And I want to talk this evening from verse number 5 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 in verse number 5 Let me read it again It says therefore I thought it necessary the Apostle Paul says to Exhort the brethren to encourage the brethren to to go to you ahead of time and prepare your generous gift beforehand. He's talking about giving in chapter 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians. Which you had previously promised, they did, that it may be ready. Here's the critical part. or tonight, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity, as a gift, and not as a grudging obligation, not as a covetousness, a matter of covetousness, this greed to gain, this pay to play mentality. is I had a person last night, a couple of people asked me for money. And so the one was in my inbox. And they showered me with all kinds of blessings, saying, if you're blessed, if you give, you're going to be blessed. And I didn't respond. And so they, as they asked me again, I told them, no, I don't know you. And I didn't even like as to how they approached me as a brother. It was another man, as we went out to street preach, we ministered in AYA. It's in AYA. And he came quoting a scripture verse, because it was his intent also. It was to get money. And so he quoted this verse from 2 Corinthians 8-9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I was explaining to him, I'm just a poor missionary. I'm not poor, poor, but he got my point. I'm if I'm not here to be handing out money It's it's it's it's it's not my job. It isn't in my ministry But he quoted this Or, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor and And he was telling me, oh, you're not poor, don't say you're poor. He's quoting this verse to tell us that you through his poverty might become rich. And so what he's doing and what he's saying is that if you positively confess that you are rich, that you are not sick, I've had people tell me here within Nigeria that they're not strong. And I ask, what do you mean? I can hear you coughing. It means you're sick? Oh, don't say that. Why? What's going to happen if I say I'm sick? I'm already sick. What's going to happen if I say I'm broke? I'm poor. I'm already poor. There is nothing that is going to happen because you and I positively confess that into the world. Salvation is not by positive confession. It's by grace. And the grace of God that is in this text has nothing to do with being poor on earth. There were many kings and queens who obtained this gospel. Even in America now, there are many rich people who believe the gospel. At John MacArthur's church, I just saw is a couple of the Olympians are there in France and are members of his church. So you're talking about the rich, you're talking about the famous, you're talking about the best athletes in the world. In 1 Corinthians 1, it says, not many mighty are called. But that M is a very important letter. It didn't say not any. It said not many. So there are poor people. There are rich people who believe this gospel. But what this verse is talking about is spiritual riches, spiritual poverty. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he's the God of heaven, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become spiritually rich. We got all the blessings in Christ. So there are some people who give money unto the church Because they think that God is going to pay them back. And they won't have to go to hospital. Or they may get rich. Or their farm may prosper. But that is spitting on the blood of Christ. That saying that the blood of Christ doesn't mean anything. And what matters is my Naira. What shifts the table in my favor is my Naira, it's my money. There are people who serve God, and I don't want it to be us, for gain. They think if I come to church, if I give, if I'm on time, If I pay tithe, if I stay late, if I'm good to the pastor, if I do a lot of good deeds, then God is going to bless me in my life right down here. But look at Joe. He did all of those things he gave. He helped the poor. He loved God. He prayed, and his children died. God does not owe us anything. Everything that we get is because of the grace of Christ. It doesn't matter if we're rich. It doesn't matter if we are poor. If I have the Lord Jesus Christ I have everything that heaven can give me. I have God. God. And if that's not enough, if what he did upon the cross is not enough for God to give me and you God, Which is the blessing. Then what on earth are we going to give God? Is your understanding my language? You're hearing me? Let's read this again. Verse number nine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know it? That's the motive. or giving. It's not to gain. If you come here out of a reward in the flesh, if you want scholarship, if you want husband, if you want wife, if you want job, if you want health, you're coming here for the things of this world. And they're not of God. He may give them to you, but these things are not the blessings that he's promised. He's not talking about a job. He's talking about the spiritual blessings that are in Christ, that are in heavenly places. He's talking about the true riches. It's in the book of Luke in chapter number 16. It's the Lord Jesus. He gives this parable about giving. It was an unjust steward. He was extremely tacky. He was an extremely bad manager. He misused funds. He finds out he's going to be put out. And so he goes around and he tells his master's creditors, if you owe me 100, just pay 60 quickly. Let's settle this bill. His instruction is to give him a place to go after he has been kicked out of his office as a steward. And the master, He is teaching us how to properly use, it's our money, is for the things of this world. And what he says is this, if you don't know how to handle the unrighteous mammon, the things which have no godliness, a person can be rich or poor and have God or not have God. person's other bank account Their health has absolutely nothing to do with if they know God It's a man yesterday name The name slips me right now, but he's an old man. I was in the wheelchair for many years. He just died He served God Faithfully, and I saw a lot of people mourning who believed the gospel And I don't know him personally and so I'm not mourning is I don't know his family I'm more rejoicing. He's in heaven and his suffering and his hard life are over and I have seen him do interviews in his wheelchair and he talks about it's not easy and It is not an easy life. Oh and you got to stir up yourself and you got to get God's grace To live this Christian life with joy in this wheelchair Because that is your responsibility His body in the wheelchair Does not mean he has or does not know God His attitude in the wheelchair His faith, his heart, the substance that's of his character. And as me and you give, what the master is saying is, who will give you the true riches if you can't handle money properly? You see, money is not the kingdom of God. It's not the kingdom of heaven. It's not spiritual. It's not a blessing that God gives only unto holy people. Most of the rich people in this world are ungodly people. He's saying, do you know the actual grace of God? What is your motive in giving? What is your motive in Christian living? What is my motive of being here in Africa? Is it to make a name? Or is it the grace of God? Is it to be famous or is it God's grace? Is it to serve people or that I can be seen as serving people or is it to serve them because Christ is gracious unto you and me. What's the motive? What's behind it? Is it grace? Is it to earn the favor of God? Is it to put a smile on his face and to make him bless me? Is it to give money into my pocket? I understand if a student comes here because they want a scholarship or because they want to learn English or to read better. I understand that and we are here for that. But the main reason that we're here is to know be graced in God. And if that's not my motive, if that's not, if that is not our motive, as we do our good works, then our good works, they're not good. They aren't seen by God as good. Even if other people praise them, even if we feel really good about them, they're not good in the eyes of God. But if you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he is the God of heaven, yet for your sakes, who are you? Sinners. You and I are the worst people on planet earth. There is nobody more evil than me and you are. There is nobody in this world whom the almighty God, he looked at and said, Hmm, that person is better than somebody else. And so I'm going to go save him. No, he saw us all dead in our father, Adam. He saw us dead in our sins and he quickened us. He put us on the throne. He put us at the right hand of God in Christ because he put us in Christ Jesus from before time began. You and I being in Christ is not because of our decision. It's the grace of God. He made us to decide for Christ. He made us to choose Christ. But that was the grace of God that was operative in your life and mine. You were not seeking God when God found you. I was not seeking God. I was seeking to be a great preacher that day when I went into the church house. I was already the assistant pastor, I'm at this conference, and I'm thinking, I'm just gonna add a few arrows into my quiver. And I found out I was undressed and the grace of God saved me as a sinner. He didn't save me because I was any better than anybody else. A homosexual, a murderer, a thief, a liar, a hypocrite, a philanderer, Sexually immoral person the things that you and I don't do That that that even me and you are repulsed by We are repulsed by those things because of the grace of God Here's a king in the Old Testament of Bimelech and he was going to sleep with Abraham's wife and He had taken her and Abraham, like the best of us, had lied. He's still a sinner, even though he's a saint. And so the king says, Lord, I did not sleep with her out of the integrity of my heart. And the almighty God says, I know you did it in the integrity of your heart. I restrained you. I put it in your mind, it's wrong to rape children or you'd be a baby killer and you'd be eating them too. You would be doing anything that any human being on earth could do or would do apart from the restraining hand of God. There is nothing in me and you, there's nothing in me that I can boast about, not one thing. If I'm not sexually immoral, it's because I obtained mercy. If I keep my hands off the children because I got mercy, no other reason. Do you know the grace of God? It is all grace from start to finish. And we need to have a gospel that gives God glory. This itty bitty gospel is of no help to fallen and sinful man. We need a whole gospel for whole centers. That is the grace of God magnified. Then we'll love him and serve him from our heart. It's the only way. I have tried every other way. It's the only way. Prayer can't even do it until I see God's grace. I gotta see the gospel. Just praying won't clean me. Prayer has to lead me to Jesus Christ by faith or I'm helpless in the flesh. I can't control myself. I can't stir myself up to do good works. I can be good on the outside, but God says, He knows your heart. Do you know the grace of God? Paul said, I don't want you just to give money. I don't want your money. I want you to do it because you love God. Yet for your sakes, who are you and me, sinners? He became poor. How poor? He died on the cross. He suffered the everlasting fury of the eternal wrath of God. He was made to be sin for us. He was punished for us. He was cursed for us. He died for us. He paid the price for us. He agonized for us. He didn't just give you salvation. He died to give you salvation. He paid the price. He bled, he suffered, he died under the wrath. And he didn't just fall off a cliff, oh. He suffered the wrath of God upon the cross until he cried out, my God, my God, why have you, I'm utterly abandoned, he said. I have no comforts, no peace. That's how poor he was. He's not just poor as a man, unto walk around in his flesh, in his body, in this filthy earth, and to be in all points tempted, and be spat upon, and smitten, and mocked, and ridiculed, and tempted of the devil of men, to have men, his creation, harass him. But the wrath of God was poured upon the Son. He spared not his son. And the lash and the whip that me and you deserve, he got to take it. He took it all. He took every last drop of the anger, of the fury, of the wrath of God. He drunk it all. And then he turned the cup upside down and said, it's finished. And then he gave up his life. He gave up the ghost. No man took it from him. He laid it down. Oh, the picture is of Isaac. He's not some small boy as when Abraham, that old man says, come on boy, here, lay down. I'm gonna, I will bind you. And I'm gonna offer you as a sacrifice unto God. And Abraham, and this boy, Isaac, in faith, stretched himself out. He didn't resist his old father. He's not some small boy. He was strong enough to carry the sticks. He's strong enough to fight off his dad. He's over 100 years. He's laid down. Then, God punished his son as he laid out upon that cross, stretched himself out. He willingly took his hands and he gave it unto the nails. His beard he gave, scripture says, unto the smiters and them that plucked it out. He poured out his heart, his life spilled out of him. He died for sinners. That's how poor he became. Oh, so poor, infinitely poor that you, you through his poverty might be, how rich are we? We have the everlasting inheritance. We have all things. We have forgiveness. We have the grace. We have God Almighty himself. God is my friend. He's your friend. Abraham, it says, is the what? He's the friend of God. sinner Satan is punished for the same sins that me and you commit and he doesn't have any way out So many sinners are going to hell And me and you were going to obtain mercy for the rest of our lives And as we get on into eternity, it's going to be mercy upon mercy and grace upon grace forever and ever. I was thinking about this this afternoon, but heaven and hell are eternal. If you took all the sand of all the seas, if you took all of the dust on all of the stars in all of the galaxies and heat them up and each one if it was a billion years that would only be the start of eternity. Eternity is gonna last a mighty long time. And me and you are gonna be in heaven instead of hell. Me and you are gonna be enjoying ourselves forever. That's how rich we are. Now, you know the grace of God? The apostle Paul, He was not interested in giving only. Let's look again at our text in chapter nine. He was not only interested in us giving. Chapter nine, therefore I thought it necessary, verse number five, to exhort the brothers to go to you ahead of time and prepare your generous gift. It's it's we are to give. I'll talk some more about that later. That it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not of covetousness. The apostle Paul actually is he wanted the people to prepare Instead of using high-pressure tactics If I've got to twist your arm to give that's not giving and I'm a false prophet I'm a false prophet The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4 Not that I seek a gift The only thing I seek and and I ask you to be patient I'm gonna Is I'm gonna take a couple of extra minutes There are a couple of scriptures that I want you to see that's because It is rare and I don't want you to take my word for it as I want you to see it and for and for me to see it in the Bible it's in Is in Philippians 4 In verse number 17 and the boat we're talking about now Is Paul is the motive of Paul is we talked about the motive of the people It's not to give oh I can get is to give Oh, I can love Because I'm loved but the Apostle Paul says It's in Philippians 4 verse number 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account if I'm talking about money in order to get money, I Have a false motive I have a false motive. And how did he get like this? Well, it's in the same chapter with verse number 11 through verse number 13. Not that I speak in regard to need. He said, I will never talk to you about money because I need money. He may tell them it's I'm in need of money, but he's not going to tell them to give and use spiritual language in order to get money out of their pockets. Can you see the difference? That man who approached me this morning in my inbox, whom I have never met, he used all kinds of flowery language and it just angered me. Because I know he's just after my money. And he's using the Lord's name and the gospel to get into my pocket. And that's not of God. Even if he needs money, it's better just to come ask than to manipulate the word of God to get money. What a corrupt motive. Not that I speak in regard unto need, Paul says. For I've learned in whatever state I am to be content, rich or poor, hungry or thirsty, if I have it or if I have it not. I'm gonna trust God, Paul says. I'm gonna rely on him. And if I die at his feet asking mercy, that's why I die. But I'm not gonna go begging in the name of God and manipulate people. That's an ungodly motive and you don't do it when you know the grace of God. He can be trusted. If He gave me so much to give up His Son, He can be trusted. If He gave me eternal life, He can be trusted. And we honor Him by trusting Him. I've learned in whatever state I am to be content I know how to be a base and I know that people use these scripture verses to talk about I can I Can lift weights, but there's something higher. I Can obey God in any situation with a good attitude Paul says I Can do anything God tells me to do Oh, that's a Christian. That's knowing the grace of God. By experience, it's not just talk. It's not just a doctrine. It's a lifestyle. It's his life. His whole heart is in it. Oh, that's the kind of man that you want. Doesn't have to be rich, doesn't have to be smart. Let his whole heart be in God. And that's the kind of woman. That's the only people who honor God in the earth. That's the only people who are worthy to be spoken of. It's the only life that's worth living, is to honor God. who loved us and gave himself for us. Whatever state I'm in, I've learned to be content. I know how to be a base that's poor or humble or afflicted or cold, hungry. And I know how to be a bound that's happy in the flesh and things in this world. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That's just beautiful. That is true Christianity. That's what. Me and you are talking about That's our goal and That's why the Apostle Paul Is he goes unto those people at Corinth And he says That you are a good example Prepare your gift But don't let it be by covetousness. He's teaching us to give a right way. Because he'd rather that we did not give than that we gave it for the wrong reasons. Now he wants us to give. He said, prepare your gift. I'm going to send Titus and this other brother to come and collect your gift. He said that The Macedonian church has heard about you giving. I've already bragged about it. I've already told them, yeah, that church at Corinth is going to be taking up a pretty big offering. They're cheerful in the Lord. And then the church in Macedonia was stirred up and say, yes, it's we're going to give to and that church. As I was telling That man yesterday was begging in the name of the Lord, twisting scripture to get it. That church in Macedonia was poor and it was afflicted and it was filled with joy. Paul says that they gave the right way. And me and you are together. And me and you are to be Christians. Because our example, it benefits other people. I'm over my, it's a little bit more time. Let's go back into 2 Corinthians 9. I just want to show you a couple more things in passing. and then I'm going to conclude. And I've already mentioned them. Let's start at verse number one, we'll read down to verse number five. Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you, for I know your willingness, about which I boast to you, to the Macedonians, that Achaia, that's this church of Corinth, was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up a majority. It's our little works here. may stir up somebody else to serve God with majesty and power. Our work here might be used by God to stir up somebody else and say, if that little group of people can do all of that for the glory of God, then we can go and we can do something too. And I wanna be an encouragement. As I preach on the streets and I have my camera on, and when I first began to preach on the streets, the last thing I wanted was to turn that camera on. I felt embarrassed. I'm standing here preaching to people who are hardly listening as to why am I doing this, but I felt compelled that I had to do it. And then I realized it's the thing I'm the most known for because it's used by God to encourage other people all over the world. And it might only be a few people in front of me who are even listening. But that gospel, it goes out. I want me and you to be an encouragement. Verse number three, yet I have sent a brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that as I said, you may be ready. lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we not to mention you should be ashamed of this confident boasting. Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brothers to go to you ahead of time and prepare your generous gift beforehand. That's my last point here. Prepare your gift. Who's the gift for? Well, it's for God's glory. But God isn't hungry. He's not naked and in need of clothing. He isn't homeless. He's not sick. He didn't lose a job. He doesn't have any bills he has to pay. And so the gift is for God's glory, but the gift is for people. And so me and you right here, right now, we don't, if we're not taking up an offering yet, is I want to make sure I complete chapter nine. Then on Sundays within the future, is we will take an offering so the people have an opportunity to give. 100 Naira, 10 Naira, 10,000 Naira, as to whatever a Lord that actually lays upon the person's heart. But let me ask you this question, and it's from the book of James in chapter two. If I'm hungry. And I have no clothes. And I approach you. Oh, my sister. I just lost my job last week. And the landlord has come, I haven't been able to pay. Is there anything in your house that you can spare? And I'm a member of the church. I've been faithful. And then you tell me, ah brother, be warmed and be filled and close that door. Have you met my needs? Let me read you what the, what brother James says in chapter number two. You haven't shown any real love. and faith without works is dead. If it doesn't love people, if it doesn't love the saints in a tangible way, it's a dead faith, it isn't real. And so my motive has to be pure and my action has to be doing it, both, both. It's the book of James two, the first number, 15 through 17 if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food Is you're not paying for them to be lazy This is a brother or sister who's hit hard times that are out of their control They have proven themselves to be faithful Honey, you say to them the part in peace be warmed and feel But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? Thus also faith by itself if it has not works is dead If we're going to help people tangibly From a pure heart That means our faith is of God. As we have them both. A pure heart is a pure motive. It's because of the grace of God. I don't get anything out of this except to do you good. Because God is good unto me and he will take care of my needs. And I'm going to actually tangibly help you. That's the grace of God. That's the real thing. And then my last scripture verse is in second Corinthians nine is the last one. I think you get that point. Verse number 11. As to while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. He's saying that the Lord is going to keep on giving unto you and me so that we can keep on giving to the people who are in need. until the time comes when me and you are in need ourselves. He is gonna keep on providing so you can get. If you think you have that because you have a big brain. I have a big brain and I'm not swinging home runs. I'm at the bank And the banker's like, hmm. No, no, no. It's because of the grace of God so you can give to help somebody else who serves God and is a saint. So our motive is pure. The Apostle Paul is an example of a preacher that's not after himself because he's trusting in the Lord. Each of us needs to trust in the Lord and put our faith in Jesus Christ. And we need to tangibly give. And the Lord, he will provide. Put your faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul. All of these things are blessings promised to us because of Christ. And if we believe in him, they're ours. If you know the grace of God and I know the grace of God, then we're gonna be giving. And we're gonna be very generous people. And we're gonna be doing it from the right motive. Amen. And so you can close us please in a hymn. It's a hymn in prayer.