Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the second epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians, chapter eight, the chapter that we read, and
reading for our text part of verse three. Just the three words,
they were willing. The whole verse reads, for to
their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were
willing of themselves. They were willing. The Apostle is writing to the
Corinthians and seeking them to fulfil what they were willing
to do a year before, that is of helping the poor through their
offerings and he was setting before them the example of the
churches of Macedonia and how they had not only bestowed gifts
in a monetary way, but also had given themselves unto the Lord
and to the apostles to be servants in this manner and they say how
the liberality of them and they're bringing this money to the poor
in Jerusalem that They were the messengers of Christ and not
to be blamed for that which they were being used for and conveying
the gifts to those that were poor. And so the context of our
text is the willingness of the Macedonian church, the churches
of Macedonia, to even go beyond their power, even
to give more, willing to give more than what even they had. And really the foundation of
all that God does for his people is in how that he brings them
to be willing. The children of Israel in the
wilderness, God gave to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle
and of all the things that had to be made for him. And he gave
willingness to the people, not only to give the gold, the silver,
the brass and all of the hangings, everything that was needed, but
also willing to do the work as well, and to obey Moses and to
make it according to the pattern that God had showed him of. And you take away the willingness,
you take away the materials, you take away the actual work
on the tabernacle, and there would not have been any of it. It relied on a people that had
been made willing to actually do these things. And we have
the precious promise, the word in Psalm 110, that thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. And it is true, without
the power of God, we are not willing. We are rebels against
God. against his word, we will not
have this man to rule over us. And even the people of God that
are truly called by his grace and taught the worth of the saviour,
there are many times in their lives that they need to be made
willing. And they need the power of God
and the help of God in that very way. So that they do what the
Lord would have them to do, walk in the way that he'd have them
to go in a willing way, not by constraint, but the constraining
love of God and walking in a way that gives honour and glory to
God. Now we can make a mechanical
machine Nowadays especially we can program it to do exactly
what we want it to do. We can even issue it with commands
in a vocal way and it will obey us and it will do it. Even with our cars we can turn
it so that it will obey commands that we speak to it and if it
doesn't understand it will ask us we can tell it again, that
there is no love, there's no willingness, there's nothing
that we can think, well, this that is being returned to us
is a completely free will, voluntary act of love. But when God works
in sinners' hearts, is not to make robots, is not to force
men and women against their will, is to make a people that out
of real love of their own selves. We read in our text, for to their
power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were
willing of themselves. And he speaks this as a fruit
of grace. And what is upon my spirit this
evening is not just in the context here, in the freewill offerings,
it's a very important part for the Church of God. If the Lord
has truly loosened us from the world, if he's truly shown us
what it is, then we will, we will serve the Church of God
willingly with all that we have. And that is a vital part. A person that does not do that
and does not feel any constraint to do it shows little evidence
of any separation from the world or love to God or knowledge of
the scriptures in that way. A Christian Prosperous laying
out, the world seeks to prosper by laying up. And the charges
to the Church of God in Malachi was that the people had robbed
God and they were saying, we're in, have we? And it was in tithes
and in offerings. But those offerings right through
the Old Testament were all to be free will, not by constraint,
not forced, it was to be a free will offering. So we have this word, they were
willing. In the context, the churches
of Macedonia were willing. So I want to extend the thought
and Think of the they and the willingness. And so to confine
our thoughts a little, I want to first consider our Lord Jesus
Christ. And then secondly, men made willing. They were willing. And then lastly,
the question, are we willing and some of those ways that we
may be called to be willing in. The Apostle Paul in this chapter,
he uses as an incentive, an example to the Corinthian church, our
Lord Jesus Christ. And he says in verse 9, For ye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich. And so he uses our Lord as an
example before them. Our Lord spoke of the glory that
he had with his Father before the world was. And the Lord Jesus
Christ was willing, willing that he should be a lamb slain from
the foundation of the world in the purposes of God. When he
says concerning his people, thine they were and thou gavest them
me, He was willing to accept them. The hymn writer says, he saw
me lost and ruined in the fall and loved me notwithstanding
all. How many of us would receive
a gift that had a burden with it? There's places in this country
where a farm was expected to maintain
the local church. And those things are still written
in the deeds. There was an instance some years
ago that a couple received as an inheritance
a farm. And then, sadly, the local church
suddenly realized that whoever owned that farm was responsible
for the upkeep of the church. So they put in a bill for many
hundreds of thousands of pounds to replace the whole roof of
the church. And the poor people, they had
the land, but they didn't have the money to support in that
way. I don't know how it ended, but
to have a gift like that, a gift of land, and then suddenly find
out that bound up with that was tremendous cost. And to think
our Lord receiving his people, and yet the cost. He knew, he
knew what that would mean. He knew that he would have to
become man. made flesh and dwell among us,
the willingness to become a man, to humble himself and to become
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And right in the garden of Gethsemane,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not
my will, that thy will be done. Led as a lamb to the slaughter,
as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he openeth not his
mouth. How many times in the leader
to the crucifixion he was telling his disciples what was going
to happen. When Peter was reproving him,
Our Lord, turn, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou savest not the
things that be of God, but the things that be of men. In the
garden, when they came to take him, put up the sword within
its sheath, the cup that my father hath given me to drink, shall
I not drink it? And again and again he is expressing
his will. that he go forward, that he endure
the cross, despise the shame, that he go through with this
that he'd undertaken to do for his people. Maybe really consider
the willingness of the Lord. The apostle certainly puts it
in this way, how that the Lord was rich, but became poor for
his people. He uses it in this context to
the Corinthians. But may we use it and may we
have it to apply it in many aspects of our life. Even so, ought we
to lay down our lives for the brethren who never forget those
times where the Lord has been pleased to use such comparisons. I know I've mentioned it many
times, but the time that I was going to visit on a Saturday,
Paul Jealous's father in hospital in Ashford, and I was going unwillingly,
I confess it. Much to do at home, many things
to do. I wanted to go, I wanted to see
him, but I was torn. with the things that I was having
to do at home. And I always remember that spot
of the road where the Lord dropped in, even so, ought we to lay
down our lives for the brethren. And in one moment, the Lord had
told me He was one of the brethren, and He let me let loose willingly
all those things I had planned for that day. I've never forgotten
the spot of road often I go on going to Braybourne and the goodness
of the Lord to make me willing in bringing to mind that scripture
of how the Lord laid down his life. You know there are times
with us, we have our lives, we have things to do, we have things
that are planned, And sometimes, maybe at short notice, we need
to lay them aside for another day, another time, and for the
brethren. Sometimes it is that the Lord
will call us to lay them aside, not for helping the brethren,
There may be times of affliction or sickness and whereas we wouldn't
normally lay them aside, the Lord causes us to lay them aside
so that we cannot take them up and we must leave it. And in
that we need that willingness to submit to the will of God
and to bow before his almighty hand, willing that the Lord be
the Lord of our lives and that what he wills is best. Our Lord Jesus Christ then, a
willing Lord, in trial, in affliction, in all that he went through,
an example to us. And especially
where we can view that his willingness was for us, that that which he
did was for our souls. So I want to look then secondly
at men. Men made willing. The Scriptures are full of those. Some seem to be willing straight
away without any help is it were, but others they needed. They needed the Lord to make
them willing. We read of Abraham how that he
went out, not knowing whither he went, told to go into a land
that the Lord would tell him of. And so he came from Ur of
the Chaldees into the land of Canaan. And it is recorded in
Hebrews 11 that this was an act of faith on Abraham's part. by Faith Abraham when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance obeyed. And he went out not knowing whither
he went. And there we have the willingness
joined also to faith. Willingness and faith. willing to go where the Lord
would have us to go, though we do not see the end of the path. Abraham seemed often to walk
in this path. When he was called to trial and
offer up Isaac, his son, then the Lord told him to go into
the land of Moriah and to a mountain that I will tell thee of. And
he had to venture without knowing which mountain it was. And he
takes with him Isaac. Abraham was willing to go and
he is willing to offer up Isaac. And again, we read that it was
by faith, believing that even he would receive him again from
the dead, if he were slain in that way. And the willingness of Isaac
to be bound, to do as his father bade him to do, to walk in that
way. And the blessing that God blessed
Abraham with, because thou hast obeyed my voice in blessing,
I will bless thee, and in thee and in thy seed shall all nations
be blessed, because thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
son, from me. Beautiful type of thee, Father,
not withholding his only begotten Son, and the willingness of the
Son to obey. With Isaac the ram was put in
his place, and slain in his place with our Lord. no substitute,
but for us the Lord is our substitute. The Lord is that lamb. Abraham's
answer to Isaac, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for
a burnt offering. And when we look at Abraham's
life, Canaan, that time on Mount Moriah, Where would any of that
be without willingness? If Abraham was not willing. If
Isaac was not willing. If Sarah was not willing. But
those blessings, needful, the Lord gave, they were willing. We think of Moses. We are told in this catalogue
of faith in Hebrews 11 and verse 25 that he chose rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season. It covers over that time when
Moses was met by the Lord at the burning bush. And you can
read there in Exodus how Moses comes with one excuse after another
why he should not go to the children of Israel and bring them out.
Forty years before, he was very willing. He thought the time
was right then. But now he was not. And there
is Moses, so greatly used, so wonderfully used, a man that
is said to be meek above any man. And yet there at the very
start of his work, after being prepared, 80 years, you might
say, 40 in Pharaoh's household and 40 in the desert, and yet
at the last step he seems most unwilling and has so many objections,
so many things he brings before the Lord. And in the end, the
Lord, because he says he's not eloquent, He sends Aaron, his
brother, to be his spokesman. Maybe with us, maybe with you. The Lord has done many things like
he did with Moses. A lot of preparation, a lot of
teaching, a lot of experience. But now that the way is open, the willingness seems not to
be there at all. And you need to be made willing.
When the Lord dealt with Moses, he made him willing. And he went. And once he went, he didn't turn
back. The children of Israel, many,
many times, they wanted to turn back. But Moses was wonderfully
helped all the way through that ministry and dealing with very,
very difficult situations. Only the time just before they
came into Canaan was his spirit so stirred that God forbade him
from going into Canaan. But what an encouragement that
that is, and to any that holds back, that doesn't feel a willingness,
that has many objections. Maybe you have. You know the
path that you're walking in. It's a view that Moses, with
those objections overcome and willing, the Lord so helped him
all his journey through. Our text says they were willing. Moses was willing, but not so
at first, but God brought him to be. We have a beautiful word in Isaiah
where he speaks of his willingness. In Isaiah 6, in the year King
Uzziah died. And he says in verse eight, also
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and
who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send
me. What a beautiful word. To respond in that way, to be
willing in that way. Sometimes the Lord can use such
words as this. When we look back, when the way is rough and hard
and discouraging, look back to a time that this was our language
too. Here am I, send me. And it's
good for us not only to view the saints of old being made
willing, but through them to realise that we have been in
our life too. And may that be an encouragement
for some tonight who may be at the present time struggling or
discouraged or disheartened to be able to look back to the time
that you were so willing, and the Lord so helped you, and you
could join with Isaiah, here am I, send me. Then we think of Jonah. Jonah that God told to go and
preach to the Gentiles, preach to the Ninevites, And he wasn't
willing. And he ran away. But God sent the wind. He stood up
the sea. He prepared a fish. And Jonah,
in the midst of the sea, cried unto the Lord. And the Lord heard
him and sent him again. And he went. and he preached. And the world was blessed and
they were brought to repentance willingly. But dear Joan, you still might
struggle with anger. Anger to the Lord. Struggle with
the Lord. Now just a thought on this. Many of the Lord's dear people
in the closet before the Lord alone. There are a lot of arguments
with the Lord and wrestling with the Lord.
You know that is the privilege to be able to do so before the
Lord. And the Lord is very merciful
and very kind to his people in that way. It's a different thing
if we were to do so publicly We mentioned Moses before. Moses
was on his own with the Lord when he had all those objections. And the Lord was angry with him,
but there was no, you might say, consequences in that way. But
when the Lord was angry, when he smote the rock twice when
he should have spoken to him, then he couldn't go into the
land of Canaan. But there it is before all, children of Israel. He did not
sanctify the Lord his God. And the Lord has said, if a brother
trespass against us, go and tell him his fault between you and
him alone. And yes, if he will not hear,
then take another. But the Lord has provided it
amongst brethren that instead of first being done in a very
public way, it is done in a very private way. And it is encouraging
in that thought that if you, if I, are struggling with providence,
struggling with the Lord's will, struggling with willingness,
obeying Him, take it to the closet. Take it to
the Lord, between the Lord and your soul. Those things are not as it were to be aired to the
discredit of the Lord or pulling the Lord down before the Lord
or before the world or before the church. But many of the Lord's people
have those times when they come before their Heavenly Father,
come before their Saviour, their Redeemer, and there they have
that close fellowship, speaking, reasoning, seeking that help. Many times
the Lord took the disciples aside, spoke to them, dealt with them. And when we think of characters
like Jonah, who really struggled, may it be a help to us that we
have a God to go to, a merciful, gracious, long-suffering God. And with Jonah, you know, when
the Lord sent thee, Even before those heathen mariners,
he owned the Lord. He didn't disparage him. He said
who he was and why God had sent those things. The men were fearful,
afraid. Jonah told them he'd run away.
But you don't read that Jonah blackened the name of the Lord
then, no. and he was made willing. But
when we think of the place from where Jonah ran away from, he
went down to Joppa to get a ship. And it was that place that Cornelius
was told to send for Peter to come and preach to them, the
equivalent of Pentecost, the time when the Holy Spirit was
given to the Gentiles, and the Lord made sure that Peter was
willing. And that's contrasted very much
when he was held to account by the other apostles at Jerusalem
and had to rehearse the matter from the beginning. But before
those messengers came to where Peter was staying in Joppa, The
Lord gave him the vision of the sheep net down from heaven with
all manner of unclean beasts. And the voice from heaven said
to Peter, Arise, kill and eat. And he said, Not so, Lord, for
I've never eaten anything common or unclean. And the voice said,
That which God hath cleansed call not thou common or unclean. And that was done three times. And then The angel said to him,
Behold, three men seek thee. Go with them. Doubting nothing,
I have sent them. Peter was prepared and ready,
and he went, willing. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of God's power, thy power. Paul was willing, the apostle
Paul, How many of the Lord's servants? How many of the Lord's
people? He has been pleased to make willing. Some have struggled. Dear Jacob,
Joseph has said, although Jacob didn't know it was Joseph, but
the ruler in Egypt, you can't come for more corn until you
send Benjamin. Dear Jacob, he struggled. He resisted. He didn't want to
send Benjamin. But at the end, through the famine,
through extremity, he was willing. And he sent him. If I must be
bereaved of my children, I will be bereaved. All these things
were against me. Maybe. is something you're struggling
with as well, resisting it again and again. You don't want to
give permission. You don't want to allow it to
happen. Think of dear Jacob. You might say, well, I'm waiting
for a word from the Lord. Dear Jacob didn't have a word
from the Lord, but he was so hemmed in by providence there
was nothing else he could do, otherwise they'd starve to death.
There are many things in that account of Joseph and Jacob in
which decisions are taken out of the hands of men by providence. Joseph He did, he was willing
to go as his father bade him to, to see his brethren. And
then everything was taken out of his hand. He didn't have to
decide to go into a pit they threw him there. He didn't have
to decide to be sold as a servant. He was sold. He didn't have to
decide whether he went into prison or not. He was put into prison.
He didn't have to decide whether he could stand before Pharaoh
or not. It was ordained of God. He couldn't
decide what time. Not even when he asked the butler
to remember him, he forgot. My times are in thy hand, not
in the brother's hand or in the mistress's hand or in the butler's
hand or Pharaoh's hand, no. In the Lord's hand, in those
times of the famine and affliction, and all what Joseph and Jacob
went through, sometimes the Lord doesn't give
a word, but makes it like Jacob, so that we're willing. And the
deed is done. Benjamin is sent. But what a
wonderful issue, the next thing he knew, the chariots come back,
Joseph is alive. He didn't lose Benjamin, but
he gained Joseph. How many fears we have before
we're made willing. The Lord days your fears tonight. They, they were made willing. Well, what of our last point? Are we willing? They were willing. Are we willing? Are we willing to make those
freewill offerings Are we willing to take up our
cross and follow the Lord? Are we willing to receive the
word, the hymn says, nor are men willing to have the truth
told, the sight is too killing for pride to behold. Are we willing
to receive that word, that word that reproves or condemns? Are we willing to receive the
word that the law determines? Or are we like in Jeremiah where
the captives that had remained from Nebuchadnezzar asked Jeremiah
to inquire of the Lord for them whether they should go down to
Egypt or not, and made great profession that they would do
whatever the Lord sent unto Jeremiah. But when the answer wasn't what
they wanted, they said Jeremiah hadn't brought the word from
the Lord at all, that it was another king that had stirred
him up against them, and they refused to obey. A profession
at first so willing to hear the word of God, but when it wasn't
what they wanted they were not willing. Have you received a
word that you don't want? So you won't hear it? You won't
obey it? You want another word? A better
word? Are we willing? Are we willing
to serve the Church of God? The many things that are involved
in a church. Many gifts, graces are needed in serving the people of God,
helping them in their need. Many gifts are needed. Nowadays
we think of In practical ways, maintenance of buildings, the
electronic things, the streaming of the services, the finances
of the church, many other different aspects, looking after the elderly,
the young, guiding, helping, supporting a church family. Are we willing? Or are we just
happy to have our name on the church roll? And when we look
back over the year, we think, what has the Church of God profited
from me being on the church roll? All I've done is my own job,
my own family, but the church, well, I never thought I was called
to serve in any way at all for them. Are we willing then to serve
in that way? Maybe to serve in the office,
in the church, as a deacon, or as an elder,
made willing to do so. Many have tried to resist, many
have even tried that they wouldn't do so because, well, if they
weren't a church member, they couldn't be a deacon. But the
Lord has made them willing. In all the offices in the Church
of God, the Lord makes those willing who he has appointed
in that way. But what is very evident is that
many at first are not willing, but the Lord graciously makes
them willing, constrains them, draws them for Christ's sake,
to suffer for his sake, to serve for his sake, to do that which
is his will for Christ's sake. Are we willing? Are we willing? Our text says
they were willing. And may it be that if we're walking
a path this evening and that we're not willing, that the Lord
turns that about and puts us into the text and puts our name
on the role of those that were willing. You know, the apostle
speaks of coming to the end of his path, his course here below. And he says, willing rather to
depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. a willingness whether to remain
for the benefit of the churches, or whether to depart, and he
could leave it with the Lord. May we be given that same grace
and help, help to do the Lord's will freely,
lovingly, with a willing heart. Thy we're
willing. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.