beautiful live laying down picture of what this
[01:07:59] kind of grace looks like here's the first feature if you're thinking about what this kind of giving should look like it should be independent of circumstances so christian giving is not circumstantial it's not bound by what you are going through right now it's independent of
[01:08:17] your circumstances and that sounds almost crazy to say but look at verse 2 for in a severe test of affliction their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part that's astonishing what paul is saying john stott says three streams
[01:08:41] flow together into the river of the generosity of the macedonians and the three streams are severe trial overflowing joy and extreme poverty if somebody was going to say there are three streams that flow into that river and that they gave generously you will be thinking a booming
[01:09:00] economy growing whatever like they are expanding in every aspect of their economic life but that's not the situation at all there is a severe trial they are experiencing they are they have an overflow of joy and they're living in extreme poverty the greek word is a depth of poverty
[01:09:20] that's to say when the grace of the gospel came to the macedonians it did not remove persecution it did not remove affliction from them in fact it brought affliction to them you don't need to
[01:09:34] look very far just read act 16 see what happened to paul there that carried on with the church read act 17 see what happened to paul in thessalonica that carried on with the church there was affliction for them and not only did the grace bring affliction it did not remove poverty
[01:09:54] either so that's his dagger right through the heart of the lie of the health wealth gospel right there again it did not remove poverty but what did it do it made these poor people radically generous it transformed their view of god and themselves and the world and wealth
[01:10:15] and everything else so here you have a group of churches made up of members in much affliction and in extreme poverty what do you expect from churches like that humanly speaking I would expect a lot of complaining, a lot of grumbling.
[01:10:39] But what do we see?
[01:10:41] They are overflowing with an abundance of joy.
[01:10:45] Beloved, that's what grace can accomplish for a believer, regardless of whether they are in affliction or they are out of affliction.
[01:10:53] That's what I mean by this kind of giving is independent of circumstances.
[01:10:58] It is not circumstantial.
[01:11:00] I was very struck when I saw that many highly scholarly studies have proven, research has proven that the richer people get, on average, the smaller the percentage of their wealth they give to charity.
[01:11:19] Quite remarkable.
[01:11:21] But when you think about it theologically, it's very consistent with the human heart.
[01:11:25] Very consistent with the human heart.
[01:11:28] The more people get wealthy, on average, the smaller the percentage of their wealth they give to charity.
[01:11:35] It's because it starts to feel like the more I get, the more secure I will be.
[01:11:40] The more happy I will be.
[01:11:41] The more guaranteed my future will be.
[01:11:43] So you're wanting to build as thick a cushion as possible.
[01:11:48] So that just, you know, wants become needs and things begin to change in your life like that.
[01:11:53] And why would you give?
[01:11:54] In other words, growth in wealth does not automatically guarantee generosity.
[01:12:00] There's one thing that guarantees generosity, and it is the grace of God through Jesus Christ and by the power of his gospel.
[01:12:07] That's what was happening here.
[01:12:09] Just listen to what John Calvin says on this.
[01:12:12] The thing that makes us more close-fisted than we should be with our money is that we are too careful and look too far forward at possible dangers that might come upon us and so become too cautious and anxious and walk out too fretfully how much we are going to need during our whole life and how much we lose when the smallest part is taken away.
[01:12:38] But the man who depends on the Lord's blessing has his mind set free from these vexatious cares.
[01:12:47] And at the same time, his hand is set free for beneficence.
[01:12:52] That's what John Calvin thinks.
[01:12:54] And who could argue with that?
[01:12:57] So the only right way to seek material and financial prosperity is to seek it because Christ has become the supreme treasure of your heart.
[01:13:07] and you love him and are investing in his kingdom and want to excel in investing in his kingdom.
[01:13:16] Our God is not a killjoy. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6, 17, he richly provides us with everything to enjoy. He doesn't call us to be ascetics. He doesn't call us to go for the worst possible
[01:13:30] vacations ever because we are Christians. He gives us everything to enjoy richly. But here's what we have to remember every enjoyment every pleasure in this life is short-lived it's going to pass away but there is a kingdom that will never be shaken and therefore our pursuit of
[01:13:49] prosperity should be governed by the major note of psalm 67 may god be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us that your way may be known on earth your saving power among all
[01:14:04] nations let the peoples praise you oh god let all the peoples praise you let the nations be glad and sing for joy for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth let the peoples
[01:14:17] praise you oh god let all the peoples praise you the earth has yielded its increase god our god shall bless us god shall god shall bless us let all the ends of the earth fear him for the psalmists
[01:14:32] prosperity is tied directly to the global glory of god that's how he thought here's another feature of that kind of giving according to and above their means it's astonishing what paul says the grace of generosity that came to expression in macedonia was marked by the fact that they gave
[01:14:53] according to their means and beyond look at verse three for they gave according to their means as i can testify so this is paul speaking and beyond their means of their own accord in other words
[01:15:10] you could say they took risks in the giving they gave like the widow who gave her two mites and jesus commented about her giving saying truly i tell you this poor widow has put in more than all
[01:15:26] of them for they all contributed out of the abundance but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on it was glad joyful risk-taking giving so as i read that i'm asking myself as one
[01:15:43] of the members and one of the pastors of our church what might that mean for me regarding the building project. How might I be thinking as one who could give like this so that while
[01:15:58] continuing my regular giving for the ongoing ministry of the church, I am also meaningfully and joyfully and sacrificially and gladly participating in these projects, these endeavors that are knocking right at our doors. And I'd invite you to ask yourself that kind of question
[01:16:16] as well. What might that mean? To give according to your means and beyond your means. Here's another feature of that kind of giving. It was uncoerced. Again, verse 3, for they gave according to their
[01:16:31] means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, and you hear this, of their own accord. They were not forced to give. The apostles did not play games. They did not turn lights. They did not
[01:16:44] make flashy promises there were no games no gimmicks no guilt tripping nothing the the macedonians were doing what they wanted to do they wanted to do it and we'll see even shown more graphically that they actually wanted to do this you know second corinthians 9 7 says each one
[01:17:04] must give as he has decided in his heart not reluctantly or under compulsion and here the reason For God loves a cheerful giver.
[01:17:16] That's what marked the Macedonians.
[01:17:20] As your elders, our understanding of a pastor's responsibility when it comes to raising money for God's work is very simple.
[01:17:31] Our responsibility is to make known the need to God's people and leave it right there.
[01:17:37] That's what Paul did.
[01:17:38] That's what Paul did in Macedonia.
[01:17:40] That's what Moses did when he came down from the mountain with the blueprint of the tabernacle that was going to be built.
[01:17:46] We are told in Exodus 35, he summoned the whole assembly together.
[01:17:50] He described to them the building material that was going to be needed.
[01:17:53] He described to them the skill set that was going to be needed.
[01:17:56] He described to them the time commitment and the energy commitment that was going to be needed.
[01:18:00] No gimmicks, no tricks, no pressure tactics.
[01:18:03] And he let the people go home.
[01:18:05] And we are told in that passage that those whom the Lord stirred up gave so lavishly and so generously that the craftsmen said this to Moses.
[01:18:14] Exodus 36 verse 5.
[01:18:15] The people bring much more than enough for doing the work.
[01:18:21] And then Moses had to send a counter appeal into the camp and say, let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.
[01:18:31] And then he comments.
[01:18:34] So the people were restrained from bringing.
[01:18:37] So it's like a spirit of giving had been let loose in the community.
[01:18:42] And people were, there was a posture and an attitude of radical generosity on the part of these people who had just been delivered from Egypt.
[01:18:49] And they had to be restrained from giving.
[01:18:52] And think about it.
[01:18:53] They are doing what they did having seen the limited glory that was available to them under the old covenant.
[01:19:00] You and I have seen greater glory.
[01:19:02] The word became flesh and dwelled among us.
[01:19:05] We have seen his glory.
[01:19:06] glory as the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth and that's the glory that the apostles represent to us in the pages of the new testament should it not just logically follow
[01:19:19] that we should give even more than the Israelites did for the building of the tabernacle because it's a kingdom principle that to him that much is given much is expected as well but that's not
[01:19:34] there are two more features here's another feature they were passionate that kind of giving should be passionate they were passionate about giving look at verse 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints so the giving of these poor macedonians who are afflicted
[01:19:57] was passionate they are not just greeting their teeth and saying well paul said it what are we going to do other than give no they are pleading with paul and saying we would not be as glad and
[01:20:10] joyful in the lord as we would be if the opportunity to give is denied us it almost sounds like paul knowing how poor they were might have been telling them don't bother i think there are other churches
[01:20:22] that can collect for this so so you could just take care of the needs that you have and they're like paul what are you talking about we want to participate in this they are begging to give well
[01:20:32] naturally people beg to receive here's a situation where people are begging to give begging for the opportunity to give this is passionate giving because of the work of grace in the heart of these people and finally that kind of giving should reflect a two-way relationship look at verse five
[01:20:54] and this not as we expected but they gave themselves first to the lord and then by the will of god to us so there's a vertical self-giving and then a horizontal self-giving a giving of
[01:21:12] themselves first to god so the money did not come first the collection did not come first it's first foundationally and fundamentally there is a self-giving to god and then a self-giving to the apostles. And then that was what produced that overflow of generosity. And that's the kind
[01:21:35] of giving that grace produces. God wants us to give because there are specific reasons as we've seen. And he paints for us a picture of what that kind of giving looks like. I have said this
[01:21:49] before, and I'm sure many older, longer-term members of this church can resonate with this.
[01:21:57] Many years ago, waves of people came from different places to Mebane. And at that time, the Research Triangle area was not as much of an economic magnet and a career magnet as it is today but if you ask many of these people who moved here why they were coming they would have
[01:22:22] said there is a church there that preaches the gospel i want to be in a place where my soul will be cared for and attended to in keeping to a faithful exposition of the word of god
[01:22:36] and i can guarantee you no one of those who made that move regretted that they did well it seems like God might be giving us an opportunity to invest in such a way that even when we are dead
[01:22:51] and gone, some student somewhere can say, I want to go to school close to Mebane so that I can be at a church where my soul is attended to. I want to go close to Asheboro so that my soul will be
[01:23:03] attended to in keeping with the truth of God's word. It could be the case that many of you who are younger here might never have had the privilege and blessing of participating in a work like
[01:23:15] planting a church or building a new church building or expanding an existing church building well god is opening before you for for some of you it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of a work like that that you invest in an investment that is going to bear eternal fruit
[01:23:33] way beyond your own life.
[01:23:38] May God give each of us large measures of this kind of Macedonian grace as we pray and think and contemplate the endeavors that are before us so that we do it in such a way
[01:23:50] that the keynote in the way we do it and the key supreme unmissable actor in the way we do it is God himself as he was in Macedonia.
[01:24:02] Let's pray.
[01:24:03] Father, we thank you, we extol you, we magnify your name.
[01:24:09] You are never on the receiving end of gifts.
[01:24:12] You are always the giver.
[01:24:15] We will never get you in debt.
[01:24:16] Who has given to you that he may be repaid?
[01:24:18] From you and through you and to you are all things.
[01:24:21] So Lord, pour out fresh measures of grace for the sake of your glory and the work of your gospel upon us in the months and years ahead.
[01:24:31] In Jesus' name, amen.

[01:24:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:24:33] Receive the benediction.

[01:28:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:28:46] Now to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.
[01:28:59] Amen.