November 10, 2024
Evening Service

2nd Corinthians 9:1  Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; 

2nd Corinthians 9:2  for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. 

2nd Corinthians 9:3  Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; 

2nd Corinthians 9:4  lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. 

2nd Corinthians 9:5  Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, 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.

There are times the church will ask its fellowship to do some kind of act that is a work of charity for a cause or a purpose. When it is necessary to do this, we have to be thoughtful of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and allow the time to commit to the cause without being done in haste. The work that goes into the commitment should be done out of love and not burdensome to those doing it. For example, at times, our church will prepare a meal for the football team in our community and our Pastor informs us with plenty of time in advance to prepare and make the commitment without it becoming arduous. Same thing for dinners at funerals, play practices for our children, Homecoming services at our church and many other activities. The point is that when a mission of love becomes something we as a church commit to, we do not go at it unprepared and at the last minute. As the scripture we just read says, if we prepare beforehand for the mission work, it can be done generously and not become a begrudging obligation. As in all things we do for a good cause, remember the reason for doing it is to glorify our Lord and Savior for the great love He has shown us.

1^st Corinthians 10:31  Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

In the perfect world, there would never be a need to remind believers in Christ of the duties of a fellowship to attend to the needs of others. However, in this natural and sinful world, it is far from perfect and the love of self is in conflict with the love of Christ, so it becomes necessary to refresh people’s minds of the great love of our Lord and Savior. By remembering His love for us, and how far He was willing to go on our behalf, we can properly show honor to Jesus for our acts of kindness to others. Giving God the glory for all things through His Son Jesus that died to save us from the Great Day of Judgment. 

2nd Corinthians 9:6  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

2nd Corinthians 9:7  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 

2nd Corinthians 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 

2nd Corinthians 9:9  As it is written: "HE HAS DISPERSED ABROAD, HE HAS GIVEN TO THE POOR; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER." 

2nd Corinthians 9:10  Now 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, 

2nd Corinthians 9:11  while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 

2nd Corinthians 9:12  For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 

2nd Corinthians 9:13  while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 

2nd Corinthians 9:14  and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. 

2nd Corinthians 9:15  Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 

Money is one of those items in this world that can become a stumbling block for people coming to God and being a true believer in the gospel. To a man of the world, giving away money to causes as an act of love can seem to be throwing it away. However, the believer in God will look at this work and action quite differently, they relate to the charity work as sowing seeds for God’s kingdom, some of them will fall on good ground and produce much more than was given. I think of the ruler mentioned in the book of Luke…chapter 18 and verses 18-25

Luke 18:18  Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 

Luke 18:19  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 

Luke 18:20  You know the commandments: 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,' 'DO NOT MURDER,' 'DO NOT STEAL,' 'DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,' 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.' " 

Luke 18:21  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 

Luke 18:22  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 

Luke 18:23  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 

Luke 18:24  And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 

Luke 18:25  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  

Works of charity or mission works should be done as the result of some purposeful thinking and planning. We should not just give for any charity that is out there, because some of them do not even honor what the charity is supposedly organized for to help. Giving specific thought and prayer about the cause will allow God to help us properly discern the nature of the cause. It is wise to be careful in this kind of decision-making; thoughtlessness to the cause is not well advised. When we do decide to give to a particular cause or mission, do it with cheerfulness and not grudgingly. This should be an act of freely giving as Jesus freely gives the gift of eternal life to us. If we were to give to a cause and think regretfully of doing it, the gift is essentially a worthless effort. The gift has done more harm than good to the giver. Remember that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Our Lord is able to bless us in any way He wishes and the opening words of this passage of scripture about reaping what you sow is so important concerning mission work. Some folks give to a cause and find that they have more than usual and some hoard up their wealth and fine they tend to be on the borderline of poverty. These are the actions of the scripture of reaping and sowing in action in real life. Having the qualities of God’s Spirit living in us, we can have our faith and love of God and our fellow man while wasting less on our own selves and sowing more on others in hope of an increase. Is there any way we could possibly end up worse off by doing things that please our Lord? Absolutely not! God is able to make His grace multiply in us and toward us, He can increase our spiritual needs and our earthly needs according to His will. Furthermore, God can give you contentment of your mind in whatever state of well-being you find yourself, being plentiful or being lacking. If the Lord tends to bless you with more than you need, you can invest the surplus into the needs and wants of others. These extra blessings from God we receive then become the seeds of the spirit to sow for His kingdom. Our giving to works of charity or to the church for the needs there, either way is showing that we trust God to supply our needs and this reflects the love of Jesus. The works we do must be for the glory of God and our profession of faith are made by giving God this glory. Jesus gave us the great example of not becoming tired in the doing of good to others, and showing us it is better to give than to receive. Thank you Lord Jesus for being merciful to us and showing grace to us sinners. Let us please live our life to please you and to glorify your name in all the earth and witness to all of your plan of redemption. Thank you for the blessing you give us to sustain us and to help others that are not as well off as we are. We praise your holy name Jesus and thank you for your great love you have given and shown to us by your examples in the flesh. All good things come from you God and we thank you for the blessings.