Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. “As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. “And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” NIV

Review:
Principle #1: Finish what you start!
Principle #2: Give as it has been given to you!
Principle #3: Giving is a matter of the heart!
Principle #4: Offerings in the church should be handled with integrity!
Principle #5: Giving is an outward and accurate demonstration of how much we love God.

Introduction:
Cheerfulness!
1. full of cheer; in good spirits: a cheerful person.
2. promoting or inducing cheer; pleasant; bright: cheerful surroundings.
3. characterized by or expressive of good spirits or cheerfulness: cheerful songs.
4. hearty or ungrudging: cheerful giving.
cheer⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
cheer⋅ful⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. cheery, gay, blithe, happy, joyful, joyous, buoyant, sunny, jolly. 4. generous.
Antonyms:
1. miserable. 4. grudging.

Big Idea: The way to become a cheerful giver is to give generously! Why…because generosity is where the fun is.

There is hilarity in giving generously!  TOMMY’S RASBERRIES

The Laws of Sowing and Reaping!
Samuel Smiles Life and Labor
“Sow a thought and you reap an act; sow an act and your reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny”
#1: You reap what you sow! – Galations 6:7
# 2: You reap in proportion to what you sow
Sow sparingly = reap sparingly / Sow abundantly=reap abundantly!

Built on a similar principle: You always reap more than you sow!
Is it “all about the people?” Or,
Is it “all about the money?” Paul Poberezny’s answer!
January 1953
Paul Howard Poberezny, the leader of a small group of aviation enthusiasts who had been assembling at his home on an irregular basis, founded the Experimental Aircraft Association and is elected its first President. On January 26th, 1953, Poberezny calls the first official meeting of EAA at Curtiss-Wright (now Timmerman) Field in Milwaukee. The group originally gathered together to aid and assist amateur aircraft builders. However, its purposes quickly encompassed the promotion of all facets of aviation – especially sport aviation, the preservation of Americas rich heritage of personal flight – and the promotion of aviation safety. The organization derives its name from the Experimental Aircraft category, which is assigned to airplanes used for recreational and educational purposes only. One of the keys to the associations constant growth is the fact that its membership is open to everyone interested in aviation. “At the end of his opening speech, 36 candidates became 36 members. They elected officers, discussed a name for the organization and talked about by-laws”

ILLUSTRATION: Younger widow with 2 teens (Betty).
Would you “tithe” your husband’s life insurance?

Ecclesiastes 11:6 “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” NIV
One of the great spiritual principles of life is that God blesses people in proportion to their blessing others (cf. Prov. 11:24-25; 19:17; 22:8-9; Luke 6:38; Gal. 6:7). Paul reminded his readers of this here by citing the example of the farmer. If he plants little, he harvests little; but if he plants much, he will harvest much. Giving to meet the needs of others is like sowing seed. It will yield fruit of the same kind in time.
The important lesson which Paul is urging upon the Corinthians at this point is that to give is to sow. What is given is not lost, but, like the seed sown by the farmer, contrary to all appearances it possesses the potency of life and increase. At the same time it is important to remember that, as the whole context shows, the Apostle is speaking of the quality, not the quantity, of giving.”239
Is a proper motive for giving to get something in return? Both Jesus and Paul urged us to lay up treasure in heaven, to make investments counting on the fact that they will yield eternal rewards (Luke 12:31-34; Matt. 6:19-21; 1 Tim. 6:18-19; cf. Prov. 19:17; Matt. 10:42; Luke 6:38). It is perfectly legitimate to remind people of the inevitable consequences of their actions to motivate them to do what is right, as Paul did here.
The example of the harvest suggests that the farmer has the freedom to plant as much or as little as he chooses (cf. Acts 11:29; 1 Cor. 16:2).

II. Three guidelines to generous giving, 2 Cor 9:7
Guideline #1: Giving is to be a personal choice. The only way to be a cheerful giver is to plan your giving.
When you give according to a plan then you can give off the top.
If you do not give “off the top” then you will always give under pressure and stress.

We should give generously, freely, and deliberately. We should not give feeling that we hate to part with what we are giving. We should not give because we feel there is no alternative or because we think others will look down on us if we fail to give (cf. Acts 5:1-11). We should not give impulsively or thoughtlessly but with inward resolve. We should give cheerfully (Gr. hilaron), hilariously in the sense of very joyfully but not in the sense of thoughtlessly. Cheerful givers always receive God’s loving approval.

Guideline #2: Giving generously requires determination.
As he has purposed in his heart.
To choose deliberately – not impulsively!
Another “law of the harvest”: you reap in a different season than the one in which you sowed! Partly why it takes determination!

Guideline #3: Personal giving is a private matter “in his heart”
“The need awakens a desire that cannot be stilled”
Ilapov = hilarious: it isn’t the size of the gift that God prizes but the giver’s state of the heart.
1 a: full of good spirits : merry b: ungrudging 2: conducive to cheer : likely to dispel gloom or worry

III. Four Beneficiaries
1. The giver, 9:8-11
Truth: The way to become a cheerful giver is to realize the simple truth that you can never out-give God. Go ahead, make my day! Give it a try. God enables us to give.
God’s response – makes all grace abound – (abound = 6X)
Grace = 10X Unmerited favor.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”” NIV
All things…all times…all that you need!
God demonstrates His love for cheerful givers by giving them more grace and more opportunity. He also makes us contented (Gr. autarkeia), sufficient in that sense (cf. Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:6). However, we always need to remember that God is the One from whom everything we have comes.
Needs met
Seed to sow
Righteous harvest!
Psalm 112:5 “good will come to him who is generous and lends freely”

2. The recipient
Truth: The way to become a cheerful giver is to realize that giving is a part of the ministry to which God has called you! 9:12-14
This service (diakonia)
of this service (leitourgia – liturgy) eron + laos = a work for the people
However notice that what God promised is seed for sowing, the opportunities and resources to make further investments of good works. He did not promise wealth for our own consumption.
Preachers of “prosperity theology” have used these verses to support their contention that God will inevitably give you more material goods if you give what you presently have to Him. (They usually urge their hearers to give to God through their ministries.) However notice that Paul was comparing what God does on the physical plane with what He does spiritually. The farmer who plants a crop gets back more seed than he sowed. Similarly, Paul argued, those who sow spiritually by giving sacrificially to others will receive more spiritual seed, namely, divine enablement to help more people (vv. 8-9). Moreover God will not just supply more spiritual seed, but He will multiply it.
Generally what we give away is what we get back. That is the principle in view. However this is not a promise that we will inevitably get more wealth if we give away our wealth.241 The opposite usually happens. “In everything” implies that God may give generous Christians more material resources that they can pass on to others. However, we should remember that the context is primarily dealing with righteousness that comes back to the person who sows righteous acts, not Rolls Royces and Rolex watches.
“There is no hint here of a ‘prosperity theology.’ Enrichment, like ‘overflowing’ (v. 8), is metaphorical, and is not at all motivated by self-interest.” Another result of the Corinthians’ benefaction would be that the Jerusalem saints would thank God when the gift came to them through Paul and his associates.
Cast your bread upon the water and after many days it will come back to you.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” NIV
In a section about life being an adventure, the Preacher in Ecclesiastes tells us to expect the unexpected.

Giving is like sending your ‘seed’ on a trip. You send them out as arrows in your quiver and they come back married and with children.

Be adventurous, like those who accept the risks and reap the benefits of seaborne trade. Do not always play it safe!

3. God “thanks to God”, 11-12 Overflowing into many expressions of thanks to God. People will praise God!
4. The church, 9:13-14 “a sense of attachment / connectedness” comes back to the church.
Truth: The way to become a cheerful giver is to constantly live your live focused on God’s indescribable gift!
God is the supreme example:
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” All our giving is in response God giving us His son. All our blessings flow out from the cross.

The “indescribable gift” to which Paul referred in closing is probably Jesus Christ, the “divine gift which inspires all gifts.”244 It is probably not the gift God would give the Corinthians because they were generous toward the Judeans to which Paul referred in the immediately preceding context. Only Christ qualifies as an “indescribable” gift (cf. Rom. 8:32).
Furthermore reference to Him is appropriate and climactic at the end of this section of the epistle. Paul went back to the primary motivation for Christian giving again (cf. 8:9) for his final appeal to his readers.

God’s Inexpressible Gift to You: Jesus Christ
1. Christ is the power that can change people?
2. Christ is the way to have eternal life?
3. Christ is the way for sins to be forgiven?
4. Christ is the way for your deepest longings to be satisfied?
5. Christ is way to know God personally and be his friend?