We're taking our Bibles once again this morning and turning, please, to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. 2 Corinthians is, of course, an autobiographical book, if you will, written by the Apostle Paul who had been criticized and castigated by the Corinthians. And he writes to defend his apostleship. And as he writes to defend his apostleship, we've taken as our theme in 2 Corinthians, the fourth chapter and the seventh verse. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. Treasures begin to pour out throughout this wonderful letter. The first seven chapters of 2 Corinthians deal with Christian endurance. We discover that the Christian grows through trials. Then chapters 8 and 9, where we find ourselves today, deal with Christian beneficence. We discover that Christians give even during times of trial. The final chapters of this wonderful book deal with magnificence, that the Christian can best glorify God even during times of trial. We turn this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Charles Erdmann in his commentary on 2 Corinthians said, this is the great classic passage on Christian beneficence, Erdman suggested that all the principles which should control Christian giving are set forward here in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9. Back in chapter 8, the Apostle Paul held forward the Macedonians, an impoverished people who gave generously to the needs of others as an example of what Christian giving should look like. And he also held forward the example of the master, For we read in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 9, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his riches might know the exceeding blessings of glory. Then the Apostle Paul continues as he speaks of the matter really of giving or beneficence. As he speaks of the matter of giving, he gives his own apostolic advice. when he talks about the right time to give. You'll recall we noted back in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 11, now perform the doing of it. And then he focused on the task, providing in verse 21, things honest in the sight of God and the sight of man. After all, our testimony is woven into this practical consideration that we focus on again this morning. Do we enjoy the treasure of giving joyfully. 2 Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 6. But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. As it is written, he hath dispensed 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 seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causes through thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God, whilst by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men, and by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift, the treasure of giving joyfully. Let's ask the Lord to bless as we look into His Word this morning. Now, Father, I pray that You'd open the eyes of our understanding that this morning as we look in this passage that's so critical to our understanding of how you would expect us to give, that we would do so with joy indeed, that we would be profiting from Scripture, fed by your Spirit, and able to go out from this place better able to serve you. And Lord, especially, I pray that you give wisdom to highlight the burden of this passage that we give because we're confident of the gift of grace that's been given to us through the cross gift the gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who died for us. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. And Lord, may that gift inspire us today to be generous in our giving. And we'll thank you for it in Christ's name. Amen. The story is told of a mother who wanted to teach her daughter something of Christian giving. So she gave her little girl a dollar and a quarter sat by her in church and told her, as the offering plate comes by, you just give one or the other. You and God make the decision and put in as you feel led. Well, the offering plate came by and after the service, the mother asked her daughter, so which was it that you put in the offering plate? Did you put in the dollar or did you put in the quarter? And the little girl said, well, I heard the man in the pulpit say that God loves a cheerful giver. So I thought, I'll be a whole lot more cheerful if I just give the quarter and keep the dollar. And so I kept the dollar. I think there are many professing Christians who interpret 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7, like that little girl. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. I'm convinced a lot of Christians must read their Bible like that little girl understood the man in the pulpit that morning, because studies indicate that among evangelical Christians in America, on average they give about 2.5% of their income to the Lord's ministry. Now the girl gave 25 cents. That's more than 20% of the income she had that day. So that means if a person in an average evangelical church is giving 2.5% of their income, they would have given something like four cents. They would have asked the usher for some change from that quarter that that little girl put in. 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7 says, God loves a cheerful. The word there is hilaros. We get our word hilarity. God loves a cheerful giver. In other words, 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7 teaches us that God wants us to laugh while we're letting go of our loot. He wants us to laugh. So when the pastor says, ushers, will you come for the offering at this time? Wouldn't it be something if we heard somebody in the church say, yes. High five. It's offering time. It's great. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. The truth is, most churches like ours play music during the offering. They do that to mask the moans. In 2 Corinthians 9, the Spirit of God is sharing with us characteristics of those that the Lord loves, cheerful givers. What does a cheerful giver look like? I find in my Bible four characteristics of cheerful givers. In verse 6, I'm going to discover that they are generous givers. Cheerful givers give generously. In verse 7, I discover that cheerful givers give willingly. In verses 8, 9, and 10, I discover that cheerful givers give expectantly. And then at the end of this chapter, I discover that cheerful givers, verses 11 through 15, give thankfully. I want to be a cheerful giver. I'll be honest with you. If there's anything I covet from this passage is I covet the ability to be a cheerful giver, to let go of my loot with laughter. Why? Because God loves the cheerful giver. And of course, the Lord loves us all the time. But what a blessing to know that we, by cheerful giving, can please Him. Note with me that a cheerful giver is someone who gives generously. Look again at verse 6. This I say, he which soweth sparingly, or like a miser, shall reap also sparingly. He which soweth bountifully, or generously, will likewise reap bountifully. The first characteristic of the cheerful giver is this. He gives generously. You know, that seems counterintuitive. Cheerful givers give generously? Quite honestly, pastor, letting go doesn't always bring me joy. How can generous giving contribute to my cheerfulness? Well, the answer is bound to the law of the harvest. The size of the harvest depends upon how you plant. The more seeds you plant, the larger the harvest. So cheerful givers give generously. They understand the law of the harvest. Years ago, my wife and I moved into a newer home. We were moving from one place to another and it had an acre of land. I noticed that the back portion of the acre was right in the sunshine, a beautiful place for a garden. I hadn't done a garden since I was really a kid when my dad made me do it. And now I thought, I wonder if I like doing it without being made to do it. And so I had somebody come by and till up the land. And I remember a few things from my gardening experience as an elementary kid. I remember how my dad taught me to plant squash in hills. And so I went to the hardware store and bought some seed and planted eight or ten hills of zucchini, six or so seeds per hill. Needless to say, we had a lot of zucchini coming in. You know, you can only eat so much zucchini bread. You can't hide zucchini in too many places. In fact, one day I was complaining about it as that harvest was coming in. By the way, I also decided to plant some tomatoes. A couple dozen. As I was bringing in five-gallon buckets of tomatoes and more zucchini that I could carry, I noticed that my wife wasn't altogether happy with me. Now I was experiencing the joy of the harvest. I had planted generously and I was reaping generously and I complained to somebody in the church. I said, you know, I got so many zucchini, I can't even give the things away. He said, yeah, pastor, you gotta watch it during zucchini season. I locked my car doors. The next year I didn't plant quite so many hills of zucchini. But I found the ugliest zucchini I'd ever grown, a big old ugly monster, and I let it grow and grow and grow. And you know what? That guy didn't lock his car doors. If I had read my Bible, I would have understood that the size of the harvest depends on how much I plant. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow bountifully, reap. Bountifully it really doesn't seem that complicated. What's true in agricultural science is also true in financial stewardship So bountifully reap bountifully Galatians 6 and verse 7 says what you sow you will also reap so so or plant Generously for the more you plant the more will be produced the Apostle Paul references this when he writes to the Philippians He writes to them in Philippians chapter 4 having received an offering from them. He had not requested the offering But they had sent to meet his needs and they had sent a generous offering and he writes to them thanking them and he says in Philippians 4 and verse 17 not because I desired a gift of you I but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. I'm thankful, he said, that I have had the privilege of seeing people saved and because you participated in giving, you have spiritual fruit to your account. William Budge had the responsibility of being the Egyptian curator of the British Museum. as the Egyptian curator of the British Museum way back in 1897, he came upon some seeds, Egyptian seeds that had been planted in an Egyptian tomb 3,000 years earlier. He gave those Egyptian seeds to the Royal Botanic Gardens And they, under scrupulous conditions, planted those seeds, looking forward to seeing these ancient Egyptian seeds blossom. You know what happened? They planted those seeds, they gave them proper light, proper rain, proper soil, all that would seem necessary, and they waited, and they waited, and you know what happened? Nothing happened. The seeds were dead. They were 3,000 years old. They were dead. Seeds tend to die, you understand, in about 50 to 100 years, even under the best of circumstances. What was it the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 11? Now, therefore, perform the doing of it. You see, there are some people who say, you know, Pastor, I do intend to give generously. I've made out my will. And my, how Christian friends will be surprised by my generosity. I'm working my way up the ladder. And my, how people are going to be stunned when the day comes that my ship comes in. Hey friend, when it comes to planting seeds generously, We've already been instructed in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 11 that now is the time to perform the doing of it. Some people wait so long that the seeds of generosity, it seems, within their heart have died. Proverbs says in Proverbs 11 and verse 24, there is that scattereth and yet increases. There is him that withholdeth what is meat, but it tendeth to poverty. Because cheerful givers understand the law of the harvest, they're generous. God loves a cheerful giver. Do you want to be a cheerful giver? Then give generously. But there's a second characteristic in this passage of the cheerful giver. The cheerful giver gives willingly. He gives willingly. Look at verse 7. according as He purposed in His heart, so let Him give, not grudgingly or out of necessity." There are three very important words in verse 7 that need to be understood. The word purposeth. The word purposeth. It literally means to make beforehand a decision. To make beforehand a decision. He's saying that cheerful givers think ahead. After all, they are purposing in their heart. They're making a personal decision regarding how they will personally give. And so he says in verse 7, every man according as he has decided ahead of time, even within his own heart, so let him give, not grudgingly. Now that's an interesting word. The word grudgingly there is the Greek word lupē. We get our word lupus. It means pain. So literally he's saying, don't give because it pains you, but rather give because it's a pleasure. God is not pleased with mad givers. God wants glad givers. Continuing, he says, not out of necessity. What's that? Well, it speaks of expectations of others being placed upon you. Literally, the dictionary of the Greek language says it's something imposed by the circumstances or by the law or by the custom. So someone has imposed something upon you. Literally now he is saying in verse 7, you understand that the cheerful giver is someone who gives willingly. This is very practical, folks, so tune in right now. He is saying that we individually and as a congregation ought to oppose any kind of giving that is forced upon us. He is saying that we individually as a congregation ought to oppose any kind of giving that smacks of manipulation, that heightens emotion in order to get someone to give in a way that they had not previously decided to give. We cannot be cheerful givers and be fearful givers at the same time. So let me take a little bit of an aside as we look at verse 7 and circle it in our hearts. Well, what then pastor, what about the issue of tithing? Because as I've read articles and heard messages over the years on the matter of tithing, almost invariably, They will come to 2 Corinthians 9 and reference this passage that no one should be under the obligations placed upon them by others. And at some end I agree with that. If we were asking at the door for the ushers to collect your 1040s, easy or otherwise, or your W2s so that we could calculate whether you're really tithing or not. That would be an imposition placed upon you. And we all want to shudder to consider any such obligations being placed upon New Testament believers. Tithing should not be placed upon us because it's a necessity placed upon us by others. But, now listen, When the believer is taught by principles, whether those principles be Old Testament or New Testament regarding stewardship, when the believer is taught to put a priority on giving and sowing and sowing generously and sowing willingly, the believer should not cringe. when that believer comes to a service like this morning and hears the pastor talk about giving. The only thing that pastor ever talks about is giving. I'll talk about giving when we're in 2 Corinthians 9 because that's what the passage is talking about. And let me remind you that as we read 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, we're getting counsel for Christians from the Spirit of God So let's listen to that counsel again. The Macedonians were flat broke, 2 Corinthians 8, and yet out of their necessity they gave in abundance. The master, 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 9, who was rich became poor for us. This is a motivational message from the New Testament passage. And so the apostle is going to say in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 10, now does this sound compelling? Does this sound like there's an expectation placed on the Corinthian church as they read this letter? 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 10, Paul says, now you began to take the offering a year ago, finish it. Wait a minute, my mind is reeling right now. I thought we just learned. that I'm supposed to make my own personal decision. It shouldn't be a decision that's made in a grudging fashion. Remember now, Paul has sent Titus and a man that has been selected by the churches to travel with Titus to go to the Corinthians and to say to the Corinthians, it's time for you to take this offering. So what am I learning? I'm learning this. It's appropriate for an appeal to be given for believers to give. It's appropriate to expect that believers are going to want to give. It's appropriate to remind believers, like Paul reminded them of the Macedonians and the master, it's appropriate to remind believers that others before have given. And considering their generosity before us that we now are the recipients of as we enjoy first the gospel and then this wonderful congregation of saints, it should then be upon us to remind, to exhort, to challenge, to exemplify, to be convicted about the matter of giving. And oh, by the way, When I read my Bible on the matter of giving, I am going to discover in Genesis chapter 14 that Abraham gave tithes. And I am gonna discover as I read my Bible, no matter how I read it, that Jacob in Genesis 28 gave tithes. And there are those who will come to 2 Corinthians chapter nine and verse seven and say, see there, we're not supposed to have other people's expectations put upon us, therefore we shouldn't teach tithing. Now there's a difference between somebody else's opinion being placed upon me and the Lord's opinion being placed upon me. And so it would be right that if someone came and say, we're collecting all the 1040s from our church members because we're expecting 12% this year, that'd be wrong. And if there was some kind of a compulsion that was inflaming emotional giving without opportunity for people to prayerfully consider how they will respond, that would be wrong. But when we are challenged by the examples of others and when we are challenged by biblical models, then that is very right. But pastor, how are you answering then? Should we tithe or should we not tithe? I didn't answer, did I? What I said is we should sow generously and we should sow willingly. We should find our own answers in the pages of God's word. And when you read it carefully, you know what you're going to discover? Tithing is a pretty good starting place. That's what you're going to discover. Henry Cole's father died when Henry Cole was just a boy. His father had tuberculosis and young Henry got tuberculosis as well. His father was dead at the age of 36, and everyone thought Henry would die. And so the doctors out east in his home of Cleveland, Ohio said, the best thing you could do is get on the road and head west, young man. So Henry Crowell went west, first to Missouri, then to Colorado, then to California, then to Wyoming. As he got older, he got old enough to buy a farm in Iowa. In fact, he bought that farm in Iowa, and just shortly after he bought the farm, a tornado came through, and every farm in the area seemed to be taken out by the tornado, but not Henry's. Henry loved the Lord, and he thanked the Lord for sparing his farm, and somebody came by and said, you know what? Yours is the only farm standing. I want to buy it from you. Henry hadn't owned it for very long, but he made a small fortune in selling that farm. In fact, he made such a fortune that he thought, I'm going to go up to South Dakota and buy some more land. He put down an offer on 14,000 acres of land in South Dakota. I don't know what he paid an acre, but he discovered after he put down the down payment that he didn't have enough to buy all that land in South Dakota. And he went back out to Ohio to talk to his friends, and his friends said to him, you know, Don't go up there and try to grow wheat like all the other people. We'll invest in you if you have a horse farm. It doesn't seem like anybody's specializing in horse farms in South Dakota these days. So Henry Crowell did this. He said, I'm going to make a horse farm. In fact, his benefactors out east gave him enough money to buy 300 horses. And he put those 300 horses in carriages on a train. And on the sides of the train, he put references to his horse farm in South Dakota. He was advertising his horse farm as the horses were being delivered to South Dakota. Pretty novel. In fact, he was so effective in advertising it that someone saw the ad and thought, I'd like to buy that farm from you. And before Henry Crowell even began his farming career in South Dakota, he sold his 14,000 acres for a huge profit. He was well enough to come back to Ohio and he didn't know what he was gonna do, but his uncle said, you know, there's an old mill down the road that I think you could buy and maybe you could do something with it. It specializes in milling oats. Crowell said, you know, nobody makes any money on oats. Well, his uncle said, you know, you love the Lord and the Lord seems to be prospering you, why don't you try it? So he bought the old oat mill. He bought the Quaker mill. He bought the Quaker mill just before there was an economic depression. Oats were being sold in large containers for horses and they were filled often with vermin and other pests. No one really thought much about eating oats. Henry Kroll had this marvelous idea. He thought, you know, if I can package those in smaller packages, maybe I can sell them cheaply as America's breakfast food. So those of you who hate oatmeal, this is the guy you've got to say, I hate Henry Kroll. Henry Kroll had the ingenious idea that if he would take his oats and package them in small memorable packages, people would buy them. And then the depression hit and everybody wanted cheap breakfast. And it was nutritious. So Henry Kroll made a fortune selling oats. At first he said, I'm gonna give the Lord 30% and then 50%. Before he died, he was giving 70% of all of his income to the Lord. In fact, his income went into the founding of Moody Bible Institute. He was a chief benefactor of Moody Bible Institute. I wonder if we brought Henry Kroll into this room right now and said, Mr. Kroll, settle it for us right now. What do you think about tithing? What a stupid question. He would say, hey, Christian, give generously. Hey, Christian, when you give generously, give willingly. Because after all, you can't outgive God. Don't get all in a tangle on the topic of tithing. Just listen to the principles and apply them. and see how the Lord leads. Because the cheerful giver not only gives generously and willingly, but the cheerful giver in this passage gives expectantly. He gives expectantly. Look at verse 8. God is able to make all grace abound toward you. that you always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. I've circled in my Bible the words all. God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always have all sufficiency in all things. He's teaching us to give expectantly. There are many, after all, who fear that they'll have too much month at the end of the money. if they get serious about giving. But verse 8 says, God is able to make all grace abound toward you. There are some who fear, I'm going to have too many days at the end of my deposits. So I've got to lay by for my old age. I've got to be so careful in my savings that You know, Pastor, it's nice to hear a message on giving, but I think I'm going to be about the 2.3% like everybody else in evangelical Christianity. But verse 8 says, ye always having all sufficiency in all things. So how do I know I can give expectantly? Well, let's look back at this passage. You can give expectantly because you trust in God's person. Verse 8, God is able We trust in the person of God when we give. It is a statement of my faith in the person of my heavenly father who loved me and sent his son and will with him also freely give us all things to enjoy. And I can give expectantly not only because I trust God's person, but because I trust God's promise. It's interesting to see how the Apostle Paul now writes to the Corinthians beginning here in verse 9. In verse 9 he is quoting from the 112th Psalm. He that dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness remains. In verse 10, he's quoting from Isaiah 55, now he that ministered seed to the sower, both minister bread for your food. Why is he doing this? Because he's teaching this, not only do we trust God, God is able, but we trust God's promises. inciting the Corinthians to give by reminding them of the greatness of their God and by reminding them of the greatness of God's promises. You see, the cheerful giver gives expectantly because he knows God and he knows God's Word. And he knows God's word says, my God will supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And he knows that God's word says, he that spared not his son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things richly to enjoy? Sadly, there are many who trust God for their eternal security, but not so much when it comes to their earthly security. The book of Proverbs says, honor the Lord, Proverbs 3 and verse 9, with the first fruits of thine increase. So shall thy barns be full. Malachi chapter 3, verse 10 says, bring the tithes into the storehouse and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord. If not, I will open the windows of heaven and pour out upon you. God says, okay, you want to prove my strength, you want to prove my love, you want to prove my watch care for you, bring it. In Malachi 3, they are bringing the tithes. Let me tell you another story. A fellow's name was William. William's family came from England just before the American Civil War. William grew up basically farming, didn't really know much that he could do much. The family was running out of money, and so they sent William off to make his own way. He was on a barge heading toward New York City when despondently he talked to another man on the barge about his plight. Now, William loved the Lord. The man to whom he was talking also loved the Lord. And the man said to William, well, is there anything you can do? And William said, well, I can make a pretty good bar of soap. And the fellow said, well, then make the bar of soap. ding, light bulb. Okay, I can make soap. So he started making soap and praying about it. As he prayed about it, he read Genesis 28, these words in verse 20. Jacob made a commitment to God. He thought, I need to make a commitment to God, but he read further. And he left home saying, If you will be with me and protect me in my journey, the one that I'm making, and give me food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father's house, Jacob said, then will you be my God and I will give you a tenth of everything. So William started making soap. First he gave 10%, then 20%, then 30%, then 40%. And before William Colgate died, every penny of his profits, every penny was going into the Lord's work. You know what he learned? what you and I need to learn. Jesus said in Luke 6 verse 38, give and it shall be given to you, good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over. Folks, these are not my words, these are the Lord's words. Give generously, give willingly, give expectantly, but by all means give thankfully. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. And as I come to these last verses of 2 Corinthians chapter nine, it seems like an overwhelming Effusion of thanksgiving begins to be poured out. Verse 11, being enriched in everything to all bountifulness which causes through us thanksgiving to God. Have you ever siphoned anything? When you siphon, sometimes you think you're going to suck your brains out. Nothing happening, and nothing happening, and nothing happening, and all of a sudden, oh boy, I didn't want that mouthful of that. And then you put the hose down, and it just runs, and it runs, and it runs. That's how I feel when I come to 2 Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 11. It's like there's been this pressing uphill to the Corinthians, this running of the apostles' thoughts as he challenges them. And now the wagon is suddenly crested, and it begins to head downhill ever so rapidly. In fact, Lenski, the great Greek scholar, said if every Christian to give knowing what a shower of blessings He starts through giving. He would be like the Macedonians in chapter 8 and verse 4. They would beg other people to take what God had asked them to give. Thanksgiving to God is noted in verse 11. Many thanksgivings to God, verse 12, and then verse 15. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. A cheerful giver gives thankfully. He focuses on earthly thanksgiving. Note with me in verse 12, the administration of this service, in other words, you took an offering and that offering now is going to do something. It not only supplies the want of the saints, but it is abundant also by many thanksgivings to God. You provided for the people in Jerusalem and now there's a, it's like you push the on button and praise begins to spill out. For in verse 13, they glorify God. Why? Verse 13, because of your professed subjection to the gospel of Christ and your liberal distribution. Big words, what's it mean? Okay, they're thanking the Lord because you gave a lot, but they're not just thanking the Lord because you gave a lot, but they're thanking the Lord because of your professed subjection. In other words, you had a profession of faith. You said you're a Christian. You said that what you have is God's. Now you've proved it. And they have seen your professed subjection, these that have been the recipients of your gift, these that received, now according to verse 14, they pray for you. They're so thankful for the gift that has been given that they pray for you. Why? Look again at verse 14. Because they long after you, because of this grace of God in you. These who have been the recipients of your gifts, have come to love you and appreciate your grace and your kindness. And they are rejoicing and they are praying for you. This is the appeal of the end of second Corinthians is thanksgiving for the expected obedience begins to pour out. And we begin to learn that cheerful givers always give. Thankfully, a missionary made an appeal one day in church for a tremendous need in the foreign field. The usher came up the aisle. There was a guy that had been sitting there in the aisle. with an angry expression on his face, probably came to that service because his wife made him come. And the usher kind of nudged him with the offering plate. The man looked at him and shook his head, no. The usher nudged him again and said, it's for missions, you know. The man said, don't believe in them. The usher put the offering plate right under his nose and said, then take something out because it's going to the heathen anyway. When we give generously and we give willingly and we give expectantly, we will give thankfully. This is the outcome. And when we give thankfully in this way that this passage is speaking to us, there's something that's happening. So let's not read by it. What's happening is verse 13, your professed subjection to the gospel. You are living out what you say you believe as you let go of what you say you have. In fact, John notes this in 1 John 3 and verse 17 when he says, And so that miserly spirit that says, I've heard this a thousand times and I'm not going to be moved, listen, is a spirit that gives evidence that the gospel hasn't really worked in your heart. How do you know, Pastor? Because this passage focuses on an earthly thanksgiving and this passage focuses on an eternal thanksgiving. Verse 15, thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. What's he talking about? He's talking about the fact that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He's talking about the fact that Jesus said in John chapter 10, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He's talking about the fact that he, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but took upon himself the form of a man, was made in the likeness of a servant, being found in fashion as a servant, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. that He laid beside all of the splendor of heaven and reached out through an impoverished physical, personal form to enrich us spiritually so that our sins became His when He hung upon the cross and His righteousness became ours when He rose again. And He that gave this much for us simply says now, prove your love for me. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. We have victory in Christ and we have the unspeakable gift that ought to always motivate us to give. You know, the testimonies of people through the generations who have given and found God faithful are indeed inspiring. And there are those in this room who could stand up and give such a testimony. I was reading recently of the testimony of John Bechtel. Bechtel was a missionary in Hong Kong with a burden to reach young people. He saw a fabulous hotel building in Hong Kong that he thought could be made into a wonderful camp for the reaching of people with the gospel. He went back to America and told people about it and couldn't raise a single dime. Went back to Hong Kong quite discouraged. A little girl had heard about his appeal to buy that hotel and she put a dollar bill in an envelope and said, I want this to be for the purchase of the hotel that you want to make into a camp. Bechtel opened up the envelope, one dollar. Well, he thought it's a dollar. It's more than I had before I opened the envelope. And that little girl's faith seems to inspire mine. So he went down to the people that were selling the hotel and offered them a dollar and they took it. He bought a hotel building for a dollar. They started a camp in 1971. From my last reading, 1.7 million campers had gone to that camp, and over 160,000 people had come to Christ as Savior. One dollar. But somebody had to start. There is, after all, the unspeakable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will never outgive our God. So God wants you and God wants me to let go of my loot, and to laugh while I do it, because the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Let's stand together, please, as we ask the Lord's blessing. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed, no one looking around. I'm going to ask the instruments in just a moment to seal this message in our minds by playing number 546. I gave my life for thee. What hast thou given for me? And that refrain says, I gave, I gave my life for thee. What has thou given for me? Dear Christian, we ought to be inspired by God's Word to give generously. We ought to be inspired to give willingly, to give expectantly, God is able, and to give thankfully. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.