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Christ Methodist Church Memphis
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Christ Methodist Church Memphis
Shipshape: Treasure in the Hold – Stewardship of Finances (Rev. Paul)
Discover how biblical stewardship of finances turns giving into worship, multiplying God’s grace and producing joyful generosity.
[0:17] We have two scripture readings this morning. The first comes from Malachi chapter 3 verse 10 and the second from 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 6 through 8.
[0:30] Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. The second passage now from 2 Corinthians 9, 6-8. The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
[1:24] This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
[1:29] And amen and amen. And I greet you this morning in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My name is Paul Lawler of the honor of serving as a senior pastor of Christ Methodist Church, and we welcome you here today. Loved ones, before we dive in, I want to make a recommendation. If you have your Bible with you, it would be beneficial to have it open by your
[1:50] side by virtue of how we'll reference some things in chapter 8 as well as chapter 9 this morning. So last week I shared, shall we say, an episode of sailing with you And I'm going to do that again this morning And in doing so, I would want to bring attention to what's called the America's Cup In the Western Hemisphere, this is the premier sailing event It's a race representing nations of the earth And in order to enter the America's Cup.
[2:26] You would have to build a boat of high-tech carbon fiber, and those boats cost on an average somewhere between $8 to $10 million. The entry fee for the America's Cup is between $2 and $3 million, and to form a team, you also have to have a backup boat, and it too is valued between $8 and $10 million. Of course, you've got to have a crew, and it's very expensive, massively expensive, to hire a qualified crew to race the America's Cup. The total cost can easily exceed $100 million.
[3:07] Now, the country that's won the most is the United States, and Oracle Team USA spent somewhere between $250 and $300 million to defend their title last year. The second leading country in the world is New Zealand and their entry into the America's Cup And they're only second to the United States in the number of victories that they have experienced Now, Tech Team, if we could, let's put a picture up here That's the United States in the lead And that's the New Zealand's, their entry in second place there, sailing behind These boats, when they're at full sail, as in their high-tech state, travel up to 55 knots. Now, to put that in layman's terms here, for most of us, that's about 64 miles an hour. Loved ones, that is very fast on water being powered by nothing but the wind. And I shared with you in the Greek language last week, the Greek for that is bookity bookity book. That's very fast, very fast. And so Missy and I were in the Caribbean a number of years ago.
[4:24] And as we were, sitting in the harbor was the New Zealand's entry boat into the America's Cup.
[4:37] And you could rent it. And so I, along with a group of people, rented the boat with their crew. Now, I want you to know, don't think that I spent my kids' college fund. And it was a corporate effort, and it wasn't that expensive. But we went out on the open ocean on this boat worth $8 to $10 million with a crew. And we began to sail out in the open sea. And I mean, booking, okay, moving rapidly, probably moving at about 55, 60 miles an hour. And it was exhilarating. And I had the opportunity to be at the helm. To sell this incredible vessel. And as I'm sailing, I'm thinking, what a moment in life. And I turn to Missy, ready to say, sweetheart, take a picture. And when I turn, Missy's leaning off the stern of the boat with her camera aimed not at her husband, but at landmarks on the shore. And it's as if as she turned back to me with her nonverbal communication and would say subtly, it's not all about you, Paul.
[5:59] And there's a sense in which, as the Apostle Paul writes these words, he's actually bragging on the church because the church now in 2 Corinthians is finding joy and they're finding the experience of the grace of God, maybe like they never have before, because they now are recognizing that it's not all about them. And what's happening at the church at Corinth is their awakening to the beauty and the glory of God around, it's not about us, it's about God and about God's kingdom. It's not about spectator Christianity. It's about servant Christianity, which is normal Christianity. It's not about being consumers. It's about being producers for the glory of God. It's about being sacrificial and participatory along with the heart of God for the other people and the planet. It's not about something we merely attend. It's about something we are and we do. We recognize that it's not about being a noun that I'm a Christian, but about being a verb that I'm a Christ follower. And so when we open this section of 2 Corinthians, we find a church that has gotten a lot healthier as Paul has addressed issues in 1 Corinthians. And now the apostle Paul is bragging on them, affirming them.
[7:28] Exhorting them because they have become generous with their resources as an
[7:32] act of worship, as an act of caring about the things that God cares about.
[7:38] And so to put it in context, in verses 8 and 9 and following, Paul writes of receiving an offering from the Corinthians for the church at Jerusalem.
[7:51] It's important that we understand that there was great poverty in Jerusalem for a season because of a great famine that had decimated the region. In fact, we see references to this in other places in Scripture.
[8:04] And this is why Paul was prompted to receive an offering from them, which is why he also wrote in the book of Romans in chapter 15.
[8:14] At present, however, I'm going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Archaea have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. And what we note is that there are even churches in other far-off places that are giving to the needs in Jerusalem as they're growing in health. And so when he wrote earlier, if you have your Bible open, you can look back at chapter 8, verses 1 and 2, when he says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their, note this, extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. And the point is, is that the people who are giving, these Christians, are not rich. They have their own trials and their own poverty, but they were sacrificially and joyfully giving for the church in Jerusalem, which was the flagship church in Christianity at that time. So while Paul does address the need for the church in Corinth to give, he also knows that God wants to bless the Corinthians with an understanding and get this church of how God works when we give. Look with me at verse 8.
[9:41] The point is this. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. And could I ask you to pause for a moment? Thank you. And think about what God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, is saying to you this morning. Think about what that one verse means for you.
[10:10] My younger brother and I, every summer, my parents would ship us off to work on our cousin's farm for a season, which was a good thing. My cousin basically raised cows and corn and hay, and you learn a lot. You learn a lot about hard work.
[10:30] But there's some simple lessons, too. If you plant one kernel of corn, you don't expect to get one kernel of corn in return. The kernel will become a stalk that produces multiple ears of corn, And the average ear of corn can produce, will produce around 750 kernels. So if you think about what Paul's teaching the church here, what God may be teaching you, if sowing is like giving, then giving doesn't produce a one-to-one result. Giving produces a bountiful result. It's not a one-to-one ratio. It's a one-to-many. It's something multiplicative. It's something exponential that gets opened up. In other words, God is teaching us that giving in the kingdom is not addition, it's multiplication. We reap more than we sow. And God teaches us through his servant, the apostle Paul, that the spirit in which we give also matters.
[11:38] We are taught to do so cheerfully. Look with me, verse 7. Each one must give as he's decided in his own heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
[11:53] You would think it would be sufficient just to give generously, but that's not what God's teaching us. God instructs us to give cheerfully as well. God loves a cheerful giver, not a reluctant giver, one who is generous in celebrating the impact that God is making among people. And he tells us that everyone should give in the amount that they've decided in their own heart. Not out of guilt, not out of external pressure, but we even see in the Old Testament the spirit in which we're to give. Deuteronomy 15.10, you shall give to him freely and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and at all that you undertake. So what that tells us is, loved ones, there's a couple of ways to fail at giving.
[12:47] One, you can give generously, but not joyfully, and so therefore you've given in the wrong way, but you also can give joyfully, but not generously, and then miss the mark. And so God wants us to give at the intersection of both generosity and joy. Listen to this quote from Randy Alcorn. I have found that cheerful givers love God and love him more deeply each time they give. To me, one of the few experiences comparable to the joy of leading someone to Christ is the joy of making wise and generous choices with my money and possessions. Both are supreme acts of worship. Both are exhilarating. Both are what we are or were made for.
[13:32] So when we see this pattern of sowing and reaping in Scripture, we recognize it's not isolated to the context of giving. It's a principle we find in the Bible. Look with me, Galatians 6-7, be not deceived. I'm always aware that when God warns us not to be deceived, obviously, we have a vulnerability to be deceived. When you're deceived, you don't know you're deceived because you are deceived. And so he says, be not deceived. God is not mocked. In other words, God's being real with us for whatever a man soweth that shall he also reap.
[14:13] Hey, you ever heard somebody say something like this? If I win the lottery, I'll give half to the church. You ever heard somebody kind of, maybe not that exact quote, but kind of that frame of reference? You do realize that's upside down thinking in light of what the scriptures teach. It's like saying, if I harvest fruit, then I'll start planting seeds. And God's saying just the inverse is true. If you consider what you have the opportunity to give in light of what you have received in the lens of God's grace, giving shouldn't be that hard. This is why Paul makes this statement in verse 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich. He's not referring to earthly riches. He's speaking of spiritual riches, of joy and liberty that a follower of Jesus knows in his or her heart, the bountiful blessings of being a child in the kingdom. It's not like we haven't benefited from the giving of someone else because Jesus Christ gave his life for you, which is what we will observe and celebrate, reflect on in Holy Communion this morning.
[15:34] What more motivation do we need as followers of Jesus? So the scripture is very clear that we don't give grudgingly. We do it willfully. We do it cheerfully. And we enjoy the promises that God has made to us. Listen to this again, verse 8. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Now, considering verse 6, which says, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. That tells us something that's really important for us as believers. Now, we all know, I need to preface it with this. We all know that we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not through any merit of our own. You're not saved by giving generously. Let's be very clear. But what we do want to note, once you're a child of the King, you've come to know Christ, loved ones, there are benefits in the kingdom.
[16:52] This is all over the Sermon on the Mount. It's all over the words of the epistles. It's all over the words of Scripture. And so what we see is that giving is one of the ways it stirs and activates the activity of the grace of God in the life of a believer. Remember, grace has lots of expressions. The empowerment of God, the momentum of God, the inner strength of the Lord.
[17:20] God, we also notice in Scripture that oftentimes that the favor of God is manifested through the favor of people. And we see this in Abraham's life. We see this in the lives of many. And what we recognize is that this is one of the ways that God's grace is stirred, his favor, his momentum in the life of a believer. And so giving initiates expressions of God's grace in our lives. I submit to you, study the scripture for yourself to see if what your pastor is saying is true. And so God's grace is often stirred up just by virtue of our joining God in what he's doing on the planet. And one of the ways we do that is through being generous. And so if giving will allow me to abound in the work I will do, I will gladly and willingly and cheerfully honor God by being generous. Giving puts me in a position to have God's help in my life in a unique way because giving is one of the ways that God initiates the movement of his grace in your life. Not the only way. It's one of the ways. But loved ones, it's not all easy because what we see in the patterns of Scripture is that giving always involves faith.
[18:47] In fact, the Corinthians, remember, they're not giving out of abundance. They didn't have a lot. But Paul knew that God would bless them as they moved in faith, and he would bless them with expressions of his grace. One of the ways we can explain this is by comparing it to our tithes. You may remember a moment ago, Nathan read that passage out of Malachi. Malachi 3.10, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. A tithe means a tenth, and the understanding was that in that context, when God blessed the farmer, for instance, with a yield, he or she would bring the first 10% to the storehouse to honor God. That was sometimes referred to as first fruits, 10% of a person's income.
[19:36] We may not bring crops, but when we make money in our jobs or our businesses, as God blesses us with resources, we honor him with the tenth, with the tithe. And in the New Testament, all of you know, we're taught, Matthew 6, 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and God declares in Christ, all these other things will take care of themselves. I will meet all your needs. As we invest in God's kingdom, he takes care of our daily needs. And the principle is consistent in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and that is that we give to God first. Our tithe is for God. In fact, Jesus even expressed this expectation in the Gospels when he referenced tithing in a conversation with the Pharisees, Matthew 23, 23, these things you ought to have done. So it is right to honor God in this way. Our tithes are for God, and it's a responsibility that we have to fulfill to God.
[20:44] And God provides the rest. It takes faith to do this. But the Scripture teaches that what the Apostle Paul is doing, he's asking the Corinthian church and other churches to trust God by faith. Now, if you have a Bible open, you look back in verse 3 in chapter 8, you can glance there with me.
[21:06] In chapter 3, Paul is affirming churches that have given sacrificially. Now, here's what I want you to notice, the little phrase, and different translations translate it differently. But note this phrase as you're looking there with me. It says that churches gave beyond their power. Some of your Bibles translate that beyond their means.
[21:31] But what we want to be mindful of as they were giving in faith is that God met their needs, that God honored his promise that he would meet their needs. And this resulted, now look with me, 2 Corinthians 9, 12 through 13, this resulted in the worship of God. This resulted in adoring God. I'm going to read this verse in a moment. In a greater exaltation, a greater giving glory to God because he's faithful and true, this resulted in the church living on mission outside of themselves as they're caring for the propagation of the gospel in Jerusalem, and it resulted in deepening their community together with one another. Look with me at these verses. For the ministry of the service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but it's overflowing with many thanksgivings to God. Why is that? Because the church is witnessing that God is faithful to what he says that he's going to do. And they're rejoicing. They're glorifying God. Remember, enter his gates with thanksgiving. And what it is, they're enjoying God because they're like, God, you're faithful to what you say you will do. Let's finish the verse. And by their approval of this service, they will glorify God.
[22:52] God, we're enjoying your glory. There's no one else like you. Because of your submission that comes. What's the root system of all this? The gospel of Christ. What God did in sending his son so that our sins would be forgiven, nailed to a tree, so that I bear them no more. And out of the new life that I have, the overflow, as God's been generous to me, now I'm generous to the saints for the glory of God. Now, church, Here is the amazing thing. Here it is. This is right here in these verses. God will give you what you need to continue to be generous. He bestows all kinds of gifts on people who give.
[23:45] Listen, I realize I've only been in Memphis for, what, my fourth year now, but I've come to love our city. I love Memphis.
[23:56] And there are a lot of things that are really special about our city. Our city is a city of convergences. Think about it. We are a city that converges river transportation and products going up and down the Mississippi River, railroad transportation, trucking by virtue of being strategically located where we are. That's why there are all these truck stops in West Memphis, and air transportation with FedEx. We're a city of unique convergences. We're also unique in the context of convergences by living in a tri-state area, that is Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. We also have a lot of cultural convergences like with music, gospel, blues, rock and roll.
[24:51] I'm praying for Cleveland. I have no clue why they have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. should be here, but that's not gospel pastors on a tangent, but we're a city of convergences. When you were growing up, you ever have your dad tell you something more than once because he wants it to sink in?
[25:11] Well, that's what happens from the spiritual father, the Apostle Paul, in verses 8, 10, and 11. He says the same thing three times in three different ways. And what he's driving at is that God will give you what you need to continue to be generous.
[25:29] He bestows all kinds of gifts on people who give. Here are the three convergences. Verse 8, God is able. Now, remember, the context is giving sacrificially. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. But he doesn't just say it once. He says it twice in another way. Verse 10, he who supplies seed to the sower, bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase your harvest of righteousness. There's number two. Here comes the ultimate third wave of convergence. Verse 11, you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way which through us will produce worship, thanksgiving to God. It will magnify the beauty and the glory of God all the more. God blesses generous givers. God is able to make all grace abound toward you. God has the ability to lavish all kinds of grace on you. God is able to meet all your needs. And as we are personally connected to the God who is able to lavish us with everything we need, we rejoice in the beauty and glory of who he is. The question, why would God do this?
[26:52] Well, one, to bring glory to his name so that we fall in all the more in love with him in our relationship with him. God, you are good. No one is like you, God. But I've also noticed the following. God gives generous people more so they can continue to be generous. And it's in the text, church. It's not a prosperity gospel. I'm just teaching the text.
[27:22] Search the scripture for yourself to see if what your pastor is saying is true. And God gives generous churches more so they continue to be more for the kingdom
[27:33] of God. Now, it's interesting how the Apostle Paul concludes this section, verse 15. He says this, thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. In other words, what God does in Christ goes beyond words. But what is he referring to? Well, he's praising God for his work of turning us into generous givers. He's bragging on the Corinthian church, and he recognized just as God's grace overflows to us in Jesus Christ, good works now overflow out of us, out of relationship with Christ. And he is praising God for the gift of a generous Savior who gave his life on the cross and took our sin there so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to a loving God who gave himself for you, in which we now turn to this holy table to share in not only remembrance, but to share in this means of grace for his glory. So, Father, as we come to the table this morning in community, we pray, meet with us, work your grace in our lives.
[28:51] Redeem, restore, renew, and Lord, we pray, raise up missional disciples for your glory that will touch this planet like never before, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.