Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

We talked last week about the New Testament ideal of being a cheerful giver. But this is only half of the equation. We must also give sacrificially. Can we give both sacrificially and cheerfully at the same time?

“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 extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)

The churches of Macedonia are great examples of those who gave both cheerfully and sacrificially. The text says that they were “in a severe test of affliction” (v. 2). Jews considered it an act of service to God to persecute Christians. Like many who come to Christ today, their becoming Christians was no small thing.

We might look at the Macedonians as the kind of people we would reach out to help. Certainly we wouldn’t expect them to give to the needs of others. Yet two characteristics of the churches worked together to compel them to give generously.

1. An abundance of joy. They had truly grasped the grace of God.
2. Extreme poverty. They knew what it meant to have little.

The result was that they “overflowed in a wealth of generosity.” How can those in poverty overflow in wealth? Individually, each had very little to give. But collectively, they had much wealth to give. But it didn’t happen automatically. They had to sacrifice to give.

But notice the attitude they had while they gave sacrificially (v. 3-4). They wanted to give this way. Nobody had to convince them to give. In fact, they begged to give this way. It’s as if they were told, “No, you can’t afford to contribute right now. You’re in poverty.” Yet their response was, “Please, let us give!”

Sacrificial giving is a work of God in us (v. 1). This is God’s grace working in us. We can’t give sacrificially until we know the grace of God.

When we give cheerfully to the Lord, it must be a sacrifice. Otherwise, it’s not a gift at all. Consider the widow who gave all that she had to live on (Luke 21:1-4). Consider Mary, who poured out her jar of expensive perfume onto Jesus (Matthew 26:6-8). Consider David, who bought land to build an altar on (2 Samuel 24:24).

But how can sacrificial giving really be done cheerfully? The Bible warns us not to give grudgingly, but generously (Deuteronomy 15:10). What do we do when we can’t give sacrificially and generously with a cheerfully attitude? The answer is not simply to retreat, to give what you can give cheerfully, and be satisfied with that. No! We’re to charge forward, give in faith, stretch ourselves, and trust in God. Giving cheerfully doesn’t mean giving what’s easy. It means trusting God, and knowing that He’s faithful.

If it’s become easy for you to give what you give, perhaps it’s time to make it difficult again by increasing what you give. Give not in your strength, but in the strength of the Lord. Don’t give based on reason, but give in faith, knowing that the Lord will provide.

I thought about moving the offering to the end of the service this week. But this is exactly the type of manipulation that I want to avoid. Instead, I want everyone to go home and consider what you give. Pray about it. I’m not calling for anyone to sell all their possessions and give all of them to the church Jesus required this of the rich young ruler who had money as his idol. I don’t have the kind of authority to call for that. I don’t know your particular circumstances.

But I can call you to give yourself first to the Lord (v. 5). When you give yourself first to the Lord, it determines how you act in all other areas of life. The Macedonian churches were in severe affliction, extreme poverty, yet because they gave themselves first to the Lord, they had an abundance of joy, and an overflow of generosity.