Go to 2 Corinthians with me. 2 Corinthians 9. Actually, chapters 8 and 9 are probably, if we had to pick any portion of God's Word that we were going to go to to develop some thoughts about the subject of giving, these would be two chapters. It's probably the fullest expression that we find in Scripture on the subject. Focus our attention on this idea of giving that God loves us. I've entitled this second Corinthians nine, verse six is what this I say. He who spare he who so sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver. That's actually quite a statement there. I mean, you type in you go do a search in the scriptures of the things that God says that he loves, and you don't find that statement very often that God loves fill in the blank. But here we have God loves a cheerful giver. So it seems like it's something that we might want. I mean, if if you were to say, you know, what what what does your you know, your children, what is your daddy love? I mean, do you know what your daddy loves? And, you know, when you find out what your daddy loves, you kind of are kind of drawn to that, aren't you? A little bit because, you know, your daddy loves loves, you know, your daddy loves you. And and so you want to do what your daddy loves. And that's kind of maybe that's oversimplifying it here. But I think I think that might help us if we are thinking about the subject of giving this verse really is a summarization of what Paul has been saying since chapter eight and verse one to the to the Corinthians regarding this subject. And he is talking about money here. It's he's talking about in the context offerings that are being received, collections that are being made for the poor saints in Jerusalem specifically. And while the principle addressed here is certainly applicable broadly, that is, when we think about giving, God loves a cheerful giver, we could say God loves the heart of a giver, no matter what it is, giving yourself, giving your time, giving your resources, giving money. So there's certainly there is a broad application. But specifically, God, specifically, Paul is addressing this idea of the grace of giving. Look back at chapter eight in verse seven. He says, but as you abound in everything, So here is a church that he is saying he's already said in the first letter that they abounded in gifts, you know, what we call the charismatic type gifts. And here he says, as you abound in everything in any names, faith, speech, knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us. So there's a there are a lot of things that they abound in. Then he specifically says, see that you abound in this grace also. And what is this grace here? This grace also. It's the grace of giving. That word that is translated grace is used several times in these chapters to refer to this idea of giving. In chapter nine, verse one now concerning the ministering to the saints, he's talking about the grace of giving the ministering financially, economically helping saints that were in need in verse 12 of chapter nine for the administration of this service, not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also in abounding through many thanksgivings to God. So the Macedonian churches, which would include Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. That's the ones we know about anyway. They were examples of the principles in our text. And so Paul talks about them in chapter eight. We'll read some of those verses in a moment. And Paul is exhorting the Corinthians toward the same kind of giving, the same kind of giving that was modeled in the Macedonian churches. And I would say this is a message to community Baptist church. We are exhorted just as every church since then is really being exhorted that we model our giving after the Macedonian churches. They're held up as an example. There really are two examples in that Paul gives. One is the Macedonian churches and one is Christ himself. And those are the two examples that he gives in chapter So my purpose in this message is to bring our minds to consider the heart of giving. You know, we could spend whatever time we spend here just giving antidotes about giving. You know, he who, you know, he who sows bountifully reaps bountifully. And I could just pause and say, OK, testimonies, who can who can give me testimonies of that principle? You know, we could probably spend the whole time just reviewing the history of our own lives and giving and. Make the point, but This is not an investment kind of thinking. It's not seed sowing, like you hear a lot today with health and wealth preachers, you know, so your hundred dollars and get your return from God. That's not the idea. That really is not the idea. We need to be concerned about the heart of our giving. And I'll be emphasizing that through the message. This is the heart that God sees. I mean, God loves a cheerful giver. That's what God is looking at. It's a heart that's affected by his grace. Chapter eight, verse one, moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. So the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia is the operation, the favor of God shown to them, not only in I say not only, perhaps not primarily in loading them up with a large bank account, but that which they came to know, which we'll look at in a moment. See, the fact of the matter is Pharisees give. Right, Pharisees give, but that is not giving that God loves. God sees what man does not see, our giving is not for show, our giving is not to impress anybody. Our giving should be generated from something going on inside of us. God is not impressed with wealth. He does not need money. He does not need my money. He does not need your money. Money is a means that he uses, but his resources are unlimited. He can produce water, can't he, Michael? Where's the water? God can produce it out of a rock, out of a ground, out of the ground. He can do. He can feed with a raven. He can supply. There's numerous ways God is. He's not bound by our limitations. He can take a barrel of oil, barrels of oil and make them last indefinitely. How is that lasting? How is that working? God does that. And I believe there's probably some of us that can talk about that kind of thing. Perhaps you, like me, have never known a time that you did not give what we know as tithes and offerings or whatever you want to call it. I'm going to get bogged down. This isn't about tithes and offerings, not about trying to defend it or promote it. That's not the point of of this. That's not a bad thing if you've always given. I mean, I'm talking about always. I'm thinking when I'm you guys, you young people's age, you know. I mean, from the time I started getting any money, 12 years old, started, you know, logging. I was working for a guy cutting trees and loading logs up on a truck. And then at 15, working at a fabrics store with a bunch of adults. And just, I mean, I've always, like some of you, generated money in my life. I never remember a time where I didn't give. But that doesn't mean God has always loved my giving. OK. It's not a bad thing, and I would say give, even if you're not sure if your heart's right, but simply giving and the amount that is given is not what God loves. It's good to pause then and evaluate our heart and give. And I did that just this morning when I was writing my check out. Because it's just remote control. It's what I do. Well, the words, I think, of second Corinthians nine, seven help us because they summarize to us what God views and what he loves and what he calls a cheerful giver. And I I've tried to categorize my thoughts under two words, responsive and reflective. In other words, God loves responsive giving and reflective giving. That's what he loves and that's what he blesses. Responsive and reflective giving. So let's think about those two words and a few thoughts underneath them. Hopefully I'm going to try to be very I'm going to try to be. Succinct, OK, so first of all, God loves the giving of a responsive heart, a responsive heart, one that is willing, one that's ready, one that's predisposed, one that God has operated on by grace. And what interested me is I read chapters eight and nine is two verses that seem very significant. One is verse nine of chapter eight, for, you know, and this really does explain the what caused the joyful heart of generosity in the afflicted, impoverished Macedonian believers. I don't know what all they were going through. But verses one and two indicate that they were suffering in some way. Brethren, moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction that we can go to the Thessalonian letter and see that, you know, Paul talks about their affliction and how that the Holy Spirit gave them a joy in their affliction. And in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, money can't buy that. And their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. That's crazy. It wasn't out of their surplus. It wasn't out of deep pockets. It wasn't out of big bank accounts. It was out of their deep poverty that they abounded in the riches of their liberality. And it seems to me that verse nine And we're going to look at another verse in chapter nine, explain what caused the joyful heart of generosity in these afflicted, impoverished. Believers, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, you know, you've come to know something that others haven't come to know, like you have come to know, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul is saying this to the Corinthians, you I mean, notice what it says in verse eight, I speak not by commandment, but I'm testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. You need to know what they knew, you need to come to treasure what they treasure, it will affect you. For, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich. Yet, for your sakes, he became poor, that has to be talking about the eternal The place of God in eternal glory and the really the unspeakable, incalculable riches of Christ. That he came away from, came down from into this world, yet for your sakes, he became poor. That you through his poverty might become rich. And then in chapter nine and verse 15, he ends this section with thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Who do you think he's talking about there? Who is the indescribable gift or what is maybe I should say, what is the indescribable gift? Because it could be what? Because he's been talking about the grace that's given, he's talking about the abundance that God has been he's enriched you and everything he's given to you. And so he ends with thanks be to God for his indescribable gift, his unspeakable, incalculable. I can't even talk about the depths of the value of the gift of God. Do you think that's talking about? What they received, or do you think it's talking about Christ himself? It seems to me that it must be talking about Christ himself, some disagree with that. But I would say that, as we have said frequently, when you have Christ, you have everything else. Right. But he is the the gift, and I think that connects with verse nine, I think you have sort of bookends to this section in a way. John Piper said it this way about this idea of the Macedonian believers affected by the treasure that they found in Christ. He says the pleasures of radical, poor, afflicted, generous Macedonian believers were not worldly pleasures. They were pleasures in the treasure of Jesus Christ. And all God was for them in Him. Christ had become poor that they might become rich. And in turn, He had become their riches. Or he was their treasure. I think about that in relationship to your own mind and heart. Do you see Jesus that way? They treasured Christ above money, they weren't holding on. They could have argued, we don't have we don't have it right. They were impoverished. And yet there was something working in them. That was motivating them, moving them. They treasured Christ in affliction above security and comfort, and the effect of this treasuring Christ was abundant joy and overflowing generosity, or simply love. Christ left the riches of heaven and died for them. Have you come to see that? Grace revealed Christ, forgiving their sins and opening everlasting fellowship with God. Treasuring this gift above all, they exploded with joy. And in that abundant joy, in poverty and pain, overflowed in love for the relief of the saints. So the more we come to understand and know the depth of the grace of God in Christ. These are my words, the more our hearts are going to be moved by the unsearchable riches that are in him. And this really tracks with what we talked about this morning, too, doesn't it? And isn't this really isn't this really the heart of everything in the Christian life? The more you treasure, the more you value, the more you see of the beauty and the glory of of God in Jesus Christ, it's going to affect you. in every area of your lives. And so it will in our giving. This is the heart that Paul has in mind in verse seven when he says, so let each one give as he purposes in his heart. This is the heart, the heart that treasures Jesus, the heart that treasures Jesus Christ in the gospel above everything else. So let each one of you give as he purposes in this kind of heart. This is a heart that is so affected by the sense of God's grace that you want to give. Do you know what that feels like to want to give? Maybe I'm speaking to the choir. I kind of hope I am. I think I am. I should be, shouldn't I? You say, preacher, what's motivating you to preach this? Coffers empty or there's a bank account going backwards and you haven't heard me say anything about that, have you? You haven't heard me say anything about the church needing money. We haven't heard. And I'm not going to say anything about that right now. That is not the point. The point is, where's our heart? Do you want to give? And see, that's even more important than giving. Do you want to give? You notice what he says, how he says it in verse seven, he says, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart. There's an assumption here. He doesn't say purpose in your heart to give. This is not a command, it's a description. As he purposes in his heart, it's assumed. That this kind of heart is going to purpose to give. A heart that is deeply affected by the gift of God's grace and the gift of his son, the gift of God's grace and the gift of his son. That kind of heart is a giving heart, right, by the way, that's not just money there, it characterizes our lives. We're not self-consumed. We're not, as I've said before, we're not cul-de-sacs. To the blessings of God were channels through whom those blessings flow. We're going to read a verse about that toward the end. So in your financial giving, is it an expression of worship? I'm not really interested in asking you, are you tithing? I'm not even interested in asking you, when's the last time you put money in box back there? What I'm interested in is your financial giving an expression of worship. Not the leftovers, but the first fruits, because because he is your treasure, he is your treasure. His kingdom is first. In your giving, think about this, in your giving, are you responding to God's grace to you? Do you think of your giving as stewarding what God has given to you? Is there generosity in that stewarding of what God has given to you? Because you see. Because you are so really moved, maybe overwhelmed, I don't want to be too dramatic here, but shouldn't we be overwhelmed by the grace of God in Christ? Shouldn't we be? Is your heart responsive? That's why I say God loves the giving of a responsive heart. Is your heart responsive to God? Is it is that where you're giving is coming from, affected by his grace to you? That moves you to willingly give, do you notice how he expresses this here? So what is it your forgiver? Well, it seems to me that. What he says before that in verse seven is really describing that he says for God loves a cheerful giver. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, his purposeful giving, not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver. In other words, that's what cheerful giving is. Right. Cheerful giving, it's joyful giving, it's it's giving that is not grudgingly, it's not begrudgingly giving. There shouldn't be this sense of money being extracted from you. In fact, Paul seemed to be concerned about that when he says in verse five, therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you Corinthians ahead of time before he came to them and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised. That it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. The old King James, I think, says covetousness there, uses the word covetousness. Does somebody have the old King James? Is that what he says? It says covetousness. That's interesting that that word would be used, but the idea is it's not Paul saying I don't want it to appear like I'm coveting. Your money, I'm not. I don't want it to appear that way. I don't want it to appear like you are begrudgingly giving. I want it, I want it to appear what I believe that it is. That he says in verse two, chapter nine, verse two, for I know your willingness. So it's not pounding them over the head. He's just saying, I just want you to follow through with what you said. A year ago, He uses that language here. I'm not reading the verses. And it's not cheerful giving when you give by compulsion. Are you all hearing me? Maybe this is old news and it's not that interesting. I don't know. But do you get that? If you feel like I have to give because You know, that's what the law says, or that's what somebody said, or that's what, you know, they're going to come after me or the preacher is going to come knocking on my door or ring my bell or whatever. If that's why you're giving, you have some hard work that needs to be done, right? That's the point here. You shouldn't be giving by external force. You shouldn't be giving by guilt. Your giving shouldn't be on the other side of a guilt trip. No, that's not cheerful giving. God doesn't love that kind of giving. It's not cheerful giving to give merely out of duty. By the way, there's nothing wrong with duty, but just giving out of duty? Worshipful giving is not merely a line item on your budget. I mean, that's my life. And that may be some of your lives, too. I mean, that's it. That's the first thing. That's the first thing in my life. But it can become just a line on the budget. That's my point. That's that's not cheerful giving. No, it's giving that comes from your heart, that is notice, verse five of chapter eight. It's giving that comes from a heart that is first given to the Lord, he says, and not only as we had hoped, But they talking about the Macedonian churches, they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. So this is a heart that is saying, Lord, I'm all yours. Everything that I have is yours. It's not just a 10 percent deal here. You know, you tip God 10 percent. You go live. No, it's you. It's all that you are. And so that your giving comes from that vantage point, you have me before you have mine. Right. And so when he has you, oh, well, then, you know, where do you want me to spend it? Where do you want me to give it? Oh, you want the endodontist to get four hundred and seventy something dollars? Yeah, that just happened to me. I thought Medicare covered it all a year ago and I get a bill a year later, 400 and something dollars. So what do I say? Well, I go to that office and I slam my fist down and say, you are getting a dime more than I... No, I just, I did go to the office and I did say, could you explain it to me? They explained it to me. I thought they did the work. The end of it, honest needs the money. He's got to pay his staff. So I gave him my card and four hundred and something dollars later I'm walking out, right? And I'm doing it cheerfully. Because it's not mine. It was given to me. It came from God, right? And so I don't have to... God, don't you know I've been giving X percentage to the church for how many years and this is what I get? Do you see what's wrong with that heart? There are some people who think that way. I ain't giving anymore. You know, that's not a good investment. That's a wrong heart. That's begrudging. That's giving of necessity. That's not a willingness. That's not worship, you see. It's not worship. God loves a cheerful giver. He loves a joyful giver. God does not God does not love a large giver unless the large giver is a cheerful giver. The Macedonians, they of their deep poverty, abounded in their in the riches of their liberality, I guarantee you the amount they gave didn't amount to a whole lot. They wanted to give more than they actually gave, by the way. Read the text. It'll tell you that. And we'll look at that, read it in a moment. So are you responding to his abounding love and grace in Jesus Christ in your giving? That's that's responsive giving. If all your resources are being spent on yourself. And, you know, this is this is for everyone, if you look at your if you look at your expenditures in life and you can you see that everything's everything's being spent on me. then you've got a problem. You've not yet come to experience what God wants you to experience, and that is the joy in giving. He loves a cheerful, joyful giver. And it's reflective. It's a reflection upon God's bounty to you in Christ when you give joyfully, cheerfully. And then God loves giving that is reflective. Let me just be quick here. This is giving that reflects one's means, your ability, what you have. God doesn't expect that you will give what he hasn't first given to you. Right. You know, the old saying, you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. And so you can't give what you don't first have. Now, there's a lot more that could be said about that. But let's read these verses in Second Corinthians eight, the beginning of verse 12. He says, for if there is first a willing mind. It is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. There was a time in the life of this church where There was an individual who his heart was to give, give, give. I know it was and I know it because he was about to lose his property because he was giving so much. He wasn't paying his taxes. And so I had to say. You need to back off your giving here, you need to pay, you got to take care of your family, right? Was that the right counsel, you know? Some people think that if I just give it all to the church or to the Lord through the church, giving is multifaceted in our lives. But the point here is if you don't have it, you can't give it. Verse 13, For I do not, but the willingness, the willingness, I've told you that. I don't want to use too many antidotes because we'll never get through here. It'll be longer than y'all want to sit there, right? But I do remember, and I've told y'all this before, maybe some of you haven't heard it, but I wanted to give to missions one time year. It's been a year. It was long before I came here. And I'm cleaning out the stalls in the car wash where I work my part-time job. I didn't have any money. I was poor. But I wanted to give to missions. It was a special missions offering being taken. I just didn't have it, I was thinking. But I needed to give out of my poverty, right? And all of a sudden I look down and there's these bills folded up on the car wash floor. And I picked it up and it was $3.20, which was a ton of money to me back then. $3.20. And I don't remember, maybe for a moment, I thought, well, maybe I'll split it with you, Lord. You know, I don't know. But I I'm joking. I don't really know what what I think I thought. Hope I'm not embellishing the story. But what I think I spent a long time ago, what I think I thought was. Thank you, Lord, you provided I can give. But I held on to it because, you know, somebody may have lost. Obviously, somebody lost it. So I held on to it for a little bit just to make sure nobody came back and said, hey, did you find 60 bucks lying around? You know, nobody did. So. I don't even know what missionary got it, but somebody got it. But that's just an example where there's a willing heart. It's amazing how God provides. for you to be able to exercise that willing heart. But even if it doesn't, God sees the willing heart, you see, and he loves it. He loves the willing heart. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack, that there may be equality. As it is written, he who gathereth much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack. And that's the way. Well, there's more that could be said about that. That's a principle of giving. And God uses that which is given by those who have to help those who have not. And those who have not will one day have to be able to give and to help those who do not. So it's a reciprocal kind of. Outworking of the giving, so when you give, You should do so, acknowledging that you're giving what God has first given to you. You do know you would have nothing if he didn't give it to you. Interesting to read the prayer of David as he is responding to all of the materials that were being put together for the building of Solomon's Temple, Solomon built after his death. But this is part of his prayer. First Chronicles 29, 13 and 14. Now, therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? Have you ever asked that question in prayer when you're giving? Who am I to be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you and of your own we have given to you. Remember that verse? Of your own. That's all you're doing. I say that's all you're doing. God loves that! He loves that kind of reflective giving. If God gives you much, you have much with which to give. If He gives you little, you have little with which to give. But it's the heart that is reflecting your spirit. Before him, oh, Lord, our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name is from your hand and is all your own. It's his. We're just giving as he gives to us. So this is giving that reflects a willing spirit, not coerced freely. It's interesting. How often you find free will offerings. We don't we don't believe in free will. Right. Well, I do free will offerings. You know, it's all through the Old Testament. Plus, they willingly, freely listen to these verses. Exodus 25 to speak to the children of Israel that they bring me an offering from everyone who gives it willingly with his heart, not coerced willingly. You shall take my offering. Exodus, thirty five, four and five, and Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, this is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, take from among you an offering to the Lord, whoever is of a. What kind of heart? Willing, I don't think you have to look at it to know willing a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord, gold, silver and bronze. First Chronicles, twenty nine in reference to the temple. It says that they gave for the work of the house of God 5,000 talents, 10,000 derricks of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced. Why? Because of how much they gave? No, it says they rejoiced for they had offered willingly, not begrudgingly, not coerced. They offered willingly because with a loyal heart, they had offered willingly to the Lord and King David also rejoiced greatly. Ezra and the rebuilding of the second temple. Some of the heads in chapter two, verse 68, 69, some of the heads of the father's houses, when they came to the house of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to erect in its place, according to their ability. That's exactly what Paul says in second Corinthians, according to your ability, they gave to the treasury for the work. Sixty one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minions of silver and one hundred priestly garments. This willing spirit is what God loves. A spirit that reflects our relationship of dependence upon him and willingness to return as he blesses us. Reflective, reflective of the blessing that he is giving to us. We are returning to him and I guarantee you will never, ever give too much. OK. And what I mean by that, I realize I just gave an A story a moment ago where I thought somebody was giving too much, but you can never give too much. All things considered. OK, all things being in order in your life, you can never give too much. And what I mean by that is you'll never give and you run dry. You'll never give and God not replenish. We could go to Philippians four and prove this and my but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That is in the context of giving. And then here in 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 10 says, But may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. It's as if, among other things, God replenishes your storehouse to be able to keep giving. Have any of you found that to be true? You give, you give, you give, and it just gets replenished, not so that you can just stockpile, but so that you continue to have to give to Him who has has blessed you because you recognize it's coming from Him. So here's a question. How much is enough? How much giving is enough? How would you answer that? I thought about, how about this, as much as your heart desires to gladly give, as much as your heart desires to let a man, not let a man, so let each one of you as he purposes in his heart. There's some italicized words there that sort of can throw you for a loop. as you purpose in your heart. Not grudgingly or necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. See, the issue is not fundamentally the amount, but the heart behind the amount. If you give nothing when you have something, what does that say about your heart? What do you think that says about your heart? You don't need to answer out loud. But what do you think that says about your heart if you give nothing When you have something. If you give sparingly, when you have bountifully. What does that say about your heart? Where your treasure is, you remember what Jesus said, there your heart will be also. What you treasure is what you will invest your money into, if your heart is fixed upon Christ, your giving is going to be proportionate to. Your treasure. And I know that can be a bit tricky because, you know, we start, and even in my own mind, you know, where's the line? For me, the line is, God, you impress upon me. You lead me. I want to give. My heart is to give. I want that to be your heart as well. And then give as you're prompted. Remember, Jesus overlooked the large giving Pharisees and pointed out the widow. Clearly, the point is not how much. The point is not empty your bank account. Years ago, I used to kind of think that way when I first came to community, it was sort of that way, like, you know, live as impoverished. You all remember that. I mean, you know, just, you know, have nothing and give everything. I guess I would say if you're a single man or a woman and that's what you feel prompted to do, that's fine, but if you have a family, if you have a wife, if you can't be thinking like that. I don't think it's biblical to think like that. He that does not provide for his own house is worse than an infidel. You've got to provide for your own house, right? So don't take this to the wrong extreme. Because that's not the point. Really, the point is to entrust all that you are and all that you have to Him who gives to you that you might steward it for purposes that fit a heart that really is fixed on eternity. Let me just bring this to a close here. First Timothy, chapter six. We could argue that most of us are at least in this present age in which we live relative to the rest of the world anyway, we're relatively rich. And I realize even in our congregation, there are those who have more or less. Paul says, command those who, and this is First Timothy 6, 17, command those who are rich in this present age. And by the way, this present age is set against eternal life in verse 19. So we have our eyes set upon eternity. And if we have our eyes, our minds, our hearts set upon eternity, then we're not living this life. We're not living in this present age with our hearts fixed upon this present age and what we can amass, what we can get. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. And there's a huge point there. Read Ecclesiastes. God has blessed us in this life to be able to enjoy things in this life. And money's part of that. There's nothing wrong with enjoying whatever it is. that you're able to have in this life. But notice what he says in verse 18. Let them do good. And this is in the context of the money. Do good with it. That they be rich in good works. I'm not saved by good works. That's not what he's saying. He just says be rich in good works. Abound in good works, right? ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may they hold on eternal life. I think if we give ourselves to minding things of eternity, we will find our hearts maybe less desiring to build up things in this life. I have to be careful here. This is not a message about, you know, if somebody comes in driving in next week with a brand new car, I'm going to say, you know, I'm not going to say a thing to you. I may not even notice, you know, I'm not looking. I mean, if any of you put on a huge addition to your house, if you buy a new living room sofa set, if you do whatever you do, that's between you and the Lord. That is not my business. That is not what this is about. Hey, did you think about giving more to the Lord rather than buying that whatever? That's not the point here. So don't misunderstand. The point is, Does your giving, is your giving responsive and is it reflective? Have you experienced the blessing of giving? Have you? I would say if you have not experienced the blessing of giving, something's out of order. Something is. It's either the result of giving that's generated from a heart that's That's not really treasuring Christ above all else. And so that you're glad to give. This is exciting to give. Or. Maybe there is. I don't know, maybe there are other reasons why you. Maybe you're just not giving. Maybe you're miserly and you're giving and you haven't really entered into the blessing that's associated with it. But I'll tell you this, if you've experienced the blessing of giving, no one's going to have to twist your arm to give. Is that true? If you've experienced the blessing of giving, no one's going to have to twist your arm to give. It won't happen. Is there anybody here that can relate to that? It's true. It is true. God loves that you're a forgiver. That's not to say that God's love for you is dependent upon your giving. Don't anybody go away from here thinking, well, God only loves me if I give. That's not the point of the text. It is to say that God loves you as you freely, willingly, generously, worshipfully give in response to the abundant grace you've received from him. So the spirit of giving is reflective of God's giving to us. Did you notice that? I'm done. Can you look at what verse 7 says and say, God purposes in His heart to give. And He doesn't give grudgingly. And He doesn't give of necessity. He gives freely out of love. And so that kind of love really is reflective of God's love for you. God loves a cheerful giver. Comments? Anybody have anything you want to say?