Money Matters: Part 1 - The Benefits of Giving

0:21 I didn't do one last year. So y'all are due for a teaching of finances. But I thought I would talk about it because the economy is tough. Things are difficult. And I thought it would be beneficial for me to reiterate the truth to you that in spite of the economy, God is still God. Look at your neighbor say, God is still God. Tell them on the other side, regardless of your economy, regardless of what your bank account looks like, regardless of how much gas costs, regardless of the Strait of Hamos being blocked off, doesn't matter, God is still God. So I want to tell you to open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 9.

1:25 That's where I'm going to be at today, 2 Corinthians chapter 9 in this series. Now, I have nothing new to tell you that I haven't taught over the last 37 years. but this is a reminder because you know black people need to be reminded tell your neighbor black people no no don't say that say you need to be reminded So I want to remind you some truths over this series of lessons. I don't know how long I'm going to go. I haven't decided, but I know I'm starting today.

2:06 Now what I'm going to do is give you my five points up front, because I don't know if I'm going to get through all five today. So just write them down, just five. I'm going to come back and give you some sub points after I give you these five main points. Here's number one, posture. Number one, posture. Posture. Number two is principle.

2:35 Principle. Number three is program. Program. Number four is promise. and number five am I going too fast and number five is prayer so posture principle program promise prayer that's an outline for second corinthians chapter nine that's what I want to be preaching from today it's 15 verses I'm gonna try to make it through all 15. If I feel like y'all getting it, I'll keep going. But if it seems like y'all not getting it, I have to slow down and explain some things to you. Let me give you the background to this. The Apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. The Corinth church is a jacked up church. It's like a modern day first. It was an ancient first Baptist church of Glenart.

3:39 a little bit of everything people doing all kind of stuff sin, disobedience and Paul's writing these letters this is his 2 Corinthians is his second letter to the Corinthian church matter of fact some people believe he wrote more than two letters some people think he wrote four letters and but these are the two that made it to the scriptures and And in this second letter, the second Corinthians, he's trying to straighten out the issues. And one of the things that occurred and happened is the church of Corinth agreed previously to give support to poor Christians in other parts of the region. they agreed to collect an offering and send the offering to these poor people in these other regions of that area and so Paul is writing to them in this ninth chapter reminding them of what they said they were going to do you know, people have to be reminded of what they said they were going to do.

5:08 And that's what he's doing. He's doing that. So he starts off, here's point one. He starts off with the posture. And I'm subtitling that, a posture about giving. A posture about giving. Talking to them about their posture. So he said, verse chapter nine. I told y'all that, right? chapter 9 verse 1. Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. Stop, stick a pen right there. Concerning the ministering to the saints. That word ministering means concerning the offering that y'all said y'all was going to give. It was unnecessary, superfluous. It wasn't, I didn't need to do this. It was superfluous for me to write to you. for I know, verse 2, 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. So he says, I know y'all want to give this offering. I know that you have agreed to give this offering and you want to do it. He said, and I've been boasting to the Macedonians. I've been bragging on y'all about what you said you were going to do. And some of the people were ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority. Everybody's excited about what you're going to do.

6:35 Yet, verse 3, I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that as I have said, you may be ready. Y'all still with me? Verse 3. So he's going to say, I'm sending some people there to make sure y'all ready to take this offering so that when we come to get it, let me make sure y'all have y'all checkbooks with y'all. I want to be sure that you are, you will do what you said you were going to do. Let's verse 4, if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, should be ashamed of this confident boasting. I don't want to get there after I done said all this nice stuff about y'all and bragged on y'all and we get there to take the offering and y'all ain't got no money. I would be ashamed.

7:32 Therefore, verse 5, 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 has a grudging obligation.

7:59 I want y'all to be ready. I'm sending them ahead of time to remind y'all and make sure y'all ready so when we pass the offering plate, y'all ain't got no attitude doing the offering. Amen. Okay, I can see right now I need to do this. I'm not taking up another offering today. I feel the tension in the room. I saw somebody grab their purse and pull it to themselves. I'm not taking up another offering. I'm just trying to make it plain to you about this matter. So what he's doing is he's talking to them about their posture, the posture of giving. And that's what I want to spend this time and talk this series today and try to prepare you to manage your finances better. We've done this every year. Every year we talk about finances. Don't be shocked. Don't be surprised. We try to teach you about managing your money. Amen.

8:54 Praise the Lord. So my first point here, amen, is posture. Somebody say posture. The second thing is principle. Principle. Somebody say principle. It's verse 6. Powerful verse 6. Look at verse 6. But this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. There, y'all got that? He said, here's a principle about finances. Here's a principle about giving. I forgot to tell you that the subject of this message is the benefits of giving. I forgot to tell you all that. It's the benefits of giving. And he says, I say to you, if you sow sparingly, that word sparingly means stingily. If you sow stingily or sparingly, you will reap sparingly or stingily. But he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

9:55 somebody if somebody on your row is stingy go ahead look up and down the row see if you can figure out who it is generally it's the person that's looking straight ahead that don't want to look at me down the row This is a profound passage. It's very important because most people don't understand and get this, but you need to understand you reap in proportion to what you sow. If you're a stingy giver, your harvest will be stingy. Only in America do people want to give a little bit of money and get a big harvest.

10:43 Y'all might as well say amen because y'all know y'all go down and spend a dollar and want to win the billion dollar lottery. Only in America we think that. And so Paul says, look, I want you all to be ready to give this offering, but let me remind you, if your seed is sparing, then your harvest will be sparing. But if you give bountifully, your harvest will be bountiful. Now let me talk about this word bountiful for a second. It's a Greek word, elogiai, from which we get the English word eulogy. It is the word eulogy. A eulogy is something that you speak about somebody who has died.

11:29 So when you're giving, here's what Paul is saying. You are making a statement about your relationship about somebody who's died. Okay, I know that went over your head. Y'all didn't get it. I know because I didn't explain it right. I didn't give the whole, I need to give you the whole scoop. I need to make it plain that when you make a eulogy, when you give a eulogy, I'm a pastor, I've done a lot of eulogies. So when I give a eulogy about somebody, I can speak about them one of three ways. Either I didn't know them, or I knew them casually, an acquaintance, or I knew them well. Now, I'm not the kind of pastor who starts making up stuff about people that they're friendly. some some jokers will will put you in heaven and you're on your way to hell Let me be clear.

12:30 I ain't going to lie about you at your funeral. Amen. If I can't say nothing good about you, I won't say nothing at all. I just go find some other scripture, talk about something else at all, but I won't talk about you. What Paul is saying is when you give an offering, you're making a statement. You're making a eulogistic. You are speaking about somebody, about your relationship, about somebody who's died. So every time you put an offering, a gift in the offering, you are making a statement about your knowledge and your relationship about somebody who died. And that somebody who died is Jesus. I wish I had an A. It's tight, it's tight. You know what? This is my friend, Dr. John Moreland right here.

13:25 He was one of the professors at Denver Seminary and a great guy. These people, you know, when I start saying stuff, they don't like it. They get quiet. So every now and then I got to go to the back because those people are with me. them jokers down there wasn't helpful at all and I've been learning that y'all are supportive and y'all say amen while I'm preaching y'all agree with me y'all help a brother out y'all be making a eulogistic statement about my preaching Amen.

14:12 Amen. So I have to come back here every now and then. Then they get mad and jealous because I am down there with them. But amen. Y'all understand what I'm saying. Now, you cannot reap a harvest if you don't sow a seed. you cannot reap a harvest people get tight when you start talking about money I see people got getting tight already I see y'all getting tense I don't want your money I'm not after your money amen I'm after blessing you so how you can be blessed how you can have God working on your behalf that's amen Lean over to your neighbor, he ain't after your money He don't want your money Say it this way, he don't want your money With your stingy self, go ahead, tell him Amen. And so Paul says to the church in Corinth, he says, if you give sparingly, if you give stingily, your harvest will be stingy. If you give bountifully, if you make a bold statement, if you give and speak well, if you give well, then God will reward you well.

15:31 Okay, that's point two. Y'all still with me? Here's point three is the program. Somebody say program. He says give purposefully. That's what I want to say. Giving purposely. He's talking about giving with purpose. Verse number seven. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. That's a powerful verse. God loves. God agapes. God looks after. God cares about somebody who gives cheerfully. That word cheerfully, God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful, that word cheerful means hilarious, laughing, celebratory. Amen. But some of y'all give, you got an attitude. You're mad. Here they come. I'll ask for another offer there. You got an attitude. But he said, when you have a cheerful attitude, when you are smiling, when you're laughing, When you are, see, and you can't do that unless you know that you serve a God that when you sow, he will reward you, he will bless you, he will smile upon you.

16:36 Can I get an amen? He says, let each one give as he purposes in his heart. Not grudgingly. If you got an attitude, God say, I don't want it. If you're going to give it with an attitude, if you're doing it, fussing and fighting and upset and angry about giving, keep your money to yourself. Y'all see how the claps are getting lower and lower. God doesn't want it if you're doing it grudgingly or of necessity. Now one of the things we can tell you, I can tell you here, I've been a pastor for 37 years. I've never had to take a necessary offering. Amen.

17:22 I never have had to come to you and say, y'all, we're about to get our lights turned off. And we need some money. That's an offering out of necessity. Yeah. We don't take those kinds of offerings. Amen. Amen. Amen.

17:44 God wants us to be purposeful. Now, the reason this is important is to let each one give as he purposes in his heart. Now, I tell you, I go to a lot of churches. My life is in church. I'm in church and conferences all the time. And I don't give to every offering. I probably shouldn't tell you all that, but that's the truth. It's the fact. I don't give to every offering. I give to offers that I sense purpose that I feel a connection with I feel a need to help support I didn't give to everything, amen and I don't expect you to give to everything I want you to give your tithes and offers I want you to give to the pass and love put that in how you doing but I don't give to everything and I'm telling you today be purposeful in what you give tell your neighbor be purposeful in what you give tell them on the other side Take from your resources and the things that God has made available to you and give with purpose.

18:51 Give with reason. Give personally. Matter of fact, let me say, when I say give with purpose, here's what I say about that. When I give, I want to give so I feel it. Because I believe if I don't feel it, neither does God. y'all don't like this kind of preaching I know y'all don't like this kind of preaching yeah yeah yeah okay that's another sermon I don't know why but we but we should give to where we when I give sometimes I have to say do I really want to write that check for that amount of money and so when I do I know God says that's my boy Amen.

19:54 Getting kind of tough in here. It's rough. It's rough. Can y'all handle the truth? Look at your neighbor. Can you handle the truth? Can you handle the truth? I'm trying to get you to embrace and understand that God's looking for us to have the right kind of attitude and posture. And then, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, verse 4, point 4, I'm sorry, point 4 is promise.

20:22 A promise because of giving, a promise because of giving, and that's going to be verse 8 and 9. And this is a powerful verse. If you don't remember anything else I say, remember this verse 8 and 9. It says, 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 word. Y'all missed a great spot to say amen. That's a powerful promise. I like this verse. It starts off with the word and. That means what he's just saying, it's a conjunction. Conjunction, junction. Y'all know what's the function. It's joining what he's just saying, that you, God loves a cheerful giver, and you've given not grudgingly nor of necessity.

21:18 And here's the promise that goes that God is able. That's enough to shout right there, that God is able. what will God do? Make all grace abound towards you. God will make all grace cover you. Abundance, that's what the word abound means. He will cause His grace. Now what is grace? God grace, well He's going to make grace. Grace is God's power and presence for you to be what you're supposed to be and do what you're supposed to do. I don't know if you know it or not, But you need grace to be what you're supposed to be. You need the grace of God. And I need the grace of God. I need the grace of God to be a good husband to my wife. I need the grace of God to be a good father to my children. I need the grace of God to be a good grandfather to my grandchildren. I need the grace of God to be a good pastor. I need God to smear me with his grace. Hallelujah.

22:11 And you know what? God's been giving me grace now. I'm telling you, he's helping me to be the best I can be. He helps me. He gives me grace to listen to my wife when I don't want to listen to what she's talking about. God gives me grace to love my kids and don't kill them and take them off, take them out when they say stupid stuff to me. The grace of God. God has smeared me with his grace. Smeared me with his grace to love my grandkids. I got the best grandkids in the world. Come on up here, young men. Look at my handsome young men, grandchildren. Look at them. Thank you. four of my seven grandkids They're good kids.

23:42 Now they got one thing they have to straighten them out on. When they come over the house, they say they're coming over grandma's house. And I'm trying to teach them that there's grandma and granddaddy's house. They say, can we go to grandma's house? No! There's Chase, and Jude, Jet, and Riley. and I'm a great grandfather to them God smeared me with grace to love my grandkids I'm making plans for their future I'm looking after them I'm setting aside money for my grandkids I'm looking out for my grandkids and God gave me grace to do it grace to do it Come on and give God a shout for grace.

24:47 God is able to make all grace so I can be a good husband to my wife. And listen to her when she talks all the time about stuff she's talking about. Because she's a talker. She always got stuff she wants to talk about. And why did she have to talk about it in the middle of a football game when I'm trying to watch the game? But God is helping me learn how to have one eye on her and one eye on the game. Somebody say, Grace will help you do that. Grace will help you look at her while you're listening to what's happening on the game. Do I have a witness? Grace to be a pastor.

25:46 Grace to lead the First Baptist Church of Denard. Thank you. Grace to pray for you after you went out here and done something I taught you not to do. I need grace to be able to listen to you and set up an appointment with you when you done walked out here and done the very thing that I done taught a hundred times not to do, but you went on and did it anyway. And now you want to have a meeting with the pastor. I want to cuss you out, but God gives me grace.

26:21 Somebody say, thank God and make all grace abound. I love this verse. He'll help me be the pastor. Help me be the leader. Help me preach the gospel. Help me do what I'm supposed to do. Help me communicate. He gives me grace. And whatever you need, God will give you grace. Whatever you're doing, God will give you grace. God will give you grace, but you got to learn how to be a gracious giver. I love that verse. He's able to make all grace abound. Abundance of grace abound toward you. That you, having all sufficiency in all things. I'm about to shout on this point right here because we serve a God who will make sure that you have an abundance so that you have everything you need to do every good work.

27:20 Thank you. I told the service this morning, I told the 8 o'clock service this morning that I got a call this week because some of y'all know we're trying to build a senior housing and the developer that's working with us ran out of funding.

27:45 So Elder Featherstone, one of our elders right here, called me up and said, I got somebody I need you to talk to. And so, he said, I'm going to set up the meeting. Was it Thursday? Friday? What day was it? Friday. On Friday. You sure it was Friday? Okay. Yeah, it was Friday.

28:11 He set up a phone call for me to have a comfort call with somebody he talked to. And here's what they said. They said, we believe we have a resource to give you the resources you need to build a senior house. You know what else they said? Here's what they said. And this is why your project is potentially such a great project because we've already checked you out. We've already looked at your history. You all got a track record. y'all done already done some building y'all have already paid off some debt you've already proven by your history that you have the capacity that you are a good investment y'all y'all don't hear what i'm saying to you here today and why look and and we would get right hand up the phone and we finished the conversation.

29:20 And she said, oh, another thing I need to tell you. There is a foundation that's giving money to churches 2.5 million dollars to... Wait, don't shout yet till I tell you. 2.5 million dollar grant so you can do evangelism. They're gonna give us $2.5 million to do what it is. They're going to give us $2.5 million to do what it is, is in our charter and our mandate to do, which we've been doing for the past hundreds plus years.

30:16 Praise Him. I feel like dancing. I feel like shouting. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you always having all sufficiency see in all things may have an abundance for every good work. Amen.

30:54 Somebody oughta help me give God praise for what He's doing for us. Amen. And while you're clapping, let me say, I believe in God that the same grace that he put on this church, he's going to put the same grace on your family, on your resources, on your job, on your career. God will make all grace. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

31:37 That's amazing. and I believe God's doing it so he can show you what he wants you to do now can I slow down for a second I got to back up for a second because I forgot to tell y'all something I got to back up a verse or two can I do that Can y'all go back to verse 7 for a minute? Let each one give it to purpose in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. That's verse 7. Now, there's a bunch of people around the country, pastors, who are now declaring that tithing is not for the day and the church got it wrong. That was a lie.

32:33 Yeah, yeah. And ultimately, they will go to this verse. They will go to verse 7 and say, and let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And they'll say, you shouldn't give your tithe. Tithing is not for the day. That's what they say. Tithing is not for the day. We're supposed to give as we purpose in our hearts, which is true. You should give as you purpose in your heart for your offering. this passage is talking about not tithing but an offering because i read the first verse to you in chapter nine can i read that verse to you again when paul said now concerning the ministering to the saints that word ministering means offering concerning the offering that you agreed to take it's not he's not dismissing tithing matter of fact some of y'all have never given an offering because it doesn't account has an offering until after your tithes Somebody say tithes and offerings.

33:52 That's what Malachi said, tithes and offerings. Yeah, so your offering doesn't kick in until you, after you've given your tithes. Some of y'all have given a collection. it's not an offering so I wanted to point that out for somebody who wanted to say you should only give if you're doing it has you purpose in your heart not grudgingly or necessity for God loves a cheerful giver yeah that's true for your offering Am I making sense to y'all? Because y'all looking to me like I'm speaking in a foreign language.

34:42 Yeah, so this passage is dealing with an offering, not about tithing. You can't dismiss tithing from this passage. Amen? So let each one give his offering as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly on a certain necessity. and you'll be able to experience the grace of God, the grace that God is able to make all grace abound towards you so that you always have an all-sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance of every good work. It blesses me beyond words to know that we serve a God that will give you what you need to be who you're supposed to be and do what you're supposed to do. Amen. Amen.

35:28 Why am I feeling so much tension in the room? Okay, let me close. That's the promise. A promise because of your giving, God will bless you. As a matter of fact, verse 9 is verse 8 and 9 for this promise here. As it is written, verse 9, he has dispersed abroad. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. I love that right there. He is dispersed abroad. Where's abroad? Glen Arden. That's where it is. God is dispersing right here.

36:02 He's dispersing in a no-name place up in Marlboro, Bowie, wherever he is. He has dispersed, and he's waiting to disperse in you and with you and through you. finally point five i i'm finished this is my last point prayer verses 10 through 15 i don't have time to do all five verses i haven't time i don't have time to verse 10 through 15 but verse uh 10 says now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply Apply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

36:52 Somebody say, God wants to increase the fruits of your righteousness. What does it mean? He wants to open up doors that you could have never opened. He wants to provide blessings to which you would have never gotten had it not been for the grace of God and the power of God and the presence of God. He wants you to be able to experience it all for his glory and for his honor. I don't know where y'all are, but I'm on a high. I'm giving God praise. I'm shouting. I'm giving him thanks. Amen. I'm counting my blessings. Amen. I know it works. Y'all don't have to, you don't have to listen to me. You don't have to do anything I'm saying. You don't have to apply it at all. It's all right. But the few who will, wherever you is, get ready for God to smear you with miracles in your life.

37:43 Somebody say amen. You receive it, say amen. Give God a shout.