Cheerful Giving

Now cheerful might not be the first word you associate with Christian financial giving but one thing which is very striking about Christian giving in 2 Corinthians is that Christians are not just to give but to give generously and with the right attitude – ie cheerfully- in response to God's indescribable gift to us – Jesus Christ. Look at the immediate context of our passage this evening – v.5 of chapter 9 – Paul writes:

I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

Paul is not sending the 'heavies round' otherwise it would be grudgingly given, rather he wants to encourage the Corinthians to turn their generous promises into reality and with the right attitude. He wants them to give generously but not grudgingly, rather cheerfully – because of what God has done, because of how God views our giving, because God is able to make all grace abound to you, because you reap what you sow and because it supplies needs and brings praise to God.

Do we need similar encouragement? I know I do. Yes we praise God for his provision here at JPC last year but we still need reminding, to go on praying for this year, to again fill our response forms in generously and cheerfully so gospel ministry can grow in this region – a region in desperate need of the gospel and a region of tremendous opportunity. A region where there are 50,000 students to reach out to and where only 5% of children and young people go to church.

Our giving is a test of the sincerity of our love for Christ. (8:8) It's easy to say I love you Lord and even to join in exuberant expressions of love and worship as the Corinthians enjoyed doing. But if, when it comes down to the realistic and practical terms that affect our pocket and possessions, there is no love, the words we utter are empty and hollow.

In v.7 of the previous chapter Paul had told these Christians who were becoming reluctant and stingy to excel in the grace of giving, ie to show selfless generosity as the less well off Macedonians had done and, supremely, as God has done in Jesus. God gave generously and freely, not reluctantly. 2 Cor 8:9. Last week our reading from Malachi made it plain that we are to give back to God the full tithe – that we are not to rob God of money or of other kinds of service. As we heard this evening,

Everything comes from God, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. (1 Chr 29:14)

Of course in no way can we earn our salvation - no – we give generously with a cheerful heart in response to God's indescribable gift. But our giving is a proof of our Christian commitment (9:13). As someone once put it: "Our chequebooks have more to do with our Christian discipleship than our hymnbooks." So…


First<GIVING WITH ATTITUDE: GENEROUSLY AND CHEERFULLY

Meaning, as we've seen, giving with the right attitude, giving in a godly manner – generously and cheerfully. Look at v.6&7:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

God's grace towards us reproduces his graciousness within us. And since God's grace towards us is infinite and not measured out we who receive God's grace are to show generositywithout measurement or calculation. That will involve giving sacrificially. Bishop Alf Stanway used to challenge Christians to think of the greatest amount you can give and then double it! But we are not to do so reluctantly or under compulsion. Challenge is one thing but there should be no coercion. Oral Roberts, who was one of the most famous US TV evangelists, wanted to build a medical school and hospital to add to his university and when the funding began to dry up he announced that $8m. must be given or God was going to kill him. He did get the money! But what about the means?

Now after hearing the need as we will later on in this service, each of us is to decide in our hearts what to give and then give it cheerfully for, literally, it is the cheerful giver that God loves. We are to fill in our response forms decisively, generously and cheerfully. Ours is to be a ready response not a reluctant one. God loves a cheerful giver because he himself is a cheerful giver. And how important it is to give cheerfully if we want to give generously for the right motives. Faulty motives such as wanting to be thought of as super spiritual by those who know how much we give can inspire us to give generously but only a real appreciation of God's grace to us can prompt us to give cheerfully.

We are to give ourselves first to the Lord just as John Laing, the construction magnate, did and who then gave generously and cheerfully throughout his life. At the age of 30 his building business was in severe financial difficulty. But he made a commitment which he later summed up in these words: "First the centre of my life was to be God – God as seen in Jesus Christ. Secondly I was going to enjoy life and help others enjoy it."

To this end he drew up a financial plan to determine his present and future giving: If income is £2000 per year, give £200, live on £500, save £1300. If income is £4000 per year, give £1500, live on £500, save £2000. When his will was published after his death, many people were amazed at the size of his estate: just £371. The man who had handled millions had given them all away.

Do we have a real appreciation of God's grace to us? Do we love Jesus Christ? Generous and cheerful giving comes first from the heart not the wallet. But then the wallet. We experience God's love and grace in Jesus and we respond in love and grace to others with generosity, cheerfulness and joy.

The supreme reason for giving generously and cheerfully comes in v.15. Generous giving is a grateful response to God's indescribable, inexpressible and incalculable gift: his own Son, Jesus Christ. God is the first and most generous giver; he first gives himself to us in the person of his Son and all true Christian giving is our response of gratitude for his priceless gift. So why are we to give ourselves and our money? What should our main motivation be? Listen again to v.9 of 2 Cor.8 and v.15 of chapter 9:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich…Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Christ was rich. From all eternity he had been enthroned in the magnificence of heavenly glory. But for our sakes he became poor so that we might be enriched. This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave up so much so that we could have so much. What generosity! What grace! What an example! Do we know the grace of the Lord Jesus, who though he was rich became poor? Then in our thankfulness let us imitate him. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! In response how can we not be generous and cheerful givers?

But although we are to give readily and cheerfully our giving is not to be casual or just impulsive. The Corinthians initial enthusiasm to give soon waned. Rather it is to be decisive and planned and therefore regular.

Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give.

And then give it cheerfully. If we are decisive and plan our giving and hand in the relevant forms quickly then that helps the church here to plan and spend accordingly. And, of course, what we decide to give is a private matter between ourselves and God. So what we give to this church is received in confidence and what we give should be given in confidence not openly for our own glory.

But some of us may be asking how are we going to be able to give generously and cheerfully? Perhaps you don't have very much money. You're a student or in CYFA. Perhaps you earn a fair amount but have a lot of commitments. Well our financial giving should be in proportion to our income (1 Cor.16). Some of us will only be able to give a small amount even if we're generous and give beyond our ability but that is still valuable and important. Some others of us may have to review our commitments if we are to give proportionately and generously to God. And look at vv.8-10, remembering from v.6 that giving is like sowing, you reap in proportion to what you sow. And if you sow or give generously and cheerfully then God will make sure you have enough for your own needs and enough to give away. V.8:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work as the psalmist says.

Yes, says v.10, if you sow your store of seed generously, God will keep on increasing the amount you have to sow. Which leads us to my next heading:


Secondly, GIVING IS SOWING

Look at v.6-10. Here is the harvest principle. You reap what you sow. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. But although sowing generously could therefore be seen as an enlightened form of self-interest, Christian giving is not. From such a harvest those who sow generously will have all that they need and also will abound in every good work. Just as the God of the harvest gives the sower enough harvest to supply seed next season, his daily bread and some surplus beyond that, so God will bless the generous giver with enough for their needs and will also enlarge the harvest of his righteousness or multiply their resources for good works. As we give generously, and are liberated from bondage to materialism, so the Lord is liberated to do things in and through us, which he otherwise would not be able to do. God will provide those of us who give with enough for our needs and with more than enough to continue sharing with others. It really is more blessed to give than to receive.


Thirdly,THE RESULTS OF GENEROUS GIVING (and further reminders of why we should be cheerful givers)

To continue, first of all, with the verses we've just been focusing on, vv.8-10, we can reiterate that two results of generous giving are these: that God will provide the giver with enough for their needs and with more than enough to continue sharing with others. So needs will be met when there is generous and sacrificial giving.

Also v.10 - the generous sower will be blessed with a harvest of righteousness, both spiritual and material.

And v.11 - the generous giver will be made rich in every way for great generosity. As one commentator writes, "The greater the giving, the greater the enrichment. The greater the enrichment the greater the resources to give."

Now in the NT this enrichment is generally spiritual fruitfulness and caring for others in the family of God. So we need to be careful and clear. Paul here is not teaching a simple prosperity gospel - health and wealth for those who give generously. No, rather what Paul promises here is all that we need and enough for every good work, enough to be generous on every occasion.

Hudson Taylor was a missionary in China in 19C. An entry in his journal reads: "On Saturday the 4th we supplied, as usual, breakfast to the destitute poor …We had not a single dollar left. How the Lord was going to provide for the Monday we knew not. But that very day the mail came in, a week sooner than expected and we received a bill for $214. We thanked God and took courage. On Monday the poor had their breakfast as usual."

This service of generous and cheerful giving (v.12) supplies the needs of God's people. Paul is concerned that the relatively wealthy Corinthian Christians should help to supply the needs of God's people, motivated by God's abounding grace, generosity, love and compassion. Here Paul is referring specifically to the needs of the believers in Jerusalem who faced desperate poverty and persecution due to a famine and because of their faith in Christ.

Therefore it is right that we should not only give generously to supply the needs of God's people and of God's work here at Jesmond but that we also give generously to supply the needs of God's people and work elsewhere both on Tyneside and overseas. In the giving literature we suggest that each person gives 5% of their income to the work here and 5% to other missionary work.

But we should only give to Gospel ministry and via Gospel based relief agencies. I'll always remember an evangelical bishop from Zaire saying that he would only accept aid from TEAR Fund because they brought relief and the Gospel. If Christians don't give to this church and to other Gospel ministries no-one else will. At JPC our only income comes from what is given by us here.

Secondly, vv.11-13, generous giving will result in much thanksgiving to God from those who receive the gift, for giving does not only bring help to needy Christians and to God's work, but causes God to be glorified by them and by those involved in the work. When the gifts come in to JPC there is much praising of God. I know from my own experience that giving does result in much thanksgiving to God.

When I was about to go to America a number of years ago to work with a Christian speaker I needed money for the air fares and for my time in America. Under the door one day I received an anonymous gift for the airfares and when I got to the States I was told that a cheque for $10000 had come in that day to cover the costs of the year. Both were evidently generously and cheerfully given and caused much rejoicing on both sides of the Atlantic.

And, v.13, because of your service of giving generously which is proof of your salvation, people will praise God for your obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ as well as for your generosity in meeting needs and so God again will be glorified. If we don't give generously we miss out on the privilege of helping to meet needs and we also deny ourselves the honour of promoting God's glory.

Thirdly,v.14, generous giving will also result in prayers for the givers by the receivers. As a church we know this to be true from our relationship with Mburi in Kenya. Paul here prays it will be true between the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Jerusalem and Corinth. Generous, selfless, grace giving and heartfelt thankful receiving can often result in increased fellowship and partnership between the givers and the getters as the receivers recognise that the generous gift comes from the surpassing grace of God in the givers. The receivers will be drawn to the givers by the grace shown in the giving and new bonds of love will be accompanied by fresh blessing in answer to prayer. And fresh blessing will result in fresh action.

But let's remember it is God's abounding grace that starts all this generosity, thanksgiving and fellowship. So, v.15, Paul thanks God for his indescribable gift, his Son, Jesus Christ, which began it all. The Lord gives to us-v.14, the surpassing or abounding grace God has given you- and we thank him and give to others in response and they thank God for the kindness and generosity he's inspired in us. So a round of thanksgiving to God takes place created by the grace of giving, springing from that incalculable gift from God: Jesus Christ himself.

If we are generous, ready, cheerful and joyful givers of all the gifts God has given to us as a grateful response to his saving grace, then it will be our experience that the faithful Lord of the harvest will enrich us beyond our expectations. Amen.