Amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 9.

2 Corinthians chapter 9. We're in part two of our study on lessons in giving. Last week, as we started into it, we said that chapters 8 and 9 both cover this topic, this aspect of giving. And so we said that these two chapters broke down three ways. Number one, we saw examples in giving, and we saw an exhortation for giving. And today, we'll look at the principles.

So the examples that he gave us in giving in chapter 8 were, first of all, a group of people known as the Macedonians, another group there in Asia Minor, or there in Greece, that had given in a very bountiful sort of way. But we looked at their heart behind their giving, and they, first of all, it says, gave themselves to God, and then they gave themselves to us. And in a very abundant way, they were giving in the way that they treated things. And then the second example that he gives us of one who gave mightily was Jesus himself, who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake so that we might become rich, spiritually speaking.

And so after he gave those examples, he then gave an exhortation. And the exhortation was to finish what they had started. They had started desiring to be people that would give when Paul had presented the need to them. They started off strong, had the desire, but like it happened to a lot of us, they sort of fizzled in the end. And so he exhorts them to finish what they had

started. And so as we move into chapter 9, we're going to look at principles, in giving. So if you will, look at chapter 9, verse 1. It says, For it is superfluous for me, and I'm just going to tell you the same thing I told first service. I've never sounded smarter or thought of myself as smarter than when I used the word superfluous, right? You just say it to yourself right now. Say superfluous, right? You feel

smarter already, don't you? Like your IQ just jumped up a little bit because you used that word. For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints. For I know your righteousness, and I know your righteousness, and I know your righteousness, and I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians. Namely, that Achaia has been prepared

since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I have sent the brethren in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that as I was saying, you may be prepared. Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to speak of you, will be put to shame. And so I'm going to tell you the same thing I told first service.

So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to

the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for the sower will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of this, the proof

given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your righteousness. And so I'm going to tell you your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them all. While they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Now from chapter

nine in this section on giving, I've derived eight principles that I think that we need to pay attention to. Eight principles that I think Paul communicates to us, in this area of giving. Number one is a ready spirit. A ready spirit. Notice what he says here. For it's superfluous for me. In other words, I really don't need to write to you about this ministry to the saints. For I know your readiness of which I boast about you to the Macedonians.

Namely that Achaia has been prepared since last year and your zeal has stirred up most of them. He says, I really don't need to write to you about these things because I have seen the way that you have responded to the need. I've seen the way that you've responded to these things. He says, it's with a readiness of spirit. That word readiness can also be eagerness. He also uses the word zeal to talk about it.

Now, this eagerness is a pretty interesting word to use here because I don't know about you, but when I'm eager to do something, I don't have to be coerced to do it. When I'm eager to do something, I don't have to be told that's what I need to do. Let me give you a perfect example. You don't have to tell your kids on Christmas morning to be eager to get up ahead of you.

Correct? Right? Like, I don't have to wake them up on Christmas morning because they're very eager to do so. As a matter of fact, two years ago, I remember my girls got up at 4 a.m. because they were so excited about Christmas morning. And I remember thinking, that's not enough a.m.s. Right? Like, there's not enough numbers on that clock. Come back when it's light.

And you know what they didn't do? They did not come back when it was light. You know why? Because they were very eager. They were so excited about it. And that's the idea that he gives to us about the way our heart should be towards giving, is that there should be this readiness of mind, this eagerness about it. In other words, as he gives us this idea, he says, we should have a heart that is looking

for opportunities. A heart that is looking for opportunities because that's the idea behind an eagerness. And I have a question for you that goes along with that. Do you look for opportunities around you? And again, this has nothing to do with the church that we attend. It has everything to do with the people that you're around on a daily basis. Do you look for opportunities?

Do you look for opportunities to help out the people that are around you? Do you seek out those opportunities? Is there a readiness of spirit? I fear sometimes that in the Western culture, we're all too eager to receive, but not always very eager to give. And yet, one of the greatest ways that we can act just like Jesus is to have that sort of spirit about us that is always looking for the opportunity to show love and grace

by giving to the people that are around us. And so he gives us this first point. This first principle, and that is a ready spirit. As a matter of fact, this ready spirit was so intense that it's what prompted other people to give. That's what prompted these Macedonians to give the gift that they gave was because they heard about this readiness of spirit of the Corinthians.

And so the first principle that he gives us is to have a ready spirit. The second principle that he gives us is to take action. Take action. Notice what it says. I have sent the brethren, verse three, in order that our boastings. The blessing about you may not be made empty in this case, so that as I was saying, you may be prepared. Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to speak

of you, will be put to shame by this confidence. We addressed this last week as well with the exhortation, and I almost didn't even put this as a principle because I thought two weeks in a row of talking about finishing what you've started. I don't know. But then God was like, listen, if I listed it twice, you ought to talk about it. And I was like, good call, because I'm not good at finishing what I started, right?

And sometimes that's who we are. And he says, you need to take action and finish what you started. He said, otherwise, my boasting about you will be empty. Now, when he's talking about boasting, he means his excitement over the way that they were, but he says, it'll be empty. Now, that word empty, as it gives us right there in verse three, is pretty interesting

because it can also mean in vain. You know where else we saw that word used? We saw that word used when Paul said, don't take the grace of God in vain. That's the same idea. He says, if you don't take action, then God's grace is not really taking its work in your life. There's a certain aspect of emptiness in what God's grace is doing in you. And so we must take action in our lives when God is talking to us.

Now, I want to speak not only about what we're the subject at hand, but I want to speak about our walks with Jesus in general, because in general, as believers in Jesus Christ, he wants us to take action. Again, we talked about this last week. But you know what? It's like you sit in church on a Sunday morning and you think, man, he's right. God's nailing me on this.

I need to take action in whatever, fill in blank here, whatever area it is of your life that you know that God is telling you you need to work on, whatever God is telling you you need to surrender to him. You say, I need to take action in that area. But then Monday comes and you all of a sudden go, well, it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought. I just won't pay that much attention to it.

Surely that's for next week that God is talking to me about that. Same thing can happen in your devotional life when God says, now, this is what I want you to do. And you sense the moving of the spirit. You sense God speaking to you. But then you have to actually take action about it. And God is telling us as believers in Jesus Christ that when I speak to you, you must

take action. We're told in the book of James that we are not to be hearers of the word only, but also doers of the word. He said, if you're a hearer only, this is what you're like. You're like somebody who goes and looks in the mirror and then walks away and completely forgets what they look like. In other words, you don't take action. When I still had hair, a little bit, I would look at myself in the mirror every morning

and I would go, well, that's too bad, right? Because when I still had what I like to call the island, the little tuft of hair that grew on the top of my head that I eventually decided it was time to shave off, I would wake up in the morning and it would be swaying one way or the other and lines of emptiness would be there. And so I think I've got to do something about that because I look like an idiot right now. Well, eventually, you know what the mirror told me?

Shave that thing. Son, don't just stop. Let that thing happen. And praise God, right? I finally looked in the mirror, remembered what I look like and took action. And that's what God's word wants us to do. God's word is calling for us to take action. Let me give you one other small example from my life of when God told me I had to take action. So I know that I've shared with you that I used to work construction when I lived in

Kansas City and I was none too big a fan of that job. I really didn't enjoy that kind of work and quite frankly felt somewhat ill prepared in inadequate for the job that I had. And so most days I showed up to work pretty miserable and not really wanting to be there. And so I was finding any way I could to get out of that job. And I remember praying, Lord, either change my heart or change my job.

Now, in the past, God has answered that question or God has answered that prayer. He has either changed my job or he has changed my heart. And so I remember sitting down and reading in the book of Jeremiah. My wife had just taken me this before we had kids. My wife had just taken me to Wrigley Field for my birthday. To watch the Chicago Cubs play. One of the greatest days of my life still.

And so I got back and I'm flying high off the fact that I was in Wrigley Field and Wrigley and all the beautifulness of that. I come home and I'm having this sweet devotional time, hating my job, wanting everything to change. And God spoke to me. He said, you need to stay there until it's time for you to be moved. And that's when God gave me a little saying.

You are where you are until you're not there anymore. In other words, be 100% where you are. Until I move you somewhere else. And I went, I'm supposed to stay. I'm supposed to stay and I'm supposed to work hard and I'm supposed to be the best witness that I can be. And I was flying high because I had heard from God. I felt like he spoke to me through his word.

He gave me a fun, catchy saying. Everything was awesome, right? And then I show up to work the next day and you know what I'm like? You sure about that? And I would continue. This is what I would continue to do for the next couple of months. I would still get on the job search website and I would start looking for a job. And you know what? What I do every time is God would say, don't do that.

I told you to stay where you are. And so I had to take action and quit looking for something else until God decided it was time to move me. You see, God speaks to us and then says, now all I want you to do is respond to what I've spoken by obeying and I'll still even give you everything that you need in order to do it. And so the second principle that he gives us, forgiving, is that eventually you have to take action on the thing that you have committed to God that you would do.

And then we come to the second principle. Let's come to the third principle of giving. The third principle of giving is shown to us here in verse five, and that is beware of covetousness. Notice what it says in verse five. So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead of you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift.

Interestingly enough, the word gift here can also be translated blessing. The verse reads a little differently. He says, He says your previously promised bountiful blessing so that the same would be ready as a bountiful blessing and not affected by covetousness. The word covetousness, of course, is greed. That's the idea behind it. Greedy for what you don't have.

But it's interesting the way it plays into this verse. And I want to read you a couple of other translations. This is a translation that was taken out of the Preacher's Bible Commentary. Not grudgingly. From a stingy heart. And then, of course, one of my favorite expanded translations is the Kenneth Weiss translation. And this is what it says, and I believe carries the meaning of this verse.

A gift that a greedy person would withhold, but gives grudgingly under pressure. You see, as human beings, we have to beware of covetousness. We have to beware of greed that wants us to withhold what is ours. We talked about this last week. We don't have to tell anybody to be greedy or selfish. We come by that very naturally. If you don't believe me, just look at any three-year-old.

Right? You could go down to the two- or three-year-old classroom right now, and you would hear the exact same thing from all of them. Mine. Right? And so, there's that greediness on the inside of us. And so, sometimes we can say, Oh, Lord, you've shown me that I need to give, but that's all mine. I don't want them to have what's mine. And quite frankly, may I say, if that is the way that you feel about it,

God doesn't want what's yours. We'll deal with that here in just a minute. But then what can happen to us is we can feel compelled. We see everybody else giving, and we go, Okay, fine. Everybody else is doing it. I'll do it, too. And we must beware of that heart on the inside of us, that covetous heart that takes place on the inside of us. I think there's two different directions this aspect of being aware of covetousness can go.

First of all, it can speak to the pastor. Right? It can speak to the one who would be delivering a message on the subject of giving. Because there could be an aspect in my own heart that I have to check and say, Lord, make sure. Make sure that this isn't in here. An aspect in my own heart or the heart of any pastor that would teach on this subject that would think, if I am just coercive enough, if I am convincing enough,

then the people will give more, and the ministry will be even more blessed. And may I say, I've said it before, and I'll continue to say it any time this subject comes up, this church does not need your money. God does not need your money. God is in the business of keeping ministries in business. It's not the job of the people. Our job is to respond to what God has called us to do.

What God has called for us to do in obedience, in whatever way that is. There should be no coercion. So I have to check my own heart any time this subject comes up. But not only does the pastor have to check his heart, but the person hearing the message has to check their heart. Because sometimes God will begin to move on our heart to become freer in the way that we handle our finances.

And this little devil on your shoulder will start going, but that's all yours. You worked really hard for it. You shouldn't give it to people who have less than you. And we start thinking, well, I'll give so much, but not as much, because I want people to think that I'm a giver, but not really be a giver. Can I tell you, if that's what's going on in your heart right now,

I'd love to give you a beautiful illustration from Scripture about how bad of an idea that is. And their names are Ananias and Sapphira. Right? So you should just go read that chapter. I believe it's chapter 3, maybe 4 in the book of Acts. Read about Ananias and Sapphira. Listen, God is more concerned about your heart. Then he is your finances. Because if he has the one, you won't have to worry about the other.

And so he says, Beware of covetousness in the way that you handle your giving. Principle number four, you reap what you sow. You reap what you sow. Now this I say, verse 6, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And he who sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully. Now, we oftentimes hear this given to us in Scripture. And usually it has to do with not sinning.

Right? You know what? You reap what you sow. We're always telling our kids that. Right? When we see them doing things that they shouldn't do, you reap what you sow. Listen, if you reap to the wind, you're going to, or if you sow to the wind, you're going to reap the whirlwind. If you sow to sin, that's what you're going to reap. And that's absolutely true. But it's true also in a positive context.

If we sow sparingly in the way that we handle our finances, in the way that we handle the way that we love other people, then we will also reap sparingly. But if we sow bountifully, we will also reap bountifully. It's a picture that's given to us in nature. Now, I'm not a farmer, so I can't always speak very well to farming. I assume that they throw an incredible amount of seed out.

I'm assuming that when they plant wheat last fall or whenever they did that, they weren't just like, there's one wheat seed. There's another. We don't want to put too much down because that's going to cost us a lot of money. Now, I don't know about farming, but I do know about growing turf. And I know that when you grow turf, I want to throw a good amount of grass seed down.

I'm going to rough up that soil. I'm going to throw the seed down. And hey, listen, pro tip, once the grass starts to come up, throw a little extra seed down on top of it because it'll fill in even in the bare areas. You see, when I throw out some grass seed, I'm using the full 50-pound bag. I'm not holding back because I want a nice thick yard. That's a beautiful thing because I want a bountiful harvest.

And it's the same in our lives in Christ with the way that we give. Now, listen, you only can give what you've got. There's no pressure here, and I'll get to that in just a moment. But understand that what we sow, we also reap. We can, first of all, reap in a material sort of way. Now, this does not mean that you will become rich. We talked about that last week.

It's not, oh, if I give a little bit more to God. See, we can become manipulative people. No, not me, Ryan. Yes, even you. You can become a manipulative person and you think, I want to make sure I have a lot of money. Therefore, I'm going to give a lot to God so that he can then make me rich because I can't out-give God. Listen, God also can't be manipulated.

We need to understand that. But there is a material aspect of the blessing, and the material aspect is this. God promises to provide all of our needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. That's a promise given to us in the book of Philippians. And so, how do we reap? Materially, well, it may be a sacrifice for us to do what God calls for us to do,

but we find that he, in an amazing way, provides for us. Provides for us in ways we didn't even know possible. But then, on top of that, we also reap spiritually. We reap spiritually because, first of all, there are eternal rewards that we have. Remember, we're not laying up our treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal.

We're laying up. We're laying up. We're laying up. We're laying up. We're laying up. We're laying up. We're laying up. where 401ks can be destroyed and guys that run Enron can ruin people's retirement accounts, right? We're laying up our treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy and where the Enron guy can't get at it, right? That's what we're doing.

We're laying up our treasures in heaven. And so there are eternal rewards that we reap because of what we do here on earth. We're taught that throughout scripture. But even more than an eternal reward of the fact that we will receive a reward in eternity is the aspect that we will have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ right now. Now, I want you to understand something.

You can never earn God's love. You can never be loved by God any more than he loves you right now. He is so crazy about you. He is so in love with you. He wants to pour all of his blessing and love into your life and there's nothing that you can do to make God put a little extra love into your life because God loves you so much. And I don't know if I can reiterate that enough

because I think we live, we live in a works-based society where we feel like we have to earn the love and affection of people and you don't have to do that with God because he already showed you just how much he loves you. You know how he did that? He did that with three nails and a spear when he laid out his arms on the cross and was willing to die the death that rightfully belonged to you. And so God loves you.

But understand something. There's an aspect of being in tune with the heart of God that comes when we begin to sow bountifully, we reap bountifully being in tune with the heart of God. Right? I use this example in the first service. I can never love my girls any more than I do right now because I'm just crazy about them. I love spending time with them. I love seeing them.

They're just, they're wonderful kids and I love to brag on them and all that kind of stuff. But there are certain points in time where I become a little bit more in tune with their hearts. One of my favorite things to do, especially with my oldest daughter, although Nora puts up with it because she is, she would love it if I skateboarded with her. But I'll die if I skateboard with her.

Like, I'll be casted next week. Anyway, but I love to take them to the coffee shop and read a little devotional with them. We've got this little devotional that we go through and it is literally the coolest thing in the world to be able to sit down with them and just talk about the word of God. And my heart is more in tune with them when they are sharing with me the things going on in their life and I am sharing with them not only the truth of God's word, but even some of the mistakes that dad has made in the past.

You see, it doesn't make me love them anymore. Our hearts are just a little bit more in tune. At that point in time, because I'm able to speak into their lives as they're listening in that way. It's the same thing when we get our hearts in tune with God in this aspect of our finances. When we sow bountifully in that way, our hearts become even more in tune with God

because what are we told that God did? God gave his only son for us. Jesus is our ultimate example of giving. So if I want to ultimately have my heart in tune with Jesus, I live in that sort of way. And then God begins to, reveal himself to me in ways that I didn't even know possible. Partly through material things that he provides for me. Let me tell you a little story.

I'm sure I've told it before, but I want to tell you again. It's about a guy named George Mueller. George Mueller ran an orphanage in Germany. And when George Mueller ran this orphanage in Germany, he felt like what God told him to do is that he was not supposed to seek funds from anyone. He was going to run that orphanage on faith. God told him, you need to seek me for everything.

And that's exactly what he did. He'd never received funding from anybody. God just always provided. And there's this wonderful story from the life of George Mueller where they got up one morning and they said, hey, there's really nothing to feed the kids. And so they prayed. They prayed, Lord, thank you for the meal that you're going to provide. But before they could even get the words out,

there was a knock at the door. And the knock at the door was a guy that drove a bread truck. And he said, I've got all this leftover bread. Is there any way I saw that you're an orphanage? Could you use this? And he said, yes, absolutely. I could use this. Thank you so much. And so they sat down again and began to pray and thank God for the meal that he'd provided.

But as they were praying before they could finish their prayer the second time, another knock at the door. So he goes and he answers the door. And there was a guy that drove a milk truck and the milk truck. Something had happened to one of the wagon wheels, and he had to wait on somebody to come and fix it. He says, in the meantime, all of this milk is going to go bad.

I see that you're an orphanage. Could you use this? And he said, yes, we could. Thank you so much. And they thanked God for the meal that he provided. You see, George Mueller's heart was so in tune with God that God heard those prayers, and he saw God provide in a way that nobody else had. And he saw God in a way that he didn't even know was possible simply because he was willing to sow bountifully and reap bountifully.

Number five, number five principle that he gives us is that God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver. Each one, it says in verse seven, each one must do just as he. Has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. He says, as you think of this aspect of reaping and sowing, and as you think of this aspect of giving, understand each person has to do

what God has determined in their own heart that they should do. It's an aspect of obedience that we have in our own lives. He says, so each person must determine in their heart what they're supposed to do. That's a principle of giving he gave to us also in the book of First Corinthians. But then he gives a little caveat to this. He says, not in a grudging or compulsory sort of way.

Notice what he says, not grudgingly or under compulsion. Why? Because God does not want a begrudged gift from us. God doesn't want us to give in that way. I was talking to somebody the other day and they said, I'm praying that you have wisdom as you handle this aspect of talking about giving. They said, I grew up in a church where they made you feel really condemned if you didn't give enough.

They made you feel like you were an inferior Christian. They made you feel like you were an inferior Christian. If you weren't giving enough. And my friends, I don't want anyone to feel that way. Truly, I don't want anyone to walk away from here going, I must be inferior because I'm not giving enough. Listen, that's not the idea. My goal is not to coerce, compulse, or cause grudging giving in the hearts of any person.

Because listen, and understand this. God is not interested in our money. And I will say this multiple times today. God is not interested in our money. He says, He's interested in our hearts. That's what He cares about more than anything. We just have to understand that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. And so God doesn't want that compulsory giving from us.

And we can feel free to do what God calls us to do. As a matter of fact, He says, I don't want it to be in a grudging or compulsory sort of way. He says, I want it to be in a cheerful way because God loves a cheerful giver. Now, the word cheerful here is really interesting. In the Greek, the word is hilario. Guess what word we get from the word hilario? We get hilarious.

Right? So literally, how this reads is God loves a hilarious giver. Now, for those of you that did not have to attend, or that did not attend the Calvary Chapel Bible College, you've never listened all the way through the Bible probably with Chuck Smith. I had to listen all the way through the Bible with Chuck Smith. Let me rephrase that. I got to listen all the way through the Bible with Chuck Smith.

It felt like I have to in the beginning, but eventually you just kind of liked it. Now, Chuck Smith was big on this verse and referenced it a lot of times because his feeling was the same way. If you can't drop a check in the box and laugh while you do it and find joy in your heart while you do it, then don't do it. If you feel coerced or compulsed or you have a bad attitude about giving, don't do it.

Just don't. If when you support a missionary and you write that check and put it in the envelope and you have a bad attitude about it, don't do it. Don't do it because God wants a cheerful giver because if it can't be done with the right heart, then my friends, God doesn't want it. And so as Chuck would teach about this, he used this word quite a few times.

And if you've never heard Chuck Smith speak, he's a very slow, deliberate speaker. And so those of us that were Bible college students, sometimes we had to listen to one Chuck tape a day, right? There were cassette tapes at that point in time. For those of you that are small children, understand that a cassette tape was this plastic thing that you put in and you...

Anyway, ask your parents about it. Look for a picture. We had to listen to these Chuck tapes and they were over an hour each. And so, I mean, it was a lot of listening. And so eventually some of us started getting these things called fast speed Chuck players. Chuck player is not how you would find it at the store. You just found a multiple speed Walkman. And so we could speed Chuck up and make him talk really, really fast.

And it was really funny. And so in normal speed, it sounded like this. God loves a cheerful giver. The word is hilarious. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That's how it sounds in slow speed. This is how it sounds in fast speed. God loves a cheerful giver. He loves it, it is hilarious. Ha, ha, ha, ha. And so when I hear this, that's all I hear in my head when I think about this particular verse.

But it makes you think about that, right? And you're laughing right now. That's what God wants you to give like. Oh, this is the greatest thing I've ever done. I can't wait to give to the work of the ministry of God. Oh, look, there's somebody in need. I'm so excited. I can't wait to give to them. I'll sound just like Chuck in fast speed. It's going to be amazing.

Because if you can't, then God doesn't want it. Because as I said before, God doesn't want your money. He wants your heart. And if your heart's not right behind the way that you give, then you need to wait until God gets your heart right, and then you can give. And so he says God loves a cheerful giver. Number six, it is a work of the grace of God. Giving is a work of the grace of God.

Notice what it says in verse eight. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always, having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

You will be enriched. You will be enriched in everything for all liberality. I love these verses and I love this point because it's so absolutely true that the work of God that he does in us is simply his grace. He says God is able to make all grace abound to you. If I remember correctly, this is now the eighth time that the word grace is used in chapters eight and nine.

Isn't that amazing? That's what the work of giving actually is in our lives, that it's God's grace at work in us. What do you mean by that, Ryan? Well, first of all, even the desire to give means that God's grace is at work in you. He's the one that gives us that desire. As I've mentioned before, most of us are not overly giving by nature because we're selfish human beings.

It's a part of the fall. And so as we see God at work in our lives, through his grace, he begins to open up our eyes to the needs that are around us so that we care. My youngest daughter has been grateful that she's raised with this gift. She'll give any of her stuff away to anybody. And sometimes I'm like, sweetie daddy just bought that for you. Can you not give it away just yet?

Can you not give that to somebody? Because that's just who she is. If she's got it and she thinks you need it, she'll give it to somebody. I don't know how many times I thought, where is your fill in blank here? And she's like, oh, so and so and needed it. So I gave it to him. I'm like, son of a gun. Okay, well praise God. The gentleman that's always downtown with the hungry sign,

her heart just changed. hurts for him. I've never seen one human being care more about another human being that she's never met before in her life. I remember the first day that when it started getting cold and he had a little stocking cap, she goes, oh, dad, I am so glad somebody bought him a stocking cap. And she just cares so much. And that grace is at work in her. And so I have to teach her like,

this is a safe way for you to give. And this is a not safe way for you to give. This is the wise way. This is the unwise way. And so I'm working her through some of these lessons, but you can't always teach that kind of heart. That's the grace of God at work in my tiny little daughter who just wants to give to other people. And that's what God wants to make us too, is he wants that grace to be

a part of us so that we care so much about the people that are around us that it actually hurts us when we see others in need. I listened to a guy from Compassion International speak one time and he said, I was addressing a group of people and there was a guy who God had saved out of a homeless lifestyle where he was doing all kinds of other things that he shouldn't have been doing, but God saved him out of it. And he says, as I was speaking to this group, I said, if I was to ask you to define the word compassion, how would you define it? And he said, it hurts so bad that you just have to do something.

That's an amazing thought, is it not? And that's the compassion that God wants to produce inside of our lives, but it's not produced by me working that up. It's not produced by me trying. It's produced by God's grace. By God's grace at work inside of me. And so not only does God's grace produce inside of you the desire, the ready spirit, and the willingness to take action, but he then provides everything

that you need. Did you take note of that? Look at verse 10. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You say, sometimes it hurts, but I don't know. And so God does not always have anything to give. May I say, God honors that desire and sometimes will even provide you with what you need to be able to give to other people. There's this wonderful

story in the C.S. Lewis's book, Mere Christianity. And he said, he was talking about how we need everything in order to love God in return. And he said, it would be like this. It would be like if a dad was having a birthday and the child, all they wanted to do was buy a gift for their dad, but they had no money. And so they come to their father and they say, I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. And so they come to their father and they say, father, I need money so that I can buy you a gift for your birthday. And he says, so you hand the money to the child and the child goes, purchases you the gift and comes and gives you the gift that was purchased with your own money.

He says, though you are six pence, none the richer, your heart is full. He said, that's the idea behind the way it is with us and God. We say, Lord, I see a need. I want to meet the need. I don't have what it takes to meet the need. And so God provides what we need in order to meet that individual's need. And it's all about the grace of God at work in our lives. Because remember,

it's not about our money. It's about our heart. And we see, and we say, Lord, look at what I was able to do for you. And he goes, my heart is full. He provided the desire. He provided the means. All we did was obey. And now God's heart is full. You see, it's all about the grace of God at work in our lives. It's all about his grace doing what needs to be done inside of us.

He will supply all of our needs. Now, along with this principle is another interesting point that goes along with it, with it being according to God's grace. And that's that we can never outgive God. One of the beautiful truths about giving is that we can never actually outgive God. Matter of fact, we're told in scripture that all who have given up homes or families or wealth will

be restored tenfold in the kingdom of God. And so we're told that we can never outgive God. And in fact, we're told in the book of Malachi, Malachi chapter three, I believe it's verse 10 of chapter three, where he, where God says, put me to the test in this. Bring me your first fruits, bring your first fruits into the storehouse and see if I won't open up the windows of heaven to bless you. And so it is all a work of the grace of God. Now, principle one,

number seven is this. God will be glorified. It's like magic. God will be glorified. Notice what it says. End of verse 11, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because the proof given by this ministry,

they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all. While they say, while they also by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. God is glorified anytime we obey him, but especially in this way, because notice the, the, the, there's three phrases I want you to take note of. End of verse 11.

Which through us is producing thanksgiving to God? Into verse 12, Overflowing through many thanksgivings of God. Middle of verse 13. They will glorify God for your obedience to your confession. You see, here's what happens when we, God uses us to meet the needs of somebody else. There is great, thanksgiving to God that is poured out. Perhaps you've never been in this situation,

but if you have been in this situation where you think to yourself, I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills this month. Perhaps there's a large bill that needs taken care of and you're going, I truly don't know how this is gonna happen. There's literally nothing. The storehouse is empty. The bank account is empty. As a matter of fact, that $2 is probably gonna have to go

to cover the overdraft fee from the last check that I wrote. Perhaps you've been in that place in your life and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, God provides for you. And you maybe don't even know where it came from and you're just going, wow, that is so amazing. I have been praying for this. I have been praying that God would provide this. And you just thank God over and over again

for the work that he did. That means that the individual who God laid it on their heart to say, you need to send so-and-so $300 and you go, I have no idea why. You don't need to know why. You just need to obey. And so you send them the $300 and all of a sudden, you find out through the grapevine, maybe through a prayer chain, you find out, hey, so-and-so's need was met.

Praise God for what just happened. And they are thanking God. And you go, wow, I obeyed. God was glorified. And now God is being praised for this. Isn't that a beautiful thing? Isn't it beautiful to see the way that even in this, God can be glorified because God is glorified when we obey him and then people praise God because of it. He says, God will be glorified through your giving.

But not only is God glorified because people thank God for the gift that you gave, but God is glorified because there's unity in the body. Notice what it says in verse 14. In other words, there is love that has grown out of the gift. The church at that point in time was a little fractured because the church in Jerusalem, which was mainly Jewish, did not always think as friendly about the church throughout the world, which was mainly Gentiles.

If you will, there was racial differences between the two. One of the ways that Paul desired to see some of these racial differences healed is by showing love to the church in Jerusalem to show that though these Gentiles may look a little bit different, may act a little bit different, they still are believers in Jesus Christ. They still love the Lord. And one of the ways that he saw that God could bring healing was through a gift.

And as this gift would arrive in Jerusalem, it would then cause the Jerusalem saints to say, wait, it's not the Corinthian church and the Jerusalem church. It's not the Gentile church or the Jewish church. It's just the church. It's not the white church and the black church. It's just the church. It's not the church in China and the church in the United States.

It's just the church. It's not the Pentecostal church up the hill and the conservative church down the hill. It's just the church. And as we seek to help each other, all of a sudden we start eliminating differences because there is unity in the body of Christ. Because as we realize that the fundings that God has given to either me as an individual or us as a church can be used to support believers

other places, no matter what some of their stances are that I may or may not agree with, I recognize the fact that they are still just the church. Well, Ryan, they have different eschatology than we do, but do they still believe Jesus is the only way? Then they're still just the church. But, Ryan, they have different views on the giftings of the Spirit than I do.

But do they still believe that Jesus is the only way? Then they're just the church. Do they still believe that the Word of God is the foundation? Then they're still the church. And here's what happens, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, is that as God uses us in those ways and as we are obedient, as we have that ready spirit and we take the action and we sow bountifully and as we are a cheerful giver

in the way that we do all these kinds of things because the grace of God is at work in our heart, God is glorified through it. God also is glorified through the unity of the body of Christ. Do you remember what Jesus prayed in John 17? He said, Lord, that they would be one as you and I are one. And when we begin to recognize the needs of others around us, we begin to live out the unity that God desires for us to have,

unity under the headship of Christ with the foundation of the Word of God. And all of a sudden now, a church that you've maybe never met before is now praying for you. I remember I sponsored a missionary at one point in time through Gospel for Asia and this missionary that I sponsored, who I have still never met, but sponsored him for a very long time. I received a letter from him one day, and it was when I was going through a very difficult time.

And in this letter that I received from him, he said, I prayed for you today. And I don't know what it was about that, but that ministered to my heart more than I could have even thought possible. I thought, here's a guy on the other side of the world that I've never met before. All I do is send him some money so that he can keep doing the work of the Gospel.

And all he knows is that this is his name, and he's sending you money to further the work of the Gospel. And so, I'm going to pray for him. And I thought, I wonder what else would be going on in my life if he was not going to battle for me on a daily basis. My friends, God's not interested in our money. He's interested in our heart. And when we devote all to him,

he does a true work in our heart and the hearts of the people that are around us. This brings us to number eight. Number eight is, it is in response to the work of Jesus. Notice how he closes with verse 15. He says, Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Why can we be individuals who are giving towards others?

Because we are responding to the work of Jesus Christ in our own lives because we received something we didn't deserve. We received something that we should not have ever been able to have. And yet, God in his sowing bountifully sent Jesus, to come down, who laid aside his glory, laid aside his riches, so that he could become poor, live among us, die for us, so that we, spiritually speaking, could become rich. And so, as human beings, we're created to be responders.

We're created to respond to everything that he is and everything that he's done for us. And so, as we've gone through all of these principles, I want to encourage you, simply respond. Respond to who God is, and respond. Respond to his calling in our lives. Now, I'd like to wrap it up here, bring a little conclusion, hopefully put a neat little bow on it, and then be done with this topic for a really long time.

These lessons on giving are not about giving your best gift. I'm not going to now close this off and be like, no, the ushers are going to come around with a bucket, and I just need you to give your best gift so that we can keep the work of the minister here at the Calvary Chapel going. Right? I hear those kinds of pleas sometimes. You just need to give your best gift.

No, you just need to do what God tells you to do. But that's not even what this is about. Because, quite frankly, these two Sundays have not even been about money. They've not supposed to have been about finances. What they've really supposed to have been about is our heart. Because God is interested in our heart. What do I mean about that? Well, three ways that I want to close out

that have to do with the heart of the giver, not the finances of the giver. Number one lesson about the heart of the giver is that we are to respond, to the work of Jesus Christ in my life. Ryan, you just said that. I know, but repetition is good. We respond to the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. Now, that may even mean that some of you sitting here this morning

have never come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So you don't even know what grace I'm talking about right now. Because if you're going to become who God wants you to be in this area, you must first belong to Jesus. And so you need to respond to the grace of God. You see, the love of Jesus Christ compelled him to come down and dwell among us, so that he could bear all of our sin on the cross.

And so we respond to him by dedicating our lives to him. But what we realize is, me dedicating my life to him didn't just mean a portion of my life, it meant the entire life. And so I need to continue to respond to the work of Jesus Christ in my life. And my friend, if you're struggling with that, you're going, man, I just don't even know what to do anymore.

I feel like I've got no feeling in my walk. I don't have any love for Jesus. I don't feel like I don't obey him the way that I should. It's because you're no longer responding. And you need to pray that God would show you all of who he is and everything that he's done for you so that you can begin to respond to that. God loves to answer that prayer. Matter of fact, I would encourage you, if you feel like your love for Jesus has grown cold,

your walk with him has grown cold, then you need to pray, Lord, show me who you are so that I can respond with all of who I am. And I promise, from personal experience, he can do that. Number two, we are to fully surrender in every area of our life to Jesus Christ. Fully surrender to Jesus in every area of our lives. There's a wonderful book that I read when I was in college.

And every now and then I try to read some chapters from it. And the book is by a guy named Andrew Murray. I think I've talked about it before. It's called Absolute Surrender. To quote Britt Merrick, it will destroy your life in a really good way. Because it does. It will take away all of your excuses. Because the entire thing is about fully surrendering to everything of who Jesus is.

Because you see, when we come to Jesus, all we knew was we were sinners that needed a savior. So we came to Jesus and we said, Okay, Jesus, I need your salvation because I see the sin in my life and I don't like the guilt, the depression, the anxiety, the stress, the shame, everything that I'm living with. And so I want to give all of that to you and you take care of it. And God's like, that's wonderful.

But I want it all. I want everything. That's why Jesus said you have to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. It starts with salvation and it's not finished until we go home to be with him. And so as we walk with Jesus, we realize that every day I've got a new little area of my life that I need to surrender to him, a new portion of my life that I need to surrender to him.

Perhaps this aspect of finances has touched your heart over the past couple of weeks and you've said, you know what? That part of my life actually doesn't belong. It belongs to Jesus. But he's looking for full surrender in every portion of our lives. And so we must live in full surrender to Jesus Christ. I was sharing this with somebody. I know I'm running out of time here.

I was sharing this with somebody the other day and I know I've told it before about my good friend Truman Page that used to live at the retirement community that I used to work with who God used immensely in my life. And I remember him telling me about six months before he passed away, he looked at me and he said, I am more aware now of my need for the grace of God in my life than I ever have been before. And I thought, wow, that's the most awesome discouraging thing I've ever heard in my entire life. But you know why?

It's because at the age of 80, I don't remember exactly how old he was, after having walked with God for 50 years and knowing the word of God maybe better than anybody I ever knew, he realized that he still had areas he needed to surrender to. And he saw that God was still pointing at areas of his life that needed to be fully surrendered to him. And so what does it mean about the heart of the giver? Well, it means the heart of the giver not only needs to respond to the work of Jesus in my life, but needs to be fully surrendered to Jesus in every area of my life.

And then number three, rest in the work of God's grace in me. Rest in the work of God's grace in your life. Because it's easy after you've been given an exorcism and you've been given an exorcism, you've been given an exhortation, a message that includes exhortation, to try really hard. Okay, now I'm going to try really hard to be who God wants me to be. And you know what you'll find?

If you try really hard to be who God wants you to be, you'll fail. Because it's not about you doing it. It's about the grace of God at work in you. It's about being that little kid that goes to God and says, I want to buy you a gift, but I don't have any money. Can you give me some money? And then he supplies everything that you need to be who he's called for you to be.

Rest in the grace of God. And let his... Get off the treadmill of works and let God's grace do its work in your life. Amen? Let's all stand. In Christ alone My hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This cornerstone This solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love What depths of peace When fears are still When strivings cease

My comforter My all in... Here in the love of Christ I stand In Christ alone Who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe This gift of love And righteousness Scorned by the world Scorned by the ones he came to save Until on that cross As Jesus died The wrath of God Was satisfied For every sin On him was laid Here in the death of Christ I stand The death of Christ I live The ground his body lay Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth In glorious day Up from the grave he rose again And as he stands In victory Since curse has lost Its grip on me Bought with the precious blood of Christ No guilt in life No fear in death This is the power of Christ in me From life's first cry To final breath Jesus commands my destiny

No power of heaven No schema Till he returns Oh calls me home Here in the love of Christ I stand Till he returns Calls me home Here in the love of Christ I stand Here in the love of Christ I stand Here in the love of Christ I stand Here in the love of Christ I stand Lord I just thank you for your son Jesus And what he's done for us Lord God I thank you for the new life that is in him Lord in his death in his resurrection Lord I just thank you Lord I just pray that we would walk in newness of life For those God that have not That have not begun that walk with you Lord I just pray that That they would begin that walk this morning Lord Right now Lord And God I just pray they would also walk In newness of life

God, I just pray that as we go, I just pray that your Holy Spirit go with us and continue your good work in us this morning, God. We love you and we praise you in your precious name. Amen. Be blessed.