Second Corinthians nine, Paul
is going to finish his teaching on giving that we've looked at
these last two chapters and he culminates his teaching. I want
us to look at verse 15. He culminates his teaching on
giving with verse 15, where he says, thanks be unto God for
his unspeakable gift. Now, we thank God because he's
the giver of every gift. He's the giver. The gifts he
gives are good and perfect gifts. And the unspeakable gift, the
particular gift that Paul is speaking of here is our Lord
Jesus Christ, the gift of God's Son. And the gift of Christ is
so wonderful, it's so full that it's indescribable with human
language. The mere mortal cannot tell how
great the gift of Christ truly is. It's because the gift of
Christ is greater than the human mind can comprehend. We cannot
wrap our mind around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
Paul calls this gift unspeakable for several reasons. First, it's
unspeakable because of what God had to become in order to give
us the gift of his Son, in order to give us the gift of salvation.
God had to become a man. Yet he was still God. As much
God as if he were not man and as much man as if he were not
God. That's beyond expression. That's
beyond human comprehension. But God did that in order to
give us the gift of his son, the gift of eternal life. Second,
it's unspeakable because of what Christ accomplished for his people. He accomplished eternal salvation. He made sinners, the sinners
he died for, the opposite of what we are. He made sinners
righteous. He made those totally depraved
sinners perfectly holy. He gave eternal life to the dead. He gave the dead life that they
can never lose so that you'll never die. That's too much for
a dying mortal to be able to comprehend. We believe eternal
life, but it's unspeakable. It's too much for this dying
mind to be able to really completely, fully understand. It's unspeakable.
Third, it's unspeakable because of how Christ accomplished our
salvation. God, the giver of life, the sustainer
of life, life personified, died because he was made sin for his
people. Yet he remained holy. I don't care how long you talk
about it, you'll never understand that. But that's how he accomplished
our salvation. It's unspeakable. Fourth, it's
unspeakable because of who he gave this gift to. He gave this
gift to rebels, to sinners against himself. Now, here's the Christmas
season. We all opened presents yesterday.
We all spent all this time, you know, going out buying gifts
for people. I venture to guess not one of us bought a gift for
our enemy. We bought gifts for our loved
ones and we just overjoyed to give it to them. We didn't buy
a gift for enemies who hate us. God died to reconcile his enemies
to himself. Unspeakable. Fifth, it's unspeakable
because of how he gives this gift. It's free. Without cost. And the only condition
is you're a sinner. That you're a helpless sinner.
That's who he gives this gift to. Freely. And sixth, it's unspeakable
because of the generosity of the gift. We've been given all
things in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we've been given all
the riches of God Himself. Generosity. Just unspeakable. Now, if God's given you the unspeakable
gift of His Son, you're a cheerful giver. You can't help but be. It's impossible not to be if
God's given you the gift of His Son. His grace and generosity
has made you a cheerful, willing giver. If you've received the
unmerited love of God, you're a loving person, and a loving
person cheerfully gives. And these are the people that
Paul's teaching. He's not teaching rebels here.
He's not teaching goats. This is written to sheep, to
those who have received the unspeakable gift of Christ. Now that's why
he says what he says in verse 1 of chapter 9. For as touching
the ministering to the saints is superfluous for me to write
to you, for I know the forwardness of your for which I boast of
you to them of Macedonia, that Achai was ready a year ago, and
your zeal hath provoked very many." Now, Paul knew it was
unnecessary to say really too much more to the Corinthians
about giving. And I've been studying these
verses, and I feel the exact same way. It's unnecessary for
me to teach the most generous, giving people that I know about
giving. You know this lesson. The Lord
has taught it to you. And over these last couple of
weeks, we've seen Paul's covered this subject very, very well.
And he knew that the people of Corinth were very willing to
give, to send this gift to the brethren in Jerusalem. And their
willingness was an example to the other churches. Paul bragged
about them all around the place, you know, in their Generosity
and willingness was an example to other churches. And we said
this a few weeks ago is we know primarily Christ is our Savior. He's our Redeemer. But he's also
our example in every walk, every step we take. He's our example.
But then we can be examples to others as we follow Christ. And
that's what Paul's telling them. You're an example of giving to
others. So verse three, he says, yet,
even though I don't need to really teach you much more on this,
yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should
be in vain in this behalf, that as I said, you may be ready.
Now it's not necessary to really teach you about giving that much
more since you're already so generous, you're already so willing
to give. Yet we continue to teach these truths from scripture over
and over and over again. Because we need to be reminded.
Now this morning, we'll finish up the subject of giving. But
unless the Lord returns, we'll come back to it at some point.
Because we need to be reminded. Because we, in this flesh, we're
so fickle, we're so easily changed, and we need to be reminded of
all the teaching of Scripture. Look over at Hebrews chapter
3. Here's what Paul is doing. In Hebrews chapter 3, he sent
the brethren for this reason. Hebrews 13, verse 13, he says,
but exhort one another daily while it's called today, lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Unless
we become hardened and change the deceitfulness of sin, we
teach these things repeatedly. And Paul sent the brethren to
gather up this collection to bring to Jerusalem. And he bragged
with whoever these brethren were that he sent, he bragged to them
about the generosity and the willingness and the loving attitude
that they would find when they got to Corinth. Now, there comes
a time when willingness needs to be turned into action. And
now's the time. Paul says, you're willing. And
now's the time. I'm sending the brethren to gather
this gift. You've been warned and you know,
so that you had time to be made ready. Now it's time to put your
willingness into action. So verse four, he says, lest
happily, if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared. We, that we say, not ye, but
we, should be ashamed in this same confident boasting. Therefore,
I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would
go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof
you had noticed before that the same might be ready as a matter
of bounty and not as of covetousness." Now Paul says, if we come to
Corinth and find that you haven't taken up this collection, and
you're not ready to take up the collection, then he says, I'm
going to be embarrassed. Not you. He's saying, I'm going
to be embarrassed because I've bragged on you. And really both
of them would be embarrassed, or they ought to be. Paul would
be embarrassed. He'd spent so much time bragging
on the folks there, and they proved him wrong. And the Corinthians
would be embarrassed for their lack of action. I don't think
anything is worse or more embarrassing to watch a person do. Then talk
a good game and never do anything. And Paul says here, if I've bragged
on you all this time and you've talked about your willingness
and you've talked about how concerned you are for your brethren, and
then you don't back it up by taking action and taking up this
gift and sending it, you ought to be embarrassed. That's embarrassing.
He said, I'd be embarrassed. You know, I'd be embarrassed
in my bragging on you and I'd be embarrassed for you. So he
says in verse six, but this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall
reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully. Now I looked and looked and looked
and looked and looked and looked some more at this verse. This
verse has been misused by false teachers, I'd say forever, but
I know in our day, this verse is misused by false teachers
to extort money out of people. And that's exactly, it's extorting
money out of people. Now, we need to remember Paul's
teaching believers here. He's talking to those who've
received the unspeakable gift of Christ. And God's children
are not motivated by financial reward. We're motivated by love
for Christ. We're motivated by a desire to
follow him and a desire to please our Savior who gave himself for
us and to us. That's what motivates a child
of God, not financial gain. So Paul is not telling us to
give money to the church and God will give you more than you
gave Him. That God will make you rich if
you give money to the church. That's not what this verse is
teaching. And you know that full well. I don't need to tell you
that. But I'll tell you what this verse is teaching. Is that
what we give is never a loss. It's not a loss. Now in business
and companies, you know, the company I work for, I mean not
Doesn't seem like a week, certainly not a month goes by that somebody's
not calling asking for money for some charitable function
of some sort. And every single month, without
exception, we give something. You know how that donation is
treated on a financial statement by an accountant? As a loss. It's treated in accounting the
exact same way as if you sold something for less than you bought
it for. It's treated as a loss. That's not the way the giving
of an offering is. Giving is never counted in the
lost column. Ever. And the example Paul uses
is a farmer planting seed. Now the farmer takes the seed
and puts it in the ground. Out of sight. Just puts it down
in the ground. Like just where you, you know,
where you bury stuff. Where you bury garbage. You put
it out of sight, you know. He puts that seed down in the
ground. Out of sight. He goes back to the house. Well,
that seed's not a loss. If the farmer is going to have
a harvest, he's got to turn loose of that seed. He's got to let
it go and plant it in faith that God will multiply it as he sees
fit. Now, first, when I see that, I see this is how the Lord Jesus
gave himself for his people. He gave himself to die, to be
buried in the ground out of sight. And that was no loss. He rose
again and look at the harvest that came out of him. And we, those who believe him,
are part of that harvest. Now, if my giving in some way
helps spread the gospel of my Savior, that's return enough
for me. That's harvest enough for me.
If my giving is accepted of the Lord who gave himself for me,
that's worth more than money in return. But second, our giving
has a lot of similarities to the farmer who's planting. Now,
when the farmer plants, he's got to let go of that seed. He's
got to plant with an open hand. He's got to let it go. You can't
plant with a fist. It's got to be an open hand.
That seed won't do anyone any good in a fist. All it's going
to do eventually, I guess, is dry up and rot. has got to use
an open hand and be generous with the seed. Well, that's the
same way we give with a generous open hand. Not a selfish fist,
but an open hand because it's not going to do anybody any good
in my fist. It's an open hand. Second, the
seed that the farmer sows, where did he get it? He saved it at
last year's harvest. Last year's harvest, he's kept
some seeds aside to plant for next year. Where do we get the
money we give? It's what we save out of the
abundance that the Lord's given us. Save it back. Don't spend
it on something else. So we have it to give when it's
time. Then the farmer sows his seed over the whole field. He
doesn't just sow it in the middle of the field. He doesn't pile
it up in the middle of the field. He doesn't just sow it over by
the house and have to walk too far, you know, when it starts
to grow. It's over the whole field, evenly distributed. And
we give so that the gospel can go over God's whole field, wherever
it is he's got to harvest. But now that's where the similarities
end. And this is what, you know, the false teachers kind of try
to use as to extort money out of people. The farmer is a businessman. He's a businessman. He's planting
so he can make a profit off of what's harvested. Because if
the Lord blesses his planting, he's going to harvest a whole
lot more than he plants, isn't he? And that's a business. And he's got to do that because
that's his business. That's the way he pays the bills.
But when we give, we're not being investors. The farmer is investing
that seed in a harvest. When we give, we're not being
investors. Investors are not cheerful givers. Investors are
business people. I know a man who worked on Wall
Street. That's not a cheerful place. He said it was horrible. He was so happy to be out of
that. It was horrible, the tension
and the pressure. Everybody's just all day long. Those people are not cheerful.
That's not the way we give. It's a cheerful giving. When
we give, we give freely, expecting nothing in return. It's sharing
what the Lord's given us, the bounty that He's given us. And
we give, trusting the Lord to supply our need, not to make
us rich. The Lord's already made us rich,
hasn't He? He's made us rich. We don't give
hoping that He'll make us rich or give us back more than we
gave. And remember, Paul's teaching believers here, and this is what
the believer knows that the natural man cannot understand. The Lord's
already given us more than we could possibly ever give because
he's given us the unspeakable gift of his son. And we give,
hoping that there'll be a harvest, not a profit of money for us,
a harvest of souls, depending on the Lord, believing the Lord
will supply the need, giving out of a willing heart, not hoping
for a profit. And I have an example about this,
and I hope mom won't Mind me using this example, but it'll
be too late afterwards. When I was in high school, I
had an exceptionally close friend. And he and I needed glasses at
the same time. And it would have been very,
very difficult for his family to afford to get him glasses.
So mom and dad bought his glasses for him. They took the receipts
for my glasses and turned them in to the insurance company.
The insurance company reimbursed them for my glasses. They weren't
supposed to, but they did. Well, a few months later, my
sister Becky needed a pair of glasses. They bought her glasses
and turned the receipts into the insurance company. The insurance
company wouldn't pay for them, wouldn't reimburse them. I wonder
why they did that. The Lord blessed. And maybe that
wouldn't happen every time, I don't know. But this is what we know. Scripture says, when we sow generously,
we'll reap generously. And if we give sparingly and
grudgingly, we'll reap the same. Look at Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs 3 verse 9. Honor the Lord with thy substance,
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. So shall thy
barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out
with new wine." Now look over a few pages of chapter 11, Proverbs. Proverbs 11, verse 24. There
is that scattereth, and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth
more than is but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall
be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
Now look over at Galatians chapter 6. Galatians 6 verse 7. Be not deceived,
God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap. For he that soweth his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Now the Lord will
bless a cheerful, generous giver. He'll bless you spiritually,
I promise you that. He will bless you spiritually,
and materially He may bless, but he'll meet every need. I
do know that. But he won't bless if that's
your motive in giving. If your motive in giving is so
that he'll make me rich, the Lord's not going to bless that
because that's not a cheerful giver. But if you, I mean, you
read the scriptures there. If a person gives willingly and
cheerfully, the Lord will bless them. Because look at verse seven
in our text. Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart. So let him give, not grudgingly
or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. Now, every
believer gives because that's his nature. Every believer doesn't
give the same amount because they're not able. You know, someone
says, well, how much should I give? You give what the Lord lays on
your heart to give. The Spirit will lead each of
us and you make up your own mind. How much we give is not near
as important as our attitude in giving. We give cheerfully,
not grudgingly and not out of grief. I've got to give up this
money. You know, you just got to like
force your hand to put it in the offering. No, that's not
the way we give. We don't give out of necessity
because I have to. You know, the Lord's going to
strike me down if I don't give. No, not out of necessity. It's
out of love, willingly out of love. And gifts that are given
out of that motive are accepted of the Lord, no matter how big
or how small the gift is, because the Lord loves a cheerful giver.
Now that's not going to make the Lord love you more, but he'll
show that love openly to a cheerful giver. The same thing's true
of us. You know, you don't want to accept
a gift from someone as they're giving it to you. They're just
complaining about how much they had to spend on this gift. You
know how much I had to spend on this gift for you? My goodness sakes.
And you know, they start to give it to you, and you kind of pry
it out of their hands. You just say, just keep it. I
don't need it. Just keep it. The Lord loves
a cheerful giver, and he'll bless the cheerful giver. And he'll
enable you to give. Look at verse 8. And God is able
to make all grace abound towards you, that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. I'll
promise you this. You won't lose. by being generous
to others. God won't let you. You won't
go hungry because you gave an offering. We won't go over and
read it, but you know the story of Elijah and the widow of Sarepta. She gave that prophet everything
she had in the house. All the food she had, she gave
to the prophet. She just had enough oil and meal
to make a couple cakes for her and her son and they were going
to go die. And she gave it to the prophet. And what happened?
Her barrel of a meal and a cruise of oil never ran dry, the rain
fell on the earth. You won't go hungry by giving
an offering. You can give it given out of a willing, cheerful
attitude because the Lord is able to meet your need spiritually. Hasn't he met every need? Is
there a need spiritually the Lord has ever left you without? No, sir. He's able to meet every
need materially, too, and he will. You're not going to give
an offering and end up begging bread. David said, I've never
seen it and we won't either. The Lord will enable you to give
according as he's blessed you and he'll give you the heart
to give and he'll give you the means to give what he lays on
your heart to give because he's able to do that. Look at verse
nine as it's written. He hath dispersed abroad. He
hath given to the poor. His righteousness remaineth forever.
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower. both minister bread
for your food and multiply your seeds home and increase the fruits
of your righteousness. This is a quote from Psalm 112.
And what he's telling us here is the Lord is going to supply
your daily bread and he'll give you enough to share. He's going
to give you enough for your daily bread and he's going to give
you enough of that seed to hold back the plant just like the
farmer does. The Lord is gracious and generous. Can't we say that? In our experience,
the Lord's been generous and gracious to us. And he will bless
those that follow his example of graciousness and generosity. Just like the Lord blesses the
farmer's seed when it's planted. Every year they plant and every
year there's a harvest. He'll bless and take care of
those who give to others, who give to the needy the same way.
What he's teaching us is to give out of a willing, grateful heart.
It's not near as important how much you give as giving out of
a willing, loving, thankful heart. Thankful for how much He's blessed
us. So verse 12, being enriched in everything, to all bountifulness,
which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration
of this service not only supplyeth the want of the saints, but is
abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. You won't go to the
poor house by giving offerings. You think the Lord's going to
let you go to the poor house when you're doing His will? He'll
bless that. And you'll be enriched. Spiritually,
you'll be enriched. And He'll meet our need materially,
too. Now, every believer desires two things. We desire the glory
of God and we desire the good of others. And when we give simply
with a willing heart, Both of those desires are satisfied.
Both the giver and the receiver are blessed. And both the giver
and the receiver give thanks. By giving, the giver is not going
to be impoverished and the receiver won't be left in one. And the
poor give thanks because the Lord supplied their need. And
the giver gives thanks that the Lord blessed me, enabled me,
gave me something to give to my brethren. So verse 13 says,
whilst by the experiment of this administration, they glorify
God. By the experience of this administration
is what he means, they glorify God. For your professed subjection
unto the gospel of Christ and for your liberal distribution
unto them and unto all men. Now remember the believers in
Jerusalem that they were gathering this gift up, sending this gift
to, were Jews. They were the ones in need at
this particular time. And who's gathering up the offering
to send for their relief? Those old Gentile dogs. That's
who's gathering this up to send for their relief. Well, you know
that caused those Jewish believers to glorify God all the more.
His grace and mercy to these Gentiles. Because those Gentiles
sending them a gift, that's not natural. But they did, and the
only reason they did, they knew, is because of God's power in
saving them. And the proof of the Gentile
submission to the gospel and faith in Christ is they were
a giving people. They were willing to do this
labor of love for the brethren, most of whom they'd never met.
You see, love is the greatest evidence of knowing Christ. He
who loveth not, knoweth not God. But he who loves, gives. And that love is of God. And
love always gives. Always. So verse 14, he says,
and by their prayer for you, which long after you for the
exceeding grace of God in you. And these Gentiles who gave this
money for the relief of their poverty stricken brethren, they
reaped a harvest. And you know how I know they
did? The brethren prayed for them. That's a harvest in itself. If somebody's praying for you,
the Lord's blessed you. That's a harvest. And they prayed
for them. You see, when we give an offering
to relieve the needs of the poor and of the church, we're really
giving to ourselves, aren't we? Because it's all part of the
same body. Here's something I know about our nature. We've got no
problem giving generously to our bodies, to ourselves. But
when we give, that's what we're doing. We're giving to our body,
the body of Christ. And what motivates the believer?
What is it in a believer that causes you to be so generous?
It's the example of Christ, our Redeemer, who's given us everything. Well, that makes us very willing
to give back just a little portion of the bounty that He's given
us. All right. Lord bless you.