The Benefits Of Giving
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called Generous, which is about learning to give, in a world of greed. Last week we talked about the motivation for giving, and this week we’re talking about the benefits of giving. In Acts 20:35 the Apostle Paul quotes Jesus saying “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” but deep down inside do we really believe that? Do we really believe we’re more blessed to give than receive? I mean I’ll admit I sometimes like to receive. A few weeks ago somebody treated me to 4Rivers, and I enjoyed receiving that...A lot of parents are constantly giving to their kids cooking, cleaning, doing their laundry, sacrificing their down time for their kids extra curricular time. But when your kids let you sleep in, do the cleaning or laundry for you so you can get a break, you enjoy receiving that...I’m not saying I don’t enjoy giving, I’m just saying deep down inside there’s a little selfishness in me that really enjoys receiving. What about you? Which do you enjoy more, is it giving or receiving?...
Now there’s nothing wrong with enjoying blessings from others. Jesus didn’t say we can’t enjoy receiving blessings, instead he said we’ll be more blessed if we give than receive. He said we’ll have greater benefits in giving than receiving. But what are those greater blessings, those greater benefits in giving? That’s what we’re talking about today, so let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 8 and get into it. You’ll find 2nd Corinthians in the last quarter of your bible, and we’ll be in 2ndCorinthians 8:10-9:2. The title of today’s message is The Benefits of Giving, and here’s the big idea. Giving benefits you and those around you...Giving benefits you and those around you...
Context:
Here’s your context...The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to a church located in Corinth Greece, which archaeologists discovered was a more wealthy urbanized city. So the issue Paul’s addressing with these Corinthian Christians isn’t their lack of wealth, it’s their lack of generosity with their wealth. Many churches were giving to help the Jerusalem church that was suffering mainly from a famine, and at one point the Corinthians were giving too. So in vs 7-9 Paul encourages them to keep giving, to excel in this act of grace, in response to the infinite grace Jesus has given them. As we studied Paul’s words last week we learned 5 principles on giving, and today we’ll learn 3 more principles specifically on the benefits of giving. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
2 Corinthians 8:10 states, “And in this matter I am giving advice because it is profitable for you...” The Greek word for ‘profitable’ can also be translated as ‘beneficial,’ and who is it beneficial for? Paul says you! It’s beneficial for you, meaning the giver. Remember the context is about giving, especially to help the Jerusalem church. Paul encourages the Corinthians to excel in this act of grace, and he says it’ll be beneficial if they do, which leads to our 1st principle.
Principle #1 = Christian giving benefits the giver: Christian giving benefits the giver, but how? Last week in vs 8 we learned that Paul said our giving is a demonstration of our love. It proves our love is real, it proves our faith is real. It’s hypocritical if we proclaim Jesus is a loving, generous, giving God, but then we live as demonstrations of greed. Your skeptical friends will see right through that! They’ll see your faith isn’t genuine and it’ll hinder your effectiveness in sharing Jesus with them. Greed hinders your declaration, but generosity benefits your declaration. It proves your love is real, it proves your faith is real, and becomes a demonstration of the very love of Jesus you’re declaring. So giving benefits your demonstration and declaration of Jesus, but it also prevents you from becoming arrogant and having misplaced hope. Paul states in 1st Timothy 6:17, “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God.” The way to kill arrogance and greed is to give. The way to kill your misplaced hope in wealth, is to give so sacrificially it requires you to place your hope in God. Giving benefits your demonstration and declaration, it prevents you from becoming arrogant and having misplaced hope, but it also improves your satisfaction with life.
Researchers have been intrigued by this for years, and what they’ve learned is when people give, when people are generous, it releases chemicals in our brains that produce pleasure. According to researchers at Stony Book University, it releases dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, giving people a sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Researchers have also found that giving can help fight against depression. If you notice generous people are much happier, much more fun to be around than greedy people. As a pastor I’ve never had a counseling session over two people outdoing each other in generosity. But I’ve had plenty of sessions over two people being selfish, prideful, and greedy. Generous people tend to be much happier, much easier to get along with. According to another study on AA meetings the success rate for sobriety doubled, for people who were generously willing to help others with sobriety. In 2013 a study was done by Carnegie Mellon University showing people who were generous with their time, people who volunteered roughly 4 hours a week, were 40% less likely to develop high blood pressure compared to those who don’t volunteer. So apparently giving not only benefits your overall satisfaction with life, it also benefits the longevity of your life. Nearly 2000 years ago before all this research, Jesus said “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” and he was right. There’s many benefits to giving.
Again vs. 10 states, “And in this matter I am giving advice because it is profitable for you, who began last year not only to do something but also to want to do it. 11 Now also finish the task, so that just as there was an eager desire, there may also be a completion, according to what you have.” Notice Paul said a year ago the Corinthians wanted to give, they had an eager desire to give. It’s something they wanted to do, which is important for what Paul says next.
Vs. 12, “For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 It is not that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality.”Paul’s teaching them to be wise with their giving. He’s teaching them generosity is about giving sacrificially, but without neglecting the needs of your own household. We need to be wise with our giving, learn to separate our wants from our needs so we can give more generously, but without neglecting to meet the needs of our own households...Paul also says the issue he’s addressing with the Corinthians is really about equality, meaning they should care for the Jerusalem church because they’re family too. They’re a part of the same Christian family, and because the Christians in Jerusalem are suffering from famine, these wealthy Corinthians should want to help their family that’s suffering.
Now this is different than capitalism and socialism where the government tells you what to give, because if you notice Paul never tells them how much to give. He encourages them to give, but never tells them an amount or percentage to give. It’s because Christian giving flows voluntarily from a heart filled with grace, from an eager desire to give, not from a government demanding you to give. It’s really amazing when you think about it. I mean the universal church has survived nearly 2000 yrs not by demanding, but by inviting people to give. Can you imagine what would happen if the IRS passed an offering bucket during tax season?...Can you imagine what would happen if they said, “We aren’t demanding you give, we’re inviting you to give...as you feel led?” Our country wouldn’t survive! We wouldn’t survive because people are too greedy to give what would be needed to survive. The government knows this which is why they don’t invite us to pay taxes, they demand we pay taxes. Yet for nearly 2000 yrs the church has survived not by demanding, but by inviting. It’s survived based on Christians voluntarily giving in response to the grace Jesus has given, and out of a genuine love for each other as family. Paul isn’t demanding they give, he’s encouraging them to give to their struggling family in Jerusalem.
Vs. 14, “At the present time your surplus is available for their need, so that their abundance may in turn meet your need, in order that there may be equality.” Here we’re seeing a 2nd benefit of giving. In vs 14 Paul says the Corinthians giving is helping to benefit their needs, meaning the needs of their Jerusalem family, which leads to our 2ndprinciple.
Principle #2 = Giving benefits the recipients: In vs 10 Paul say giving benefits us, but here he’s saying it benefits others too. Your giving can benefit people physically, by meeting their real physical needs. Famine was a real physical need for the Jerusalem Christians, but for others in our context it might be groceries, an overdue bill, helping them find a job, especially with jobs being threatened over the vaccine mandate. Your giving can help meet such physical needs, it can benefit people physically. Your giving can also help benefit people spiritually, by helping people strengthen their faith through your demonstration of God’s grace and love. When people are struggling financially like the Jerusalem Christians were it can cause them to question God’s love, even the very existence of God. It can cause them to say, “Why is God allowing this to happen to me? Why is He allowing me to suffer famine, to suffer financially, to worry about how I’m gonna provide for me and my family? If God loved me He wouldn’t allow this to happen. In fact maybe He doesn’t even exist?” Your giving can be a visible display, a visible reminder that God does exist and that God does love them. It can be a great benefit to them spiritually.
Finally, your giving can also help people benefit emotionally, by encouraging them in times of discouragement. Can you imagine what the Jerusalem Christians were feeling as they were facing famine? Depression, anxiety, fear over how they’ll survive? If you’ve ever lost your job or faced financial hardships you know what it’s like to feel these emotions. Starting City Awakening was a scary time for me, because I left the security of a lead pastor role that was paying me well, without being guaranteed a salary in starting City Awakening. I remember one day being filled with so much fear over being able to provide for my family, that I had a freak out session. I literally told my wife, “We’re cutting the cable, selling our furniture, selling the house, selling everything we have...except the smoker...” I was literally freaking out! So my wife said “Hey me and the kids! We’re not yours, we’re God’s! You’re just a steward, so steward!” And then she walked away. It was a mic drop moment...But it was a mic drop moment that helped me steward that season well, because it reset my heart back to trusting God as the greater provider for my family. It was a great reminder that God’s our ultimate provider, so I don’t need to keep freaking out over my finances, which is essentially what Paul says next in vs 15. Here he’s saying our giving helps benefit the recipients. It can benefit them physically, spiritually, emotionally. But he’s about to remind the Corinthians and us, that God’s our ultimate provider.
Vs. 15 states, “As it is written: ‘The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little.’” Paul’s quoting Exodus 16 here to remind the Corinthians that God will always provide for them. In Exodus 16 we learn after God liberated the Jews from Egyptian slavery, they were traveling in the desert and got hungry. So God rains down manna, some Krispy Kreme from heaven every morning, and tells them to only keep what they need for their households. Well some get greedy and start hoarding it. But they realize it spoils quickly, so they start giving away their extras to people who couldn’t physically gather enough, and everybody’s needs were met. Paul’s saying this is how it should be within the church. We should gather to benefit the needs of our own households, but also to benefit the needs of others who are struggling. He’s saying they don’t have to fear how it’ll affect their bottom line if they give generously, if they give sacrificially, because God’s provision will always cover them like it did for the Jews in the dessert. So we should be wise with our giving, but not fearful. We can be free to give generously, free to give sacrificially, trusting God’s provision will always cover us.
Now in vs 16-24 Paul explains the careful process they’re taking to collect the offering, so people don’t have to fear their giving being stolen by robbers or misused by leaders. You can read that section on your own, but it’s a great text showing the importance of church’s having financial accountability. We have similar accountability in our church having church members counting the money and voting on our budget, but we also have an accountant who doesn’t attend our church doing our bookkeeping and audits for further external accountability. Our executive pastor Zack just wrote an excellent blog about our church’s accountability and how we breakdown our budget, which I encourage you to read on our website. But for now just know both Paul and our church, believes financial accountability is important. Let’s pick it up in ch. 9
Ch. 9:1, “Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you. 2 For I know your eagerness, and I boast about you to the Macedonians, ‘Achaia has been ready since last year,’ and your zeal has stirred up most of them.” Paul’s saying it was initially the Corinthians that were inspiring the Macedonians to give. It was their zeal for giving that stirred up and inspired others to give. What if that happened in our church?...What if we had a sudden zeal for giving that inspired others to give more generously in our church?...You know what it’d do? It’d benefit the giver and the recipients like we discussed...It’d benefit you, it’d benefit the recipients, and it’d lead to the restoration of God’s creation, which is our last principle.
Principle #3 = Christian giving benefits the restoration of creation: The Corinthians giving can help restore the Jerusalem Christians from a terrible time of suffering. At one point their zeal for giving inspired others to give, and combined their giving can restore Jerusalem from famine. What this means is your giving doesn’t just benefit you and the recipients, it also benefits the restoration of many broken parts of creation...See what Paul’s saying we should do with our money is what Jesus did with his miracles. When Jesus did miracles, when he healed the sick, healed the blind, fed the 5000 hungry, raised Lazarus from the dead, he was restoring things back to normal. He wasn’t just showing us who he was, he was showing us what he came to do. He was showing us he’s our incarnational God who came to restore things back to normal. His miracles point us back to the garden of Eden, back to the way things were meant to be before sin messed it up, and they point forward to his eternal kingdom where there won’t be any more sin, sickness, sadness, or death. We should do with our money what Jesus did with his miracles, which is to help bring restoration to the broken parts of creation. Greed adds to the destruction of God’s creation, but generosity helps relieve that destruction, bringing restoration to creation.
The Big Idea:
Here’s the big idea of the message. Giving benefits you and those around you...Giving benefits you, those around you, and the restoration of creation...The good news of the gospel is that all the treasures you’re pursuing in life require you to make sacrifices to obtain them, but Jesus is the one who sacrificed to obtain you. All the treasures you’re pursuing require you to purchase them, but Jesus is the one who died for your sins to purchase you. Your money, your career, your treasures won’t die for you, but Jesus died for you and invites you to participate in the restoration of his creation. The degree to which you view Jesus laying his life down as your greatest treasure, is the degree to which you’ll lay your wealth down as a lesser treasure. When Jesus becomes your greatest treasure, it frees you up to give generously for the restoration of his creation. Even if you can only give a little right now, that little can still make a lot of difference, when it’s combined with the rest of the church. Your little can still play a significant part in the restoration of God’s creation. So in the words of John Wesley, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” In the words of Jesus, “It’s more blessed to give, than to receive.”
Communion
Communion is a great reminder of the benefits of generosity. It’s a great reminder of the great benefit of salvation we received, because of the great generosity Jesus gave when he lived, die, and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins. If you don’t believe in that gospel, if you aren’t a follower of Jesus, then please refrain from taking communion so you don’t go through the motions of this. Instead use this time to reflect on today’s message, and consider asking Jesus to open your heart to receiving his generous grace for your life...At this time we can start passing the elements, and when you get the elements the bread is under the cups. But as the elements are being passed let’s take a few minutes to prep our hearts, and for those online to prep their tables. Let’s take a few minutes to pray asking Jesus to forgive our sins, especially for any greed hindering our generosity, then thank him for his eternal generous grace on the cross.
On the night Jesus was betrayed he took some bread, gave thanks for it, broke it saying “This is my body which is to be broken for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done for you.” When supper ended he took the cup, blessed it, gave thanks for it, and said “This is a symbol of my blood which is to be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done.” Let’s eat, let’s drink, then let’s stand to worship Jesus, as we enjoy the benefits of his grace.