KESWICK AT
PORTSTEWART
BIBLE READING
NOTES – THURSDAY 11 JULY 2024 – JOHN RISBRIDGER
2 CORINTHIANS 8 VERSES 1 – 9
We are in different territory today. Yesterday we looked at the glories of a new
creation. Today it has come down to
earth about money and you could nearly say it was written by an
accountant. It is great passage with
little detail. We will begin with a
slightly broader picture that may help.
“Where you heart is there will your treasure be also.” That is a deliberate misquote from
Jesus. It is deliberate because in
practice that is the version of the words we believe to be genuine. It is your money so use it for what it is
most important to you. Give but be
authentic. Follow your heart. Your money and your heart are closely tied
together. But it works this way round –
money follows the heart. Be true to
yourself. That becomes the basis for
many fundraisers – what people have a heart for, work out what they feel
strongly about or moved by, give them well chosen sound bites or heart
rendering images to make sure they start to feel what you want them to feel and
then pitch to their hearts, to what moves them because money follows the
heart. So where their heart is that will
be where their money will be also. It is
not what Jesus said. In the Sermon on
the Mount he said we need to think of it in another way. “Where your treasure is there your heart will
be also.” Matthew 6 verse 21. Not money follows your heart as its your
heart follows your money. Try investing
some equity into a business and you might be surprised how often you check out
how well the business is doing. Your
heart has followed your money as Jesus said.
That is how it works in the kingdom of God. The manifesto of the kingdom. The great theme of the Sermon on the
Mount. Jesus is saying put your money
into things that things such as comfort, lifestyle, image and that is where
your heart will end up too. If you want
a heart after God, if you want a heart invested in the kingdom of God, if you
want to serve the purpose of God in your generation you must begin with what
you treasure, where you invest it.
John Wesley the great Methodist preacher at
the beginning of his ministry had to live on £28 a year. As his fame increased and his resources
increased significantly he chose to live on that same amount and give the rest
away. He said “when I have money I get
rid of it quickly lest it find a way into my heart.”
Paul understood that principle. From the moment he met Christ on the Damascus
Road he knew he was a commissioned apostle to the Gentile or non-Jewish
world. Ananias made that clear. He was passionate that the gospel must be a
boundary crossing gospel. It must not be
allowed to be stuck in a single Jewish identity. The gospel must never be locked into a single
cultural identity. It didn’t mean he was
happy for Jews and Gentiles to diverge on radically different pathways. His vision was to see them united visibly
within the church as one new humanity in Christ – Ephesians 2. Given all the years of division, conflict and
separation, the mis-understanding that arose and was so deep how do you
establish heart boundaries between community separate from each other? The principle – where your treasure is there
your heart will be also. Given that the
Jewish believers in Jerusalem were under huge financial pressure for several
reasons, Paul put a huge effort into raising funds from the Gentile churches to
support believers in Jerusalem and so to deepen the bonds between Gentile
churches and Jewish believers. Where
their treasure was is where their heart would land too. This was something already explained in
Corinthians – chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians shows us that. In 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10 the
Christians in Corinth were most enthusiastic to get onboard. Paul was now afraid they are going cold. He wants them to follow through on their
promises. In Chapters 8 and 9 he wants
them to follow these promises through.
Put yourself in Paul’s shoes.
There was a narrative going about that the Corinthian Christians would
be better off without Paul. Therefore
the last thing you would write about would be to write about money. That would make it super awkward. That is how much it mattered to him. That a Gentile church invested financially in
a Jerusalem church so as to grow those boundaries of fellowship between Jewish
and Gentile Christians. It is important
to notice. Notice the passion, the
motivation behind it – for the unity of the church of Christ. Too often we see a concern for unity as a
nice extra if you can imagine it but not really important. Really some soft-headed theologians going on
about the unity of the church. It is
really deeply theological – that is why he devotes 2 chapters. We dare not divide the church of Jesus
outside the unity of the bounds of the gospel.
The unity of the church of Jesus is a gospel issue on which unwilling to
budge for the sake of Jesus. It is
massively important. It was the subject of
Jesus’ last prayer before his crucifixion.
The challenge of these chapters is not really a challenge of
understanding full on call to radical generosity. Not to dig out loads of complexity but to
learn and practice the generosity for Christ.
Chapter 8 verses 1 – 5. An example of generosity. Verse 1.
Paul is about to speak about their giving and their gives is the
overflow of the working of God’s grace in their lives. He choose to use the example of the
Macedonians. There was a long running
rivalry between the Greeks and the Macedonians.
We can why he regarded them as such a great example. Verse 2.
What a challenge to them. The
Corinthians who were increasingly reluctant to part with their wealth. The Macedonian generosity came from struggle
and poverty. C H Spurgeon was asked by a
wealthy friend to preach in a rural church to help them pay off a debt. As a thank you he could use his country house
or town house or his seaside house if he liked.
Spurgeon told him “sell one of the houses and pay off the debt
yourself.” The more we have the more
reluctant we are to give. Money traps
the heart and holds the heart but they gave from the overflow of joy. But it was sacrificial giving – verse 3. They regarded this not as a duty but a privilege. Verse 4.
They exceeded the expectations, they gave more than expected to
give. The key principle – give
themselves to the Lord and by the will of God also to us. That is the nature of truly Christian godly
giving. First to the Lord and then
through to whatever means he has given to us.
Giving is worship. Keeps the tie
between worship and giving. It was a
love gift to Jesus. A great miracle of
generosity. How generosity was meant to
be.
Chapter 8 verses 6 – 9. An appeal to generosity. Titus was to be sent by Paul to Corinth and
they were to give to him when he arrived.
Titus seems to have been sent into difficult situations, to fix
problems. There is lots in the appeal
here but 2 key words are important. The
first is the word “excel” verse 7. You
need to feel how that bit in Corinth.
They liked to excel, they were a little bit impressed with
themselves. They liked to see themselves
as very very gifted, on the edge, strong in faith, articulate in speech and
impressive in knowledge. Paul says
excel in those things but what about exceling in other things that are not
seen? Like sacrificial giving? In the gift of generosity? Be as outstanding in giving sacrificially to
the needs of God’s people as you are being impressed in the ministry you excel
in already. That is the call here. The second word is “equality”. Work for justice through your giving. Verse 13.
Paul is not addressing society at large but specifically talking about
the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. They should not over interpret them
politically nor under interpret them either.
Paul is saying your Christian sisters and brothers in Jerusalem do not
have enough for clothes, food and shelter whereas you have more than you
need. Today most Christians live in the
global South and many of them are in great material poverty. When it comes to concern about global poverty
and injustice it is often the poverty of our Christian brothers and sisters we
have an obligation to them.
Chapter 8 verse 6 – chapter 9 verse 5. Facilitating generosity. There are issues such as transparency and in
handling money. There is also wisdom
that recognises good intentions. Good
intentions alone do not count alone when it comes to finance. We must be proactive in giving, there should
be opportunities to give.
Chapter 9 verses 6 to 15. The blessing of generosity. Verse 7.
Paul is presenting the need and challenging them but he is not looking
for guilt ridden pressurised response.
He wants their giving from a settled commitment. Not reluctant or resentful but careful,
happy, bright giving. How can we be
happy givers? Enjoying sacrifice? Understanding
the blessing that arises from generosity which is the more generously we give
the more we have to give. Verse 6. The more we open our hands to release what
God has given to us in generosity the more we open our lives to receive his
blessing. If we play tight fisted with
God we wont receive much from him either.
That is the principle. Not saying
you should invest £10 in your church and God will provide £100 back into your
bank account. No – the more you give to
God not just of money but of your time and your gifts. The more you give, the more you will have to
give to him. It is a virtuous circle.
Live a life turned in on yourself and you will never join the virtuous
circle but live a life open to generosity and what happens? Verse 11 you are enriched in every way so
that you will be generous on every occasion and through us your generosity will
result in thanksgiving to God. The more
generous we give the more we will have to give.
Also living generously brings glory to God – verse 12. To a healthy Christian nothing matters more
than God is praised and thanked. Here’s
the good news – the more we give the more God will be praised and the more
glory goes to him. Living generously
will mean others will pray for us – verse 14.
As you give others will pray for you the blessings of generosity – they
are rich. God’s blessing will never outgive God even in our generosity to
others he will be generous to us. He
will be generous to us. You never
outgive the generosity of God. God’s
generosity to us goes so much further.
Verse 15 “Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift.” What is that
gift? The gift of himself in the person
of his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Why
pursue generosity? Verse 9 “you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes be
became poor that through his poverty we might become rich.” This is the greatest generosity in the
universe. Just think how rich he
was. The eternal word of the Father
through whom and in whom and for whom all things were created. It was all his. It all belonged to Jesus and with legions of
angels at his disposal with the Father’s eternal pouring over him and into him
for ever with never ending satisfaction and joy. Rich in resources, rich in
power, rich in love. But think how poor
he became as he emptied himself out into our humanity. He became flesh for us. An embryo, a baby, a carpenter. The Son of Man with no where to lay his
head. Despised and rejected. The Man of Sorrows familiar with grief, the
servant of all, obeying the Father even to death, even death on the cross. Such poverty.
Why? How can it be that the one
so rich did he become so poor because he died for us. He died because he loved the world so
much. He did it so that through his poverty
we might become rich, really rich. Our
sins forgiven, our shame lifted through the cross, adopted in him. Loved by the Father, clothed in the Son,
filled and sealed in the Spirit, inheritors of the new creation, delighted from
heaven as the bride of Christ. What
riches, what glory in Christ. This is
true generosity, the generosity of Christ.
His generosity was a chosen weakness, a voluntary laying aside of power,
of privilege and position. A weakness
through which God’s grant power is revealed.
Strength through weakness. That
is the mission we are called to follow.
Where is your heart? Is it in
things and lifestyle and image or is it in the kingdom of God and the purpose
of God? How do I know? You know by where you have invested your
treasure. Where your treasure is there
will your heart be also. The call of the
gospel is for a generous life invested intentionally and sacrificially in the
mission of God. A ministry to the poor,
serving the community, reaching the world.
God wants your heart but where you invest your treasure, that is where
your heart will go.
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