Beautiful Giving Part 2| Colin D'Cruz

This message was preached by Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church  Pune, on the 3th Of November 2013. 

 Every year we have a Gift Day when we bring an Offering to help fund all we do in this nation and Regions Beyond. 

Why should we give? How should we give? Should the church be talking about money? This is part 2 of the series

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Gal 2:10   All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. In Church ministry the poor are very important. That is why Christians the world over engage with the poor.

Last week we looked at beautiful giving. Jesus spoke on money more than (2350 verses on money) than anything else. Why so much emphasis on money? 15% of what Jesus spoke on was on money. Attention to Money is the barometer of your spiritual life. One prime indicator of your spiritual life is money. “Where your treasure is there your heart will also be”

Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus – his attitude to money changed as a result of meeting with Jesus.

When it comes to giving to God we tend to give a safe amount. But what is God’s heart on giving? We saw Mary lavishly pour out everything on Jesus. It was one year’s wages. That was a phenomenal amount- it was sacrificial. 

Judas said what a waste. Jesus said what worship and highly commended her and said that she had done a beautiful thing. That’s what we have titled our gift day – beautiful giving.

This week we will look at 2 Cor. Ch 8 & 9 – it is the longest passage on giving.

8:1 Giving is a result of grace. Without the grace of God we human cannot give. We would have to  have it pried out of our hands. What is advertising all about? They are competing for your money and encouraging you to spend on yourself. How many advertisements do you see for charity?

When Grace comes, our heart changes. We are saved from sin and we have the righteousness of Christ. The riches people cannot buy salvation. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? No matter how rich you are you will leave everything behind.

Verse 2 Paul is talking about the Macedonians. We all think our situation is bad- expenses have gone up. Petrol prices have increased and we are struggling to make ends meet. But let’s look at these guys – “severe trial, extremely poor – rich generosity” How does this match up?

Verse 3 Even beyond their ability – this is amazing.

Which stage are you at? No grace and done want to give?  Then the grace of God comes in and we give as much as we are able. Then comes a stage when we give beyond our ability – this is an amazing stage to reach.

Verse 4 – urgently pleaded. They wanted to give and participate. It’s acknowledging that everything comes from God. How much more for us who are rich.

Yongi cho – started with very humble beginnings. Today he has the largest church in the world. One lady gave a bowl and chopsticks, the only earthly possessions she had. It’s like the widow with the copper coins. To Jesus that was beautiful.

The amount of different people is different. It’s relative to how much you have.

Verse 7 Excel in the grace of giving.

V8. No pressure but out of love.

Verse 9 giving may involve sacrifice. It may mean forgoing something you would have done with that money.

Chapter 9:6 – Has a beautiful promise. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

There are so many promises in the bible. God can give us so much more than we give Him. Don’t give grudgingly but with joy.

Verse 8, verse 11

Give as a step of faith and God will make you rich so that you can be generous.

One day in heaven, we will meet people there from Burundi, Tura, and Bangalore who will tell you that they are there because you gave and they heard the gospel and got saved.

       Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log ontowww.wordofgracechurch.org.

    English Language Service Sundays at 10am. Please check google maps for directions!