Sunday Morning Service

II Corinthians 9

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“And Now For The How!” • 4.21.13 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- Chapter 8 began a new section of the book of II Corinthians unveiling Paul's concern for the reality of the Corinthian's love, specifically related to their resource.

- They had aspired to give toward Paul's relief fund, but had hesitated either because of their failure to raise what they had expected or because false teachers had raised doubt in their minds.

- Chapter 8 gave the Corinthians the bedrock foundation of why they should give. Jesus had given it all for them and they had already sought to give, so trust the men that God was sending.

- Today in chapter 9, Paul instructs them regarding how they should give.

Text

• II Corinthians 9:1-4 : "Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting." : Notice the phrase "ministering to the saints." That is another name for the financial gift that they were taking.

- The word "ministering" is another word for "serving." Their gift would allow them to participate in a service to the saints. That is how we should look at our giving. It is a service to others.

- We may not see every benefit, but when we give unto the Lord, He employs that for His glory and the furtherance of His Kingdom. They knew this. Paul didn't need to write them.

- He knew their willingness and was confident enough to speak highly of them, telling the Macedonian church that that had been ready for a year already.

- Some commentators believe that Paul is believing the best in them, trusting that their hesitance was due to not meeting their own expectations.

- Others see a bit of sarcasm here, as if they had been truly willing, then they would have already given. It's not exactly clear, but this much had occurred: Their willingness was known.

- The report of their zeal, their excitement to add to this offering had challenged the majority of the church of Macedonia to respond, wanting to join their offering to Corinth's.

- Paul had reported this to the Macedonians in the North and they caught the vision for themselves. Now the tables are turned and it's Corinth's time to be inspired. Note the lesson.

- Last week, Paul was using both exemplary parts of the individual churches to stir up greater things from both. This is an excellent illustration of Proverbs 27:17, iron sharpening iron!

- When you respond to what God is doing in your life, you'll never know what that inspires in another person's life. Just another side benefit of living godly! Let your zeal be infectous!

- Now, Paul explains why he sent these brothers that he mentioned in chapter 8. He wanted to make sure that they had advance time to prepare their gift.

- He did not want them to be ashamed in front of the possible Macedonians. That would have been an epic fail!

- Paul's love anticipates the need and desires to paint the Corinthians in the best possible light. He did not want to be ashamed and he did not want them to be shamed either.

• II Corinthians 9:5 : "Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation." : When the Corinthians saw Titus and co., they would have been comfortable and at ease in giving what they had already intended to give.

- This gift would have been a matter of generosity, a willing gift when they came, but it would have been an ackward exchange if Paul had come with some Macedonians.

- Sending these delegates was an added measure to reduce any perceived pressure. Paul wants them to be free to give.

- Listen to the last words in verse 5. "Grudging obligation." Those are true words, as God does not want people to give to Him, who view it grudgingly or as an obligation.

- If you can't give with a cheerful heart, viewing it as a loving, cooperative response to what God is doing in the church and in your life, by all means, abstain.

- Nobody wants that kind of attitude, yet, there may also be a misunderstanding of Paul's words here. Among the major translations, there is quite a wide variety of words employed here.

- I feel that the best translation comes from the NASB, which uses the phrase "not affected by covetousness."  The concept here seems to cover both sides.

- For the church in Corinth, Paul did not send these men to get more from them and he did not want them to covet the giving of the Macedonians and seek to match it.

- He wanted it to be their offering and theirs alone, prompted by the Lord and no other influence. Paul would not have fit in today among the world of televangelism!

- This doesn't mean that he won't give them something to consider as they prepare their gift.

• II Corinthians 9:6 : "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." : This is a thought worth considering for the Corinthians and for CCFians as well!

- Both farmers have seed to sow. The seed is hardly valuable unless it is sown! There is not a farmer on earth that would be happy if he had more seed than crop to show for his season.

- His livelihood and the success of his home is tied to what he reaps!

- Paul likens Christian grace giving to a farmer who has seed to sow and makes a decision regarding how much of the seed he will sow. He is going to sow one way or another.

- The one sowing right now who sows sparingly will reap but sparingly. This is agricultural rule of nature. The amount of seed that one throws into the ground affects that which comes up.

- The point is that each person will reap something, but only that which is proportionate to that which has been sown.

- Alternately, the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. What will a person reap? Give unto the Lord and you will find out!

• II Corinthians 9:7-9 : "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: 'He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.'" : Paul is telling them, banging the drum loudly and repeatedly, "Give what you purpose in your heart to give!"

- The word "purposes" comes from a concept of having a storage within the home that a person can easily draw from. Give from that place of storage, out from yourself!

- Give out of the storage of your heart, not out of annoyance or circumstances. "Oh they just keep pestering me to give." "Well, they must really need it so I'll fork it over!"

- Unworthy. Don't let your heart give into pressure tactics. When your heart truly responds to the Lord in a cheerful, literally hilarious way, know that that is what God loves!

- Paul mentions God's love for a cheerful giver, to imply deeply that He's not so fond of the motivation in people's hearts which comes from complaint or rescue.

- Consider that attitude in context. If one complains about giving, then what does that say about their relationship to the One who gave everything for them?

- What kind of insulting ingratitude does God have to bear? He does not deserve that!

- At the same time, someone who thinks that if they don't give, then everything will fall apart! They are needed after all to rescue this ministry, to keep it on the air!

- What a low view of God and a blasphemous contempt for His sovereign power! God loves, exclusively, a cheerful giver, whose joy in giving expresses gratitude and confidence in God!

- Why? Because God is able to make all grace, including the grace of a giving heart, to abound, to flood toward you!

- We will always be surprised at how God continually pours out more toward us when we respond to Him! He is always giving more than we could ever give to Him!

- Grace giving opens another avenue for God to give back through! When He has done this for the Corinthians, they would have a new capacity for every good work!

- Paul quotes from Psalm 112:9 which is a Psalm which is loaded with references to the righteous believer and the foundational principles of his home.

- He fears the Lord and delights in His commandments. (v.1) He is gracious and full of compassion. (v.4) He is not afraid when he hears bad news because his heart is fixed on God (v.7)

- This type of person is the one that has dispersed abroad, sown the Lord's seed in other lands, just as Paul was giving the Corinthians the opportunity to do for the poor saints in Jerusalem!

- What a testimony, that as the person gave, perhaps nobody would know what would have happened, but because it was given unto the Lord as He called for it, that righteousness is known!

- Heaven will tell the tale of great things done for the Lord that no man ever had knowledge of here on earth. That righteous gift will speak for millenia to come!

• II Corinthians 9:10-11 : "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God." : Listen to Paul's word. Who supplies the seed to the sower? He does!

- What you have, all of what you have, is a gift and a grace from God. You worked, but He kept your body in order! You trained for your job, but He gave you the acumen and opened the doors.

- What you have, He has graciously furnished you with! The seed that you have to give back to Him, the bread that has become your food, it's all from Him!

- If it's all His, why doesn't He just keep it? First, because you need it! If He does not provide for you, how will you live? Second, and more importantly, it provides a tangible expression of love!

- Whatever you have, either financially or in terms of gifting, provides you with an opportunity to increase the harvest of your righteousness, demonstrating your love to God.

- God supplies the seed and Paul prays, let what you give be multiplied and bring an increase of the fruit of righteousness.

- Listen to this verse in the NIV : "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."

- May He give you more to give so that you will have more from what you give! Have you received a raise and squandered it on yourself or has God received more from you?

- When we give to His causes, there is a harvest that comes back to us, the fruit of which is righteousness. It's not wasted. It's planted in God's harvest field!

- Why does He bless us with more? So that we can be enriched in everything for liberality!

- Listen to the NIV here as well: "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion." He blesses you to be generous, not to horde your riches!

- And what does that do for the Apostles? It does not enrich them personally. It does not change their work. It just causes them to respond with thanksgiving to God!

- "Look at how they are responding to the Lord! What a great blessing to us!" They are blessed and God is honored! Everyone wins!

• II Corinthians 9:12-15 : "For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" : What they are about to do opens a door for great things in the Kingdom.

- First, there is a supplying for the needs of the saints. Literally, this gift will fill up what is lacking for those who are called the saints.

- One cannot say that they love God and not love the saints. As part of God's body, you and I should be concerned for one another and be ready to meet needs when they come to our attention.

- The second effect was to cause great thanksgiving to rise to God. The people who were receiving this gift would have been praying and seeking God in their need.

- Now, as it was met, they thanked the Lord for those who had given. The same would be said of the Apostles who saw the generosity of their giving and thanked God for working in the church!

- Even those who give, after they learn of God's gracious working, thank the Lord that they have had the ability to cooperate and partner with the Lord.

- The third effect was the validation of the Apostolic ministry. Here was a tangible expression that God had touched the hearts of the Corinthian believers through the Apostle's ministry.

- Something real, authentic had taken place in the life of the church. Where did that come from? It came from true workers of God.

- The fourth effect would be the evaluation of God! They would glorify God. We've discussed this concept before, but the opinion of God's value would be raised in their hearts.

- Why? Because people were obedient to what they confessed to believe about the gospel of Christ! The poor in Jerusalem would be impressed by the obedience of the Corinthians.

- "Those Gentiles, their obedience proves that they really have the Lord in their life!"

- This issued in their generosity and would cause a brotherly bond to be created. The Jerusalem church would long for the Corinthians and the Macedonians as brothers!

- You can really see Paul's agenda most clearly here. The church in Judea had been racked by persecution and famine. When they were scattered, it was the believing Jews that witnessed of God.

- They had been faithful to spread the news of Jesus Christ to these communities and now, these communities are reaching back to help meet their brother's need!

- Paul is virtually licking his lips at the prospect of seeing a unified, yet diversified body of Christ functioning together, all because of this simple offering!

- What else can Paul say but "Thank you" to God for this unspeakable gift! The idea is that it's such a great gift that no words can do it justice for the effect it will produce!

- What was this? To the Corinthians it was money. To Paul, it was a bridge that would unite Jews and Gentiles as one entity in Christ!

- It may only be money to you, but the eyes of those who look at it see the opportunity to bring blessing into the Kingdom of God!

Conclusion
- Regardless of what you give, when it is given freely, generously, and cheerfully, God will respond. What you have sown, you will reap and what has been sown will have great effect.

- Will it be great because it's a great amount? No. Because it has been entrusted to a great King, whose use of it will issue in wonderful things beyond our imagination!

- I pray that the Lord gives us all understanding and that we seek this gift together, taking Him at His Word, knowing that He'll bless.