This message was preached by Colin D at Word of Grace Church on February 25th, 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here
Let us remind ourselves what we heard in
last Sunday’s sermon. We got to know that Jesus spoke more about money.
According to the research made, there are 2350 verses in Bible which talk about
money and possessions. Statistics show that 15% of Jesus’s recorded words are
about money. What is that He knows and we don’t know?
How we handle our money is the barometer of
our spiritual health. How do we know the health of our spiritual life?
Matt 6:21 – For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be
The true test of our heart is to see where
it is. If we want our heart to be in the right place, we should know where it
is.
We all know about the story of Zacchaeus,
the tax collector. Zacchaeus was a short man and hence he had to climb the tree
to see Jesus. He was a tax collector. In Jesus time, the tax collectors were as
respectable as a prostitute.
Matt 9:11 – When the Pharisees saw this, they asked
his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Matt 21:32 – For John came to you to show the way of
righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the
prostitutes did……
Tax collectors were of very low ranking and
were looked down. But why were they looked down upon? The tax collectors were
Jews who used to collect the tax and give it to the romans with some of the tax
going into their own pockets.
Luke 19:5-8 – When Jesus reached the spot, he looked
up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your
house today.” So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people
saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look Lord! Here and now I give half
of my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I
will pay back four times the amount.
When Zacchaeus’s heart was touched, he
changed. When Jesus asked him to come down, Zacchaeus did not say Lord’s Prayer
or sinner’s prayer. But he did the right thing and a generous thing.
When there is a call to giving, we tend to
decide on some safe amount. But we need to align every area of our lives
according to God’s word.
Last Sunday we saw how Mary, Martha’s
sister gave. It was not a safe quantity. It was a generous and sacrificial quantity.
It was worth one year’s wages. Today, we’re going to see the longest content on
money.
2 Cor 8:1 – And now, brothers and sisters, we want you
to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
1.
Giving is a result of grace
If we don’t understand
grace of God, then we cannot give.
Stage 0 – There is no
grace. People struggle to give.
Most of the people in the
world are like this. But sadly, most of the Christians are like this too.
We see many advertisements
on TV. All these are help people part with money.
People don’t mind spending
money on themselves. It could be a new model phone or any new gadget. But they
have a problem spending the money on others
When we as Christians, truly
understand the grace of God, we will know how to be gracious in giving.
The richest people on the
earth cannot buy salvation. We’re so blessed to have salvation, though we don’t
deserve it. Hence, our response should be amazing. When we die, we can’t take
anything with us.
Matt 6:19-20 – “Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in
heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break
in and steal.
Jesus has no problem with
you storing up treasure. He wants you to store up the treasure in heaven.
How do we store up
treasure in heaven? As we give to the poor, to gift offering , help others, we
store up treasure in heaven.
2.
Financial situation / Difficult
time
Some people may say that
their financial condition is very bad or they may be genuinely going through
some difficult times.
Let us see what Paul says
about the Macedonians.
2 Cor 8:2 – In the midst of
a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up
in rich generosity
How could the Macedonians
give out of severe trial and extreme poverty? It’s because of God’s grace and
immense joy that was overflowing
2 Cor 8:3 – For I testify
that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.
Stage 1 – Able
Stage 2 – Beyond ability
(sacrificial)
We always want to increase
the standard of our living. But God wants us to increase the standard of our
giving.
Whatever Jesus spoke is
recorded in the gospel lessons. But only one is recorded outside the gospel
lessons and that is in Acts
Acts 20:35 – In everything
I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak,
remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give
than to receive”
3.
Attitude
What was the attitude of
the Macedonians?
2 Cor 8:4 – they urgently
pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s
people.
2 Cor 8:7 – But since you
excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete
earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in
this grace of giving
Here is a question for all
of us – Am I excelling in giving?
Jesus watches us when we
give.
Jesus saw the old lady
giving 2 copper coins. As the disciples were calculating who gave the most,
Jesus said that the old lady gave more. It’s not the amount alone that is
important. How much do we keep and how much do we give? We don’t compare
ourselves with others.
2 Cor 9:6 – Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously.
If we want bananas, we
need to plant the banana tree. If we want tomatoes, we need to plant tomatoes
plant. Similarly if we want money, we must plant money that is give money.
Once, my mom told me that
they were planning to get small houses built for the homeless. So, she asked me
to give some money towards it. I gave. Then, my mom blessed me that one day God
will bless me with a beautiful house. Today, I have a beautiful home.
As we shovel into God’s
Kingdom, God will shovel back into our lives. The good news is that the shovel
used by God is bigger.
2 Cor 9:12 – This service
that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is
also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
So, as we give, it not
only meets the needs of the people but is an overflowing of thanks to God.
Here is the promise –
2 Cor 9:10-11 – Now, he who
supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase
your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will
be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving. To God
No comments:
Post a Comment