All right, Tim mentions the children going to Children's Church. I know we have some guests this morning. And it goes three through six years old, three through seven. And parents, if you want to walk out with your child, make sure they're doing well. You're welcome to do that. Even if you have to drag them out. That's good. He wants to stay in to hear my preaching, I think is what it is. Thank you, Praise Team. Worship is good theology, should be good theology, and it is. And these reminders, just like that final song of the return of Christ, what a hope we have. It's something we don't think about often enough, or probably in great detail enough. All right, we've got a lot of guests. We've got a baptismal service here in a little bit. And we're going to be looking at 2 Corinthians 8. I'm going to have you turn there. And then we will go to the communion table. And then we'll go outside. And hopefully the most of you will be able to stay as we have eight who are going to be baptized after our service today. How wonderful that is. And so many of you are here because of that. And that's great. All right, we are in a series. on Money, Possessions, and Eternity. That's not my title, that comes from Randy Alcorn's book. And let me say, if you're here, and this is the first Sunday you're here, we don't preach about money all the time. Okay? You just happen to be here on a Sunday, because some folks have a concern, the church is just after our money. Right? That's all they want is our money. I want you to honor God in the area of your money. That's what I desire. And so we're in a short series, oh, about eight weeks at the most, I think, and we want to see how God's Word seeks to motivate us to be generous givers, even sacrificial givers. And so we've looked at some very important topics already. We've looked at greed and worry. Why greed and worry? Because Jesus spoke about greed and worry. Luke chapter 12. Write it down in your notes if you want to. Told some parables because greed and worry, why it's so important is they cause us to hold on to stuff. Greed is this thinking that life is found in the abundance of my possessions, so I hold on to stuff. And worry is this undue concern over having a roof over our head and clothes on our back and food on the table. It isn't that those things aren't important, but we can be so distracted by having those things that we miss more important things, like laying up treasure in heaven. And so Jesus addressed issues we have to address in our American culture. Greed is a real problem. Would you not agree in American culture? You're being told all the time, you need this, you got to have this, buy this. If you don't have this, you're not really experiencing life as you should. And so we buy into that. And so we accumulate all this stuff, which ultimately does not bring the fulfillment in life that we're after. So we talked about greed and worry, and remember my hand motions. This really helps us understand greed and worry. Greed and worry do this. They pull and hold on to. And God wants us to do this, to be generous, sacrificial people. And so it was very important that we talked about greed and worry because it's what we struggle with if we're gonna be like this. And then we talked about stewardship. We spent just one Sunday talking about stewardship from the parable of the ten minas, where Jesus talks about his going away and giving to his disciples time, talent, and treasure, resources, abilities, and with the promise that really that he will return. And so Jesus has given to each and every one of us as a disciple of his resources for us to invest in the things of the kingdom until he returns. And so that speaks of two big ideas. It speaks of opportunity. For Jesus to have entrusted to you different resources, and we all have different resources, but to say, put this to work until I come back. Invest in the things of the kingdom. That's opportunity. But stewardship also comes with accountability because we need to hear this and understand it very clearly. Jesus will ask of us, what have you done with the resources I've entrusted to you? How have you invested them? So there's opportunity and accountability. And now we're talking about generosity. I'm spending a lot of time on generosity, sharing with others. Look at the smile on that little guy's face. He's just so happy to be shared. It's probably his girlfriend, you think? Certainly not his sister. And so to talk about generosity, we are settling in on two chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9. And why those two chapters? Well, it's because Paul is writing to motivate those in the church in Corinth to give to a relief offering that was being collected for the churches in Jerusalem. So he's wanting to motivate them where we're taking an offering amongst the churches in Asia Minor and we're collecting them and actually in Greece and we're collecting them to these monies to take to Jerusalem. Well, the problem in the church in Corinth was that they started to give. They had the desire and they even started to give, but they stalled out. And so they stopped what they had started. And so Paul realizes, I need to motivate them. I need to stir their hearts so that they will complete what they begun. So do you understand the context? I want us to understand what is going on here in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, the most extensive treatment in the New Testament on giving. And so it's so good that we find ourselves here. And in these two chapters and a part of your application as you look at the application is my encouragement for you to read the two chapters and take up the challenge to list all the motivations that Paul gives because I probably won't cover them all. But he wants to motivate and he doesn't want to twist their arm up behind their back. No, he wants to stir their heart. wants to stir their hearts so that they give willingly. And that would be my desire for us. I don't want to twist your arm up behind your back. My desire is to motivate you so that you give generously, maybe even sacrificially, willingly, joyfully. God loves a what? A cheerful giver. And so the first idea we looked at last Sunday in great detail was this, the challenging example of others. And so Paul, especially as he begins, but as he ends this whole section, this whole dialogue on his part, he holds up the challenging examples of others. And so he holds up the churches in Macedonia. The church in Corinth was down in Achaia. And so he holds up these churches that he had helped plant, and Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. And he says concerning those churches that they gave out of their poverty, and even when they were being persecuted. And they gave according to their ability, Paul says, and beyond their ability. And they gave, Paul says, they begged for the opportunity. And so Paul holds up the churches in Macedonia and says, hey, kind of check your life by them. Does it challenge you? As we see different role models, it challenges us, doesn't it? Yeah. Well, if that's not enough of an example, May not be enough for you. All right. The church in Macedonia, it's interesting. That's good. They gave above and beyond their ability. Well, then Paul holds up Jesus Christ. He holds up Jesus Christ and says this, Jesus went from riches to rags so that we could go from rags to riches. And so he holds up Jesus Christ and his sacrificial life and says, doesn't that motivate you to want to give? Look at what Jesus gave for you, right? Come on now. You can talk to me. You can nod your head. Somebody can say amen. That's fine. Jack White's not here, so Clayton, you're in the back. You take Jack's place, okay? You want to try it once? Amen. All right. That sounds like Jack. So these challenging examples of others, the Macedonian church, Jesus Christ, and if that's not enough to stir your mind and your heart, he ends his whole discussion by holding up God the Father. And the whole section ends in verse 15 of chapter nine with the statement, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. God gave his son for our salvation. And the idea is, and let me put it on the screen here, we have a generous God. And so we should be generous people. Do we get it? Do we get it? God gave us an indescribable gift. And that shouldn't mean, well, twist my arm up behind my back. It's kind of like, yeah, that holds my heart. That lays hold of my heart and motivates me to be the same kind of person, a generous person, a sacrificial person. And so that was the whole lesson last Sunday. And it's a big one. Paul says, look at the example of others, their sacrifice, their generosity, and let it stir your heart. Just compare yourself, compare yourself. Look at some of the great ones. It doesn't get any greater than God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, and then the Macedonian churches, and kind of look at them and have it motivate you. Now, I'm going to look at three more motivations, and we're going to move through these quickly. I realize we've already had a full morning. We're going to have the community table and a little baptismal, but we're going to quickly look at three motivations, three more. And I've made no apologies. in giving this series that I want to motivate and encourage you to be more generous people. No apologies. I just want to preach this series, encouraging us to be more generous and sacrificial in our giving, whether it's to Charleston Bible Church or different ministries. There's a lot of good places to go. But what I want to do is be your best friend by encouraging you to store up treasure in heaven. Because when it's all said and done, and we meet in heaven, and I trust you're going to be there because of your faith in Jesus Christ, you're maybe going to come up to me and say, Pastor Joe, you should have preached longer on giving. Huh? Because you want to store up treasure in heaven. Hopefully you see my heart. My heart isn't to twist your arm behind your back, but to seek to motivate you and myself. I'm a part of this. We as the people of God to give generously and sacrificially. And so open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8, Becoming a Generous Person, Part 2. We're going to pray and then we're going to quickly look at three more motivations. Then we'll go to the communion table. Father, we give you praise. You have been so good to us. You so loved the world that you gave your only begotten son this indescribable gift. Your son in love went from riches to rags so we could go from rags to riches. You've worked in the lives of your church in the past, stirring them to be generous and sacrificial. So Father, we ask that you work with us. We need the activity of your spirit using your word to address our lives individually, not just collectively as a church, but individually to help us be more the people you'd have us be. So we acknowledge that we're dependent upon you to become the people you would have us be. We began our journey spiritually through faith by grace through faith and we proceed by your grace our faith and it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Notice verses 10 through 12. Next motivation give what you can from what you have because God sees your heart. Give what you can from what you have. God sees your heart. It's a heart issue. Giving, it just makes sense. It's a heart issue. It's a heart issue. What do we love? What are our desires? And so Paul starts out, he says, I give my opinion in this matter for this is to your advantage. And so Paul starts out verse 10 saying, I'm telling you this for your good. That's what he says. I give my opinion in this matter for this is to your advantage. This is for your good. And I would want you, I would want to be able to say the same. And I've already said it earlier, just a few minutes ago. I want you to see from my heart that I'm preaching to your advantage. It's for your good. And then Paul says, who were the first to begin a year ago, not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. And so Paul is saying, you were the first to desire this offering as we started collecting it. You were the first to start it. You started this, but it stalled out. In fact, notice verse 11. But now, contrast, you started it, but now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. And so Paul is saying here, finish what you started. Act on your desire to give. Don't keep putting it off. Get this going again. And he says, give what you can from what you have, knowing that will be acceptable to God, because God sees your heart in all of this. You may not have a lot to give, Paul alludes to, but if it's given from a right heart, God will be pleased. God is looking at our hearts. Let me read this story. It says one time after a pastor had made an appeal in church for a big cause, a certain woman, a member of the church came to him and handed him a check. for $50. And she asked when she gave the check, is this satisfactory? And his reply and wisdom was this, if it represents you. That's a good reply. Is this satisfactory? Well, if it represents you, where's your heart? And so she had to soul searching for a moment. She asked to have the check back and she left and returned later and handed the pastor a check for $5,000. All right. Do we get went from 50 to 5,000 asked the same question is my gift satisfactory? And he gave the same answer if it represents you and thought about it and said give me the check back and she left. Later in the week she came with a check and this time it was for $50,000. So you see the rise. from $50,000 to $5,000 to $50,000. And she placed this check in the pastor's hand and she said this, after earnest prayerful thought, I have come to the conclusion that this gift does represent me and I am happy to give it. It represents me. That's what I think Paul is saying in verses 10 through 13, that our giving represents us. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. Some people can only give a little, some can give much more. The important thing for us to keep in mind is that God's looking at our hearts. Does it represent you? Or is it, well, what can I get by with? That's a bad attitude to have in giving, isn't it? What can I, tell me how much I have to give. That's the wrong question, I think. What can I get by with? Remember Jesus, we talked about Jesus last Sunday in the temple, the last week of his life, doing something that would greatly offend all of us, the most of us. He was in a temple watching people give their offerings. And it would really offend you if when we were taking the offering, I walked up and down and... Danny, come on now. You can do better than that. Charlie, let's see what you got. It would greatly offend you, wouldn't it? Come on, you're looking at me like, yeah, yeah, it would. I know it would. But there's Jesus looking at this poor widow, put her two coins in, and what does he do? He is so impressed by what she gave him. It was only two small copper coins, very little money. He calls over his disciples. They must have been scattered throughout the temple. He says, hey guys, come on over here. You've got to take a look at what this poor widow is doing. And he says specifically, she's giving out of her poverty. Way beyond her ability. And that's what Paul is speaking to. Don't put off giving, thinking you have to give a lot. Give as an expression of a heart. And this is such an important statement. An expression of a heart. that is in love with God and with others. You see, if I can speak to that, and as Paul speaks to, if I can speak to this idea, the loving thing to do, and I know that that's a language we appreciate, because we do want to be loving people. So look at this expression of your heart, this love towards God and towards others. So that's number one motivation. Second one we want to notice is We are our brother's keeper. That's where Paul goes next. You are your brother's keeper. We know that comes way back the opening of Genesis, right? With Cain and Abel. And Paul says this, For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality. At this present time, your abundance being a supply for their needs so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be, and here's the word a second time, equality. As it is written, he who gathered much did not have too much and he who gathered little had no lack. And so Paul isn't asking those in Corinth to give and to suffer so that those in Jerusalem would have it at ease. That's not the case. What he speaks to is this idea of equality. And simply what he's saying is, you have an abundance now, and the church in Jerusalem has tremendous need. give to meet that need. And then later on, Paul, as he speaks here, says, you may have a need and they may be able to address that need. So the idea is equality. It's interesting, verse 15, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack. Well, what is Paul after? Well, he's quoting from Exodus 16. And in Exodus 16, we read of God providing manna for the people. What does the word manna mean? What is it? That's what it means. What is it? God provided manna from heaven for the people, and each day they were to gather it, and at the end of the week they were to gather twice as much so they would rest on the Sabbath. But they were commanded to collect two omers of manna each day, each morning. And an omer is equivalent to two quarts. And the idea is this, as we look at this verse as Paul is using it, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who had gathered little had no lack. Evidently, as they gathered the manna back in Exodus 16, the people, the Israelites, you had the old people, and they couldn't hardly bend over to pick up We just got to understand how things, kind of this perspective. They probably had a hard time gathering two Omers. And then you had these young people running all over. Boy, they had, before long, they had six or eight Omers. And it's like, what do we do with all this extra? Well, the idea is share with those who had a hard time collecting. That's the idea, have equality. Some gathered much, some gathered little. And as they shared it and spread it out, there was this equality. And so the motivation that Paul is bringing here for the church in Corinth who had more than those in Jerusalem, he said, you are your brother's keeper. You are your brother's keeper. And this isn't communism. This is compassion. All right? It's not we're going to take from you and give to somebody else and we're going to forcefully take it from you. But Paul wants to motivate them. He's wanting to stir their hearts that this isn't communism. It's compassion. And we know what that is. You know what that is. Here, about five years ago, I'm just guessing roughly, there was a hurricane in Cuba. And this was Ebenezer Baptist Church. That was after, I think it was Hurricane Matthew blew through Cuba. And Ron Altshin was our connection there. And he said, hey, they could use our help. And so we've sent in team after team after team. In fact, Ron Olchen leaves for Cuba again this week, I think it is on the 6th, and he's going to bring in some of the monies that this church has provided for their construction there. But we send in team after team after team, and this is what is there now. this church and they're adding on to it, they're building a kitchen. Many of you, I could ask for a show of hands, have been there. We're looking probably to send a team again in November back there. But the idea is this, the idea is this, we have an abundance, don't we? Come on now, you saw that little church they had there. We have an abundance, they have need. We have the ability to meet that need and that's what we have done. That's tremendous. But that's the motivation we want. We've got plenty. We can help those with their need. Earlier, Jeff and Tanya, and I guess it's OK to mention their names, because you guys did, and this is a live stream, but this couple in Pakistan who had family who, Muslim extremists, burnt their house to the ground. There were how many families living in that one home? Four or five? Three or four. So it isn't like they got an abundance. They have all these families, they're believers, and I think one of the room is devoted, they worship in, so they must have a church that meets there. And all we're saying, I'm just putting more flesh on what the need was presented to you. We have an abundance here. And I'm just encouraging you to participate in this special offering. And I'm asking you, don't give out of what you normally give to general fund and think you're doing a great thing. Give above and beyond what you normally give. Give sacrificially. And give to this. Let's help this couple out. Now, there are so many needs in the world, aren't there? There really are. Once you begin to look at the needs here, I mentioned Cuba, now Pakistan, Burma. I mean, there's needs all around the world. We can't meet them all. But we want to be very purposeful and intentional as some special needs are brought to our attention to help. Amen. Can I hear an amen on that? We are our brother's keeper. Those people in other parts of the world with their great need and we have such abundance. They will be forever thankful. In fact, Paul is going to go on in Chapter 9 to talk about the people in Jerusalem and their praise for what had been given and how it brings glory to God. Because I'll guarantee you, I'll guarantee you, I'll guarantee you that if we send a good amount of money to this family in Pakistan, they're going to be glorifying God. They may write us a note and say, Hey, we're thankful for how you helped us. But ultimately their praise is going to go to God. They're going to say, look at what God has done. Look at God at work in our midst. This is tremendous. And we can have a part of that. Third motivation. I need to keep moving here. Third motivation, and it's this, give knowing what is given will be administered well. Paul is so practical because what he wants to say is, you may have concerns, as he writes to those in Corinth, about how these monies are going to be administered and you're being taken advantage of. And we're just collecting these monies so those in Jerusalem can go on a Mediterranean cruise. Can we be sure that they're going to be administered correctly? So that's what Paul says. But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. We have sent along with Titus, the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches. And not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our readiness. Notice, taking precautions so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift. For we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, who's coming, he's my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches. They're a glory to Christ. Therefore, openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you." And so the reason for giving, the motivation is this. Paul is saying, I want you to know that what you give is going to be administered well before God and before man. And these verses Paul writes of, if you noticed as I read it, and I read it probably too quickly for you to pick up on it, but he writes of three men who are going to be traveling ahead of him and then with him to bring this relief offering to Jerusalem. And he writes about them, and they're coming because he wants them to know it will be administered by us for the glory of the Lord himself. We're taking precautions so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift. And so Paul is just so practical, isn't he, as he thinks of giving and why people give and may hesitate to give. And he's simply saying, I want you to know of the men that are going to be a part of this. They are highly qualified. They will help collect it and bring the monies to Jerusalem and ensure that your money is well spent. that you gave to a need and that need was addressed. And Paul goes out of his way, this is so good, Paul goes out of his way to let them know these are qualified men. They're not just, hey, we picked a few guys up at the local bar and we're gonna send them to get the money. No, he writes this, we have sent along with him the brother whose fame and the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches. Verse 22, we have sent with them, that is Titus and this brother in verse 18, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but even now more diligent because of his great confidence in you. So this guy has been tested and found diligent. And then as for Titus, he says, he's my partner and fellow worker among you. Titus, he's my partner in ministry. As for our brethren, they are messengers of the church. Notice that, a glory to Christ. Did you see that? Paul is all about helping them understand the qualifications of those who will be involved in collecting the monies and distributing the monies. He wants them to be assured that this is all above board. And let me say, we worked with Jeff and Tanya vetting the need in Pakistan. Is it legitimate? Because there are all kinds of needs and churches in America could be taken advantage of because of the naivety. And they just give, but we vetted this. And my application for us is that we as a church have a high regard for what is honorable in the sight of God and man. And I want to say to you, you can give confidently. I'm not going to have our deacons stand up. John's our treasure right over there. But we have qualified individuals who work with the monies of this church seeking to administer it to the glory of God. And that should, that may not carry a lot of weight, but that should motivate you to say, you know, I know what I give will be used well. That's important. Trust is so important when it comes to giving. And if we did things that you couldn't trust us, our giving would dry up. I know it would. You're like, I just can't trust them. But you can. Let me wrap things up. True story, true story. Don Holzapple was a Baptist preacher. And he got a call from a woman who was upset because her pet cat Homer had died. And so she wanted Pastor Holzapple to do a funeral service for Homer. And he explained, he said, it's a little out of my line to do a funeral for your cat. And so he recommended she call a Presbyterian minister just down the street. So she called him. Later, Holzapfel learned that the Presbyterian pastor referred her to a Methodist minister who referred her to somebody else. And so it's being handed off. I don't typically do a cat's funeral. Finally, she called Holzapfel back. And at her wit's end, couldn't find a preacher. Didn't know what to do. And then she said this, true story, that she planned to give $1,000 to the church of the minister who performed the service for Homer. $1,000 to the church. I remember I said he was a Baptist preacher. And Holzapple said it only took him a moment to mull this over, and he said to her, well, why didn't you tell me Homer was a Baptist cat in the first place? Why didn't you tell me that up front? I would have gladly done it. Money can cause ministry leaders, pastors, to say and do the craziest things. And we see that, don't we? To say and do the craziest things, oftentimes just to kind of lay a guilt trip on us and twist our arm. And it's kind of like, I'll give, I give, I give. It's like, I do, I give, I give. Let up. That's not Paul. And that's not me. You're not going to walk out of here saying, you know, Pastor Joe really tried to twist the arm up behind her back. I'm trying to address our hearts. Because if you just give, because I made some appeal and twisted the arm up behind your back, a month from now it won't be carried through. I'm after something much bigger. And Paul is after something much bigger. And I think I can confidently say God's after something much bigger. He's after our hearts. And what do we do with the resources He's entrusted to us? And so Paul's motivation is this, the challenging example of others. Churches in Macedonia, Jesus Christ, God the Father who gave this indescribable gift. Give what you can from what you have. God sees your heart. It's a heart issue. Maybe if there's one thing I could press home, it's a heart issue. And if you want to know where your heart is, look at where you're spending your money. Don't you agree? That's a good statement. You want to know where your heart is, look at where you're spending your money. Number three, we are our brother's keeper. We are. We have such an abundance. And when we see the need of brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, it causes us to do this. And then finally, Give knowing what is given will be administered well. Let's pray.