SHAP June 11, 2023

II Corinthians 8: 1-7.

Some years ago, Jane and I were involved in starting a fledging ministry – a church, in and around the wealthy high-rise international community in Pyrmont.

Now, a small, struggling church in south-western Sydney, comprising believers who mainly lived in public housing situations– heard about this new church plant – and felt compelled to get behind the project.

Even though they had very, very limited fixed incomes – mainly pensions of one kind or another, they prayerfully concluded that God was calling them to support the stipend of an assistant minister in Pyrmont for a period of two years. 

And so, each week, they faithfully contributed to that project. 

Their generosity and their courage was breathtaking.

Generosity is our theme this month. 

You know, Jesus talked a lot about the generous use of our God-given resources. 

It’s been noted (by Howard Dayton, Leadership, Vol 2, #2) that 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions.

In the Gospels, an amazing 1 out of 10 verses (that’s 288 verses) deal directly with the subject of money. 

The Bible – in total – comprises some 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.

One reason for this is that whilst money and possessions are inanimate and neutral, they have the potential to be extremely distractive (at worst, destructive).

Hence Jesus’ caution; “Watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his or her possessions”. Luke 12:15.

The part of the Bible we’re looking at today – and over the next few weeks, is a letter written in the middle of the first century, by the church planter, pastor, and evangelist Paul to a wealthy, cultured, and upwardly mobile group of Christians in the city of Corinth. 

Paul himself had spent almost two years in that city preaching and teaching and many people had turned to Christ through his ministry.

What we have before us is a follow-up letter; information on how to live ‘christianly’ – without compromise, in an oftentimes hostile and seductive environment.

One last piece of background detail: The church to which Paul writes owed its existence to the “mother-church” in Jerusalem.

That is, women and men who were converted and trained in Jerusalem, went out from that city, from Jerusalem, and pioneered new ministries throughout the Roman empire  – and beyond.

And Corinth is a case in point.

Paul and his colleagues are very keen that these new churches – who are indebted to the mother church in Jerusalem, continue in fellowship with that church.

One expression of fellowship that Paul initiated and encouraged was monetary.

The churches would intentionally, and systematically receive financial gifts from their members, and then forward that collection to the struggling mother-church in Jerusalem.

The Corinthians had readily agreed with this concept but needed prompting in the follow-through.

Hence Paul’s exhortation to ‘get with the programme’.

Rather than lay a guilt trip on the Corinthians, he tells them a story.

It is story of courageous generosity in face of extreme hardship and persecution.

1. Courageous Generosity: The Macedonians.  vv 1-5.

The Macedonians, unlike the Corinthians, were neither wealthy nor sophisticated. 

Indeed, to look at – they may have been decidedly unimpressive.

Paul says they were extremely poor: no successful merchants or traders, no high-flying executives, no landed families. 

Theirs was a subsistence lifestyle, it would seem. 

Perhaps they were day labourers, or household servants; we don’t know exactly.

What we do know is this; despite their privations they were spiritually rich and absolutely overflowing with joy.

And the reason is spelt out in v.1 – Paul refers to the “grace” that God gave the Macedonians. Grace is an unmerited or undeserved favour – an unearnable act of kindness.

And the word is used here in two ways.

First, the Macedonians have been put right with God because Jesus took their place in death; He experienced the punishment for sin which was their due.

That’s grace – an undeserved or unmerited favour.

And these Macedonians -people from Thessalonica, Philippi, Berea, were filled with a sense of gratitude and thankfulness.

They’d been adopted into God’s family – and though their earthly circumstances were dire, they had a rich inheritance awaiting them in Heaven.

And they believed it!

They’d understood God’s grace to them in Christ and they were wonderfully joyful.

Second, God’s unmerited, unearned love is dynamically at work through them.

In his kindness, God will work through the Macedonians to bring great blessing to the struggling church in Jerusalem.

Because these people have a Heavenly perspective, they are no longer pre-occupied with the here and now – possessions and material security do not constrain them.

And that is why they are so courageous when it comes to supporting gospel ministry in Jerusalem.

Paul tells us that they gave as much as they were able – and then some – v.3.

Not reluctantly.

It was their initiative.

They’d heard of the need, and they urgently pleaded with Paul for the opportunity to share in the work.

For them, it was a privilege to be used of God with what little they had, to make a difference for the Kingdom of God (v.4).

Gladys Phillips died more than 20 years ago. 

She was a very keen supporter of another church that Jane and I pastored in N.W. Sydney before the turn of the century.

Gladys was one of the most generous contributors to the work.

Gladys used a significant amount of her pension savings to buy wool and other materials that she would then turn into beautiful items of clothing for new-borns.

These little outfits would be sold, and the proceeds were given to the church, to fund ministry projects.

When Gladys died, she left all her ‘worldly goods’ to the church.

I was taken aback when a relative showed me through the little room where she lived.

All the aforementioned ‘worldly goods’ comprised three suitcases filled with wool and cloth, a few items of clothing, and some other personal effects, a bed, a dresser, and nothing more.

That was it. 

Talk about austere. 

Gladys Phillips, from a worldly perspective, had nothing.

Zip! ☹

But as a recipient of God’s grace, Gladys was rich indeed.

Like the Macedonians, Gladys gave as much as she could – and some.

And I think her secret lay in the fact that she had surrendered her ‘all’ to Jesus.

She had entrusted her life to Christ, and she believed his promises to supply all her needs.

That’s what the Macedonians had done.

You can see it there in the text – “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us…”

On view is complete self-surrender.

They acknowledged Christ as their Lord – and they had placed all their resources – their time, their talents, their possessions, their skills at Jesus’ disposal.

There’s another wonderful example of this in Acts Chapter 4.

Barnabas, who becomes a pioneer missionary and church planter, hears of the needs of the church in Jerusalem, so he puts a property on the market, and brings the proceeds, in their entirety, to the church leaders – who in turn redistribute the money to those in need.

Barnabas, like Gladys and the Christians in Macedonia, gives himself wholly and unequivocally to the Lord – and to His people.

And Paul is urging the Christians in Corinth to follow suit.

2. A Call to Action: The Corinthians – vv 6-7

The way Paul sees it, the Christians in Corinth quite literallyexcelled in almost every area of ministry and service.

They were an extremely gifted group; faith-filled, articulate, highly intelligent, utterly serious about following Christ, and deeply committed to upholding Paul and his team in their ministry endeavours.

An impressive bunch, really. 

Very much like South Head Anglican, right?

And knowing them as well as he does, Paul is not overwhelmed by this vibrant and able group.

Indeed, he puts his finger on an aspect of their living for Christthat needs immediate attention.

“Just as you excel in all these things” says Paul, “see that you also excel in this grace of giving” v.7.

There’s that “grace” word again. 

It might be translated, “excel in this gift of giving”.

That is, “allow God to exercise his undeserved kindness to others – through you – as you generously release your resources for the work of the Kingdom”.

I sometimes hear people praying for different spiritual gifts; the gift of evangelism, the gift of hospitality, the gift of tongues, the gift of teaching, and so it goes. All right and proper things to do, by the way.

Less frequently do I hear people praying for the gift of giving. “Lord, please give me greater and wider opportunities for disbursing your resources” or, “Lord, make me a generous and wise steward….” 

Those kinds of prayers.

I am convinced that Gladys -whom I mentioned earlier, had the gift of giving – as does another elderly lady I know. 

This aged soul wisely invests what little she has – and then she gives away all the dividends and profits.

At times I wonder how she survives, but God meets her every need. 

Like Gladys, this woman excels in the grace of giving.

Conclusion.

Friends, we are a privileged group here today. 

In his mercy, God has granted us salvation in Christ. 

We’ve been forgiven our sin and we enjoy a relationship with God which will continue into eternity.

That’s grace – unmerited, unearned mercy.

And the person who has grasped the “bigness” and the “greatness” and the wildly extravagant nature of God’s grace will – like these Macedonians, give themselves fully to the Lord Jesus.

As God in Christ has given us his all – we in response, are to give him our all.

We are to submit our lives – our careers, our investments, our possessions, our aspirations, and our dreams into his hands.

Have you done that?

And that means, like the Macedonians, we’ll be looking for opportunities to minister God’s grace.

We’ll be constantly asking the question, “with the resources that God has given me – time, professional skills, training, money, property, mental acumen, manual dexterity, and an array of spiritual gifts and talents, how can I build up the church and make a difference for Jesus in my sphere of influence?”

I think old Winston Churchill was right when he said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”.