Second Corinthians, chapter eight. We're beginning chapter eight and like Caleb said, we're talking about money. And it's not just today. We're starting kind of a gauntlet. So chapters eight and chapter nine will be six weeks in those two chapters and the main theme throughout those whole chapters is money. So, woo hoo. We're talking about, and I know there's a lot of you that's been. Jake, when are we going to talk about money? Why don't we talk more about money? We should talk more about money. I heard you, I heard your plea and we're here, we're going to do it together. So we'll be talking about it for a stretch here. And I bet a lot of you are familiar with the passage or the warning in Scripture to beware or cautious of the love of money because it's the root of all kinds of evil. Like if you kind of trace that back, if you have a love of money, it's going to set all kinds of bad trajectories in life. And for us, money represents safety, security, fun, status, like all these things that we want and we can try to pursue them and think that money's going to deliver them. And we just need to be honest that that's a temptation for us that we should take seriously. So here's my hope as we go in, not only today, but to kind of this stretch in chapters eight and nine that we would at least have a posture of there is a potential or even a likeliness that I'm vulnerable to slip into a love of money. Because when you start talking about money, it's easy for our guard to go up, like, why are we talking about this kind of, this kind of defensive posture? But if we could just admit, like there is a potential and probably a likeliness that, that we could fall into, especially in our culture, like we live in a prosperous nation and there is so much to be thankful for. That that is a blessing. But also prosperity is a tough test to pass spiritually. We want to kind of lean in with an extra sensitivity or receptiveness to whatever God's word has to say to us in this topic. Now if it's just me saying it, then forget it. But. But if we could see something in God's word together that should direct our lives as we handle a very important and dangerous topic, that there can be this kind of. Don't talk about it. Well, we're going to talk about it and we're going to talk about it for the next six weeks. So attendance should go down. But we're going to do it. We're going to do it, and we're going to jump right in and kind of test our. Like, how much do we really want to hear from this? With the topic of giving? And the question that's driving our. Our talk today is what should Christian giving look like? And nobody's really against giving, at least in theory. There's this idea of, like, giving is a good thing, but yet financial generosity in our culture is on the decline pretty rapidly, and personal debt is on the incline pretty rapidly. So more and more people are giving less and less money away, but yet hoarding and getting more and more money for themselves in their own lifestyle. So giving is something that we appreciate. It's just an afterthought. It's just something you do if you can later. In fact, this is even proven or. And there's an example of this and even holidays that we have in our culture. So we have a holiday called what, Giving Anybody Tuesday. Giving Tuesday. But what happens before Giving Tuesday, Black Friday, and then Small Business Saturday, and then I don't know if there's anything on Sunday. There's church, try to get there. And then Cyber Monday, right? Then it's Giving Tuesday. Like, even the way that it's set up, it's like, spend like crazy, spend like crazy locally, spend like crazy online. And if you have any left, try to be generous. Like, that's the way it's set up. Like, why not Giving Thursday and then Black Friday and then Small Business Saturday and then Cyber Monday? Like, we put it as an afterthought. You should do it if you have enough leftover after you take care of yourself. And that's the way that we see it now. I think people want to be generous. If I were to say to somebody, oh, yeah, they're a really generous person, that's still seen as a compliment. Like, I bet you would want that said about you, that you are a generous person. We want to be generous, but we often feel like we can't. There's no margin. There's no financial margin where we feel like we're strapped so thin or we live at the top of our means, so we can't have space for generosity. But we think, if I had more money, that's the money I would be generous with. Like, that's. If I could just have a little bit more, then I would be a generous person. But is that true? Does generosity depend on an abundance of money? Or is there something else behind being generous? And how should Christians decide what to give? Like, how much? Because some people, they just want, give me a, give me an amount, give me a percentage. Like, just help me figure this out. Like, how much should I give? And then you hear about some of the giving laws in the Old Testament, you're like, ah, maybe I don't want to know. But if you were a faithful Jewish person in the Old Testament, you would give annually, on average, 20 to 30% of your income away based on different offerings that you were to give as a part of the nation of Israel. Now, a lot of those offerings would be more comparable to our taxes because they were, it was a nation and they were supporting their government in their, in their, their giving. But there's part of their giving that was called the tithe, and it went to support the priest and the activities of corporate worship. And it was called a tithe. And it meant a tenth. That's what tithe means. And you might hear that language today, maybe used more generically, like, oh, we give our tithes and our offerings. That just kind of speak of giving in general. But, but it means a tenth. That's what they would give. But that was, that was Old Testament. Like, are Christians supposed to tithe today? And how do we navigate this in scripture? What should New Testament Christian giving look like? And this is going to get even more interesting. And does God like all giving? Like, no matter what it is, or is there a type of giving that's actually offensive to God? So you're here now. Let's do this. We're going to get through it together. But Second Corinthians, chapter eight. And I feel like I got way too many notes than I should have. And I've just been going on two point speed, all services, but it's 11, so you got nowhere to go. The game doesn't start till later. Let's do this. So 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, we're gonna look at the first seven verses and here's the goal. Let me just kind of lay my cards on the table. This is where we're going. I want to point out some bad conclusions people often make when it comes to giving. Then I want to try to give us a clear definition of New Testament Christian giving. And then I want to offer probably a new perspective that we should embrace as a church when it comes to giving. So let's do it. Chapter 8. Let's look at the first two verses. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. So the churches of Macedonia would be like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. We don't have Bereas mentioned in Acts, but we don't have, like, a letter to the Bereans. We have Philippians, we have first and Second Thessalonians. But that's the churches in 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. Okay, first, wrong conclusion that people often make about giving. And that is giving is dependent on wealth. Giving is dependent on wealth. Like, if you're wealthy, then you have capacity to give that. And it's a thing that's kind of hinges on wealth. Fun trivia question. I'm surprised every service has got this right. So what do you think is the poorest state in the United States per capita? Everybody said Mississippi. Like, somebody said Mississippi. Do you like, I didn't think people would know that. Like, what do you. You drive through Mississippi and it's like, oh, it's obvious. Everybody got that right. I thought, oh, this is interesting. Yes, Mississippi, poorest state per capita. Do you know which state is the most charitable giving per capita? Mississippi. Like, it's not based on a wealth thing. Like, you want to experience, like, real radical generosity. We were being in Kabansa and Zambia and just, like, facing terrible drought, extreme poverty, and people trying to give you the little food that they have that's gonna like, and they're trying to give it to you. It's unbelievable. Like, generosity is not a wealth thing. It's not. And here in this text, Paul is using the poor Macedonians as an example of generosity. To the rich Corinthians, generosity is not a wealth issue. It's a heart issue. It's a priority issue. In fact, you know the story of the widow's mite, a famous story with Jesus is observing people's giving. Let me just say that again. Jesus was observing people's giving. And in his observation, he sees this widow who is poor and gives pretty much all that she has two pennies, like, and he gets excited about her giving. He's thrilled about her giving. But here's what we miss sometimes in that story, he saw more than just her giving. When he was observing, he witnessed a lot of giving. In fact, he compares what he saw in her with what he saw with other people. And he got excited about her giving and not excited about the other people's giving. He makes a comparison between the two. And another wrong conclusion we make about giving Is God is happy with all giving. He'll take any and all of it. He's just happy you gave something. But hear me, church. There is a type of giving that dishonors God. Let me say that again. I want to land. There is a type of giving that actually dishonors God. And this is as old as beginning of Genesis. We got Cain and Abel. God's like Abel, good offering Cain, you can do better, right? There is a critique of those offerings. You see this also in Malachi. This is Malachi, chapter one. He says, a son honors his father and a servant his master. If I then am a father, where's my honor? And if I'm a master, where's my fear? Says the Lord of hosts to you, O priest, who despise my name. But you say, how have we despised your name? Now this is interesting, because they're like, we don't get it. I don't know what we're doing wrong. We're doing everything that you ask us to do. True. Here's how you're doing it. How do we despise your name? By what? What's that next word? Offering. So are they making offerings? It's not a tricky question. Yes, right. I'm not quite sure. They are. They are by offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, how have we polluted. Polluted you? By saying that the Lord's table may be despised when you offer blind animals and sacrifice. Is that not. What does he say? Evil. And are they making offerings? Yes. And how does God describe their offering? Evil. And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor. Will he accept you or show you favor, says the Lord of Hosts. And now entreat the favor of God that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, he will show favor to any of you, says the Lord of hosts. So there's an example of an offering that dishonored God. So it's not dependent on wealth. There are offerings that dishonor God and honor God. And here's. Let's. Let's confront another wrong conclusion. Since everybody's having fun giving, here's a wrong conclusion about giving. Giving is dependent on circumstances. Giving is dependent upon, like, there's some circumstances I can give in and there's some circumstances I just can't give into. It's interesting. He uses the Macedonians as a positive example. But look at their situation. One, they have extreme poverty. So it's like, well, it's not a Contingent on wealth. But the other thing is, they're at a severe test of affliction. They're in really bad situation, and yet they're still the example of generosity. So for Christians, we shouldn't talk like this. Now's just not a good time when it comes to being generous. Now is just not a good time. But, you know, when I get out of college or when I get my first job or after we have kids, or once the kids leave or, you know, whatever. You know, whatever it may be, then I'll start giving. It's like, no, that shouldn't be for the Christian. And this, in this text, this is a really weird formula. Like, do you see how weird this formula is? He says, 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. So you got affliction plus joy plus poverty equals generosity. That's funny math. How do those things add up together? Like, how do you get severe affliction and extreme poverty and then it equals generosity? How's that work? Because that's not our formula. Our formula is when everything's going well and I got a lot of money, that'll equal generosity. But that's not the formula Paul puts out as an example. He's like, look at the Macedonians. Tough times, extreme poverty, a wealth of generosity. But there was a part of the formula I left out, and it's an abundance of joy. So you drop an abundance of joy in the midst of severe affliction and extreme poverty. That changes the whole formula to lead to a wealth of generosity. So what's the joy? So what's going on here? How does this work? It's the grace of God. It's the grace of God that supplies this joy. So look back at verse one. It says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. It's grace. It's grace. In fact, grace is referred to three different times in these seven verses. And Paul is clearly talking about giving, but he doesn't call it giving. He calls it an act of grace on purpose. There's a connection between God's grace and our generosity. So in these first two verses, what exactly is the grace of God? So you have, despite their severe affliction and extreme poverty, they had this abundance of joy. Which means it's like, okay, where's this joy coming from? Cause it's clearly not coming from your circumstances, and it's clearly not coming from Your wealth. But you have it. So where'd you get it? And how did it lead to this joy? What is the joy in their joy is not found in their circumstances and not found in their wealth. It's not found in their social status. So where are they finding their joy? God, specifically. God's grace. More specifically, in the broader context, that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. That in Christ Jesus, God is not counting your trespasses against you. That Christ has taken your sin upon him and given you his righteousness, and all that has led to you being reconciled, included, back into God's family. That's amazing. And he's saying that overflowed to what? Generosity. Like, all that led to being generous. And there's an interesting word I want you to underline. So for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty. Have what? Say it now. It's the next word. Have what? Overflowed in a wealth of generosity. We talk that way sometimes around here, that we want to minister out of the overflow. Like, we want the impact of what God has done for us to kind of shape how we live, that we live in response to that. And he's saying, these people so understand the grace of God. It's overflowing out of them. Well, what does it look like when it overflows out of them? Generosity. Like, that's what it looks like. And it's the grace of God being lived out in their life. But. But what if generosity is not overflowing out of you? Great question. Let's keep reading verse three. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord. So here's another wrong conclusion about Christian giving. Christian giving depends on personal comfort. Christian giving depends on comfort. Personal comfort. Maybe you've heard the counsel, just give what you're comfortable with. Like whatever you're comfortable with. Just give what you're comfortable with. Now, where anywhere in scripture does following God fall nicely into our comfort zone? Like, nowhere. So why do we take and apply that into our generosity? And you're like, okay, well, where are you getting this? In this text, what does he say? So go back to verse three. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify and beyond their means. How does somebody give beyond their means? Are they, like, stealing from people, giving somebody else's money away? It's like a Robin Hood thing happening. Like, how do you give beyond your means? Now we have people trying to live beyond their means. That's A problem. But Paul's talking about giving beyond your means. What is that and how do you do it? What is he talking about? What is Paul getting at when he says they both gave according to their means and they gave beyond their means? Why doesn't he just say, and they gave beyond their means? Because you think that just kind of sums it up together. Why does he make a distinction between giving according to their means and giving beyond their means? And why? See, this is good Bible study. Good Bible study. You just got to ask a lot of questions. Why also, when it says that they gave according to their means, does Paul say that he could testify to that? You know why? Because he's been to Macedonia. He went and visited these churches. He witnessed their local generosity. He experienced their everyday local generosity, their lifestyle generosity. But this, this call to give here is not about that. This is a call to take up a special offering to help the suffering saints in Jerusalem. It's like, hey, this is beyond your local situation. We got brothers and sisters living in a different place that need your help, and we're asking you to give towards that. So here's how I take this. They're normal givers. Like, they have a lifestyle of giving. They have local giving practices. Paul's like, I can testify to that. I've been there. I experienced it. But they also give extra because a new need came up. A new need they hadn't planned on. A need beyond their context of these saints in Jerusalem, and they were able to give to that as well. They gave beyond their means. They gave according to their means. Of course they do that. But they also gave beyond their means. And beyond their means here doesn't mean they pulled the Robin Hood thing and they stole some people to give extra. And it doesn't mean that they reallocated their giving. Well, here's our planned giving. A new need came up. Let's just take from that giving and relocate it to this giving. No, he's saying they give according to their means. That's a part of their lifestyle. They do that. But a new need came up. A new need came up. So they gave above and beyond or beyond their means to that. They gave even beyond what they planned for. So they had a practice of generosity. You might maybe you could refer to this as budgeted generosity, planned generosity, lifestyle generosity. And then this was above and beyond generosity. Another way to refer to this kind of generosity is sacrificial. Because we hadn't planned on the saints in Jerusalem needing help. And we're not going to disrupt our Normal generosity within our means. We're going to go above and beyond. And to do that we have to sacrifice. Maybe there was something we were going to do and we're not going to do it anymore. Maybe there's a new way to get income and we're going to do that so that we can give beyond our means or beyond our plans. And that's a type of giving that doesn't fit within your comfort zone. It's sacrificial. And here's what's crazy. They wanted to do it. They wanted to do it. Look at verse three and four again. So for they gave according to their means, as I can testify, experience it, and beyond their means of their own accord. And then get this. Verse 4. Begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. Can you imagine people just begging us? Happens every Monday, Jake. Can't we pass a plate on Sunday? Two or three times in one service? That's what we should do. Can't we just give more money? Where can I give more money? It's like, can you imagine that happening sometimes? Who would do that? Who does that? And what does this say? That they are doing that? So here's another wrong conclusion people tend to make about giving. Giving is not a big deal, right? Give, don't give. Jesus paid it all. Don't worry about it. And don't let anybody ever make you feel guilty for not giving. But that's exactly what Paul's doing. And we just got done with the section where Paul's talking about godly grief and worldly grief or godly guilt and worldly guilt. He's like, I'll make you feel guilty if it leads to your repentance. And then he brings up somebody else's giving to compare and challenge them to give. We'll get into that a little bit. But like, Paul's laying it on thick here. He's putting pressure on them to give because their giving is a big deal. Now where do you see that here? Because I want us to see it in the text here. Let's look back at our section. It says, for they can. They gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord. Now, did they really give of their own accord? And you're like, well, yeah, because it says it. It says it right there. They gave of their own accord. And. Yes, and it says other stuff as well. So what happened here? Did they give of their own accord? Yes, they gave of their own accord in the fact that Paul didn't force them to give. He didn't show up as, like, an Old Testament requirement of you have to give. This isn't like taxes. Paul's not using his apostolic authority to say, this is required giving. Everybody has to do it. So in that sense, it's their own accord. They're doing it of their own will. But. But listen now, it's not of their own accord in the fact that they are not being radically generous all by themselves. This generosity is an act of what, Grace. God made a difference in their life that led to their generosity. It's like they gave of their own accord because God changed their accord. God changed their heart. God changed their desires. Even when he says it's the will of God in the next passage, it's like, oh, it's your accord, but it's the grace of God. So is it their accord or is the grace of God. Yep, the grace of God made an impact in their life, so their accord changed. Their heart changed. So church, hear me now. Authentic salvation changes our orientation of wealth. You need to get this now. Authentic salvation changes our orientation to wealth. You know where you see this clearly? Jesus interaction with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a wealthy man who actually earned a lot of his wealth through unjust ways, interacts with Christ convicted of the truth, and says, anybody that I've wronged, I'm gonna pay back four times and half of everything that I own, I'm gonna give. Now, when Jesus hears that, he doesn't say, like, whoa, whoa, Zacchaeus, slow your roll. Like, 50%. We're only asking for 10. Keep 40 of that. No. What does Jesus say? He gets it. Today, the kingdom of God has come. Like, there's an evidence that this man gets it. And what's his evidence? His generosity. So hear me now, guys. Generosity is an evidence of grace. Generosity is an evidence of grace. Or the way Jesus says it is where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So it's like, well, I can't see your heart. I don't know what's going on in your heart. But there's some indicators that speak about what's going on in your heart. And one of the loudest indicators is what you do with money. Like, that'll say something. So you get to say what you give. You do. But what you give says something back. It makes a statement. So I want us to be careful with this. They gave of their own accord here, thinking that just means I can give whatever I want to give, and it doesn't matter. What I give, it does matter. It does matter. It's a big deal. It speaks to a deeper reality. It speaks to a deeper priority and passion of your life. It says something. So guys, don't get. And this is important. Don't get lost in what's required and what's not required, because that's what tends to happen. We're looking at the Old Testament, we're looking at the New Testament. We're trying to figure this out. Don't get lost in. In what's required and what's not required. Let's go down that trail a little bit. In the Old Testament, they had required giving. Like you're part of the nation of Israel, you got to do this, you got to give this way. And they also had free will giving. So both was a part of their life required giving and free will giving. It's a harder argument. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's a harder argument to say that the New Testament reinforces required giving. Like, even on a practical level, they're not their own independent nation. They're under the rule of Rome and they have to pay taxes to Rome. So all kinds of required giving just don't even make sense in that situation. But free will giving seems to still be pushed, like in our text here, in other places, as a continued expectation for followers of God. And the Old Testament does speak of expectations behind free will giving. And here are the expectations of free will giving. It should be first and best. If you're going to do a freewill offering to the Lord, then it should be of your first fruits and it should be your best. So don't bring a sick animal, don't bring a blind animal, don't bring a lame animal, and then don't take care of all your other business. And then after that, whatever's left. Make a freewill offering to the Lord. That's how we tend to approach it. That was the opposite of what the Bible teaches. If you're going to make a freewill offering, and you are free to do that, here's how to do it. Do it first and make sure it's your best. Because what we freely offer, the Lord says something. And there is a way to give to God that honors him, and there is a way to give to God that dishonors him. So what are you doing? And listen, this is important to get. There is a difference between law and grace. But the difference between law and grace is not I have to to. I no longer have to. That's the difference between law and no law. But the difference between law and grace is I have to, I want to. Big difference. So one of the ways you see this is in the book of Romans where Paul is making this wonderful defense of the grace of God and how we're not under the law anymore. And he preemptively addresses a potential rebuttal of how people might misunderstand him in Romans 6. He's like, well, what if people say, well, if there's so much grace, then why can't we just keep sinning? Should sin abound because there's grace? Can we go on sinning because of grace? And when you remember his answer, by no means, that is a wrong conclusion to grace. If you think grace means you can keep sinning, you don't understand grace. Like, you completely miss it if that's your conclusion. So you take the same principle because there's no more required giving. Does that mean we shouldn't be radically generous? By no means. If you get that, you completely misunderstand grace. That's a bad conclusion to grace. So hear me. There is no call for 10% here or other places in the New Testament. But if you think that means freedom to give less than 10%, you misunderstand the heart of the New Testament and the call of grace. Let's let that sit a little bit. So what's your giving saying? Giving is an act of grace. And God's grace is amazing. I mean, reconciled back to God, a new creation in Christ, our sin taken away, the righteousness of Christ given to us. Like, is our giving an appropriate reflection in response to that? Do we really believe that God is worthy of it all? Let's put this all together, and I want to give you a definition of Christian giving. And these words matter, all of them do, and they come from this text. Christian giving is a voluntary, sacrificial, joyful overflow of God's grace, despite circumstances, testifying to a changed heart. You guys got that? I want to give you a definition of Christian giving, Christian New Testament giving. It is a voluntary, sacrificial, joyful overflow of God's grace, despite circumstances, testifying to a changed heart. And that definition comes out of this text, what he's talking about. So is your giving voluntary? Like, do you want to do it? Is it sacrificial? I mean, does it cost you something? Is it joyful? Do you love doing it? You happy to do it? Is it an overflow of God's grace? Like, is it done in response of gratitude? Response to God is it despite circumstances like ups and downs of life, there's a consistency of generosity. Does it testify to a changed heart, One that's more in love with God than the things of this world? And what if your giving is voluntary, but it's not sacrificial, like you choose to do it? It's just. It's like a sick animal. It's like a lame animal. Is that Christian giving? And what if you're joyful about your giving only because it's not sacrificial? Like, you can do it and it doesn't infringe on your lifestyle at all? In fact, if your giving went up, your joy would probably go down. Is that Christian giving? And what if your giving is voluntary, but it's circumstantial? Like, if things change or get tight, your giving's gonna be the first thing to go. Is that Christian giving? And what if it's voluntary and sacrificial and consistent through good and bad times, but you hate doing it? Like, it's just this obligation you feel? Is that Christian giving? Guys, Christian giving is a voluntary, sacrificial, joyful overflow of God's grace, despite circumstances, testifying of a changed heart. But how do you get there? Like, how does that come about? Look. Look at verse five. And this, not as we expected. It's like, this isn't normal. Like this. To see the Macedonians respond this way. We didn't expect this. We were surprised by their giving. This isn't natural. This is supernatural. Like, this points to something God has done in them. And how did that come about? This and this, not as we expected. But they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us, they gave themselves first to the Lord. What's behind their giving? What's behind this example of generosity and New Testament generosity? Giving yourself first to the Lord. And, like, what does this look like? Now, we know some Macedonian churches, and there's some textual words that kind of clue us into who he might be talking about. This is first Thessalonians, chapter one says, and you became imitators. Talking to the Thessalonians. There's a church in Macedonia. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction. That description sounds familiar with joy. Okay, now. Now it's getting really familiar. Affliction and joy going together. Who's he talking about? These people of the Holy Spirit. So that you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and in Achai for not Only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achai. But your faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that we need not say anything, for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you and how you turned to God. From what? What's that? Idols. To serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. Now, I want us to see this. The lack of generosity is not a money problem. It's an idol problem. The lack of generosity is not a money problem. It's an idol problem. I'm not generous because I love the wrong things. And when I love the wrong things, I prioritize the wrong things. And when I prioritize the wrong things, I spend on the wrong things. And the way the Macedonians became generous is they repented from idols and turned to God. So they had a different love. I love the Lord. The work of the Lord, the spreading of the Gospel. I'm most passionate about that. And when that's my new priority, that's going to reflect in my spending or my handling of money. It's a priority shift. And you notice, he says that they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. So giving yourself first to God shows up and giving yourself practically to ministry to God's people and God's work. They were generous because they had new passions and priorities given to them in their new creation that was possible because of Christ. But there's also a word here that's important that I want us to see. Go to verse 10 and to. What's the third word? Wait. And to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. This is future focused. So to be delivered from the wrath to come. He's talking about salvation. A someday salvation. And what are they doing? They're waiting for it. This is important. All right, Hear me now. Sometimes we are not generous because we're not waiting. We want it now. I want my best life now. I want all the happiness now. I want the best possible things now. I want my dream house now. I want everything now. And we're not waiting. They're like, no, no, no, no. My best life is the life to come. I believe that Christ is coming. I believe he has good things for me. Like, do you know scripture talks about generosity as storing up treasures in heaven? They're like, I'm willing to wait for that. I'LL wait for that. When you're willing to wait for that, it frees you to not try to have it all now and get it all now. I'm trying to think of a. I haven't said this good either. Service. Just say it. I don't mean to be rude, but bucket lists are stupid, okay? I'm like, is there a better way to say that? I don't know. There probably is. I'll think of it. This afternoon, I was like, oh, I should have been nicer. If you have a bucket list, just keep it to yourself. Don't tell me, because then I'm just gonna be mad. But here's what bucket lists are. Bucket lists are like, before I kick the bucket, before I die, these are all the things that I need to do. And you know what that says? I need to kind of have to soak up all the joy possible before I die. Because once I die, it's over. But a Christian says, no, once I die, it begins. I don't have to, like, get it all now. I don't have to fulfill every dream now. I don't have to go to the best restaurants now. And I gotta get this in before I die, because once I die, it's over. No, once you die, it begins, right? That's the mindset. So you're willing to wait. And when you're willing to wait because you know something better is coming, you're more free with what you have now. And they were willing to wait. Sometimes we're not generous because we're not willing to wait. And sometimes we don't wait because we don't really believe what's coming is better. Guys, this isn't really about money. Money's just an indicator. This is about worship. We have to give ourselves first to the Lord. It's got to be the priority. Seek first his kingdom. Be most passionate about his kingdom. Hear me now. It won't do any good to give your money to God if you haven't given yourself to God. But don't think you've given yourself to God if you don't give your money to God. Now, here's where it gets a little uncomfortable. And you're like, oh, now it gets uncomfortable. This is perhaps the new perspective that I think can be helpful for us, especially if you're sitting there upset right now for what we're talking about. Notice this. Paul is applying pressure to the Corinthians to be generous. And you might think that doesn't sound like something we should do, but he's Doing it. Not only is he doing that, he's challenging them to be more generous by comparing them or bringing up someone else's generosity. Like, I want you to know what the Macedonians are doing, and then you need to do it. Can we do that? Like, would it be inappropriate or weird if I was like, guys, we need to be giving. Do you know what Iowa City did? Right. They're smaller than we are, and they gave more money to their building campaign than we did to ours. True story. Okay, like, would you feel like, I don't know if you should do that. But he does it. Like, he brings up the mass of these poor Macedonians. Like, look what they're doing now. He does it. And you'll see in chapter nine, verse two, he does it in the reverse. So he tells the Corinthians about the Macedonians, but he also tells the Macedonians about the Corinthians. He's just telling everybody about giving. He's just sharing it. His giving is not some private matter in which we can never be challenged on. And everybody goes to Jesus saying, like, well, you shouldn't let your right hand know what your left hand's doing. That's not talking about this. That's talking about when you give. Don't flaunt what you give. Don't, like, do it to impress people. That doesn't mean never be challenged on your giving. Paul is clearly challenging people to grow in giving. In fact, in verse one, he says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given to the churches among the Macedonians. I want you to know about it. And then in verse six, accordingly, we urge Titus that as he has started, so he should complete among you this act of grace, this call to give. And then in verse seven. But as you excel in everything, in faith and speech and knowledge, in all earnestness and in our love for you, see that you excel in this act of grace also. So Paul's saying, I want you to know about somebody else's giving. I am challenging you personally to excel in giving. And I'm sending Titus to collect and hold you accountable to actually complete this act of grace in giving. Talk about some pressure, but it's of your own accord. Of course, maybe we've become too sensitive when it comes to money, but generosity is something we need to be challenged in and held accountable to, especially in our materialistic world, especially because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, especially when what you don't have is thrown in front of your face. Every day. And it's like this. When we have this wrong narrative of, like, we'll never challenge or talk about giving, then it's like we have this most dangerous threat in our world among us. But don't tell anybody about it and don't warn people about it and don't press in on it. But Paul does. In fact, the imperative in this text or the command in this text is to excel in giving. That's what he calls them at the end, to excel in giving. Would you say that you excel in giving? Are you trying to excel in giving? Or is giving just kind of an afterthought after you've taken care of your bills and vacations and everything you want to do? And if that's the case, isn't that kind of like a sick animal? And how do you think God feels about your giving? But he doesn't just call them to excel at giving. He says, but as you excel in everything, in faith and speech and knowledge and all earnestness and in our love for you, see that you excel in this act of grace also. Why does it say it like that? Because I think giving is one of those things where it's like, let's not talk about that. Don't you know how much I serve? Let's not talk about that. Do you know how consistent I am in connection group attendance? Let's not talk about this. Do you know I've been reading my Bible every day? Like, he's like, yeah, I know. And sometimes it's like, don't talk to me about where I'm failing or what I don't want you to talk about. Talk to me about what I'm doing good in. And he's like, yeah, don't put them against each other. Keep doing all those good stuff and do this and excel in this. Like, do both. You should excel at both. Don't neglect it. And we can have this attitude of, hey, Pastor, talk to me about anything, but not this, Right? In the Crusades, the knights would get baptized and they would hold their swords outside the water. Basically, like, all of me is for God, except this. And sometimes we get baptized and we hold our wallets outside the water. All of me is for you. Don't talk about that. But the imperative is clear. Excel in giving. But he doesn't call it giving, and he doesn't call it giving on purpose. He calls it an act of grace. Because he wants to connect God's grace to your generosity. Because church, this isn't a message telling you to give. This is A message telling you to give yourself first to the Lord, to make him your priority and your passion. And when you do, generosity overflows. When we do, our giving will be a voluntary, sacrificial, joyful overflow of God's grace. Despite circumstances, testifying to a changed heart. And that kind of giving is uniquely Christian. Do you know why? Because Jesus Christ voluntarily gave himself on the cross for the joy set before him to access us the grace of God and give us a new heart, making us a new creation. To testify to the power of God that sets us free from this world. So hear this in this message. Be free. Be free from this love affair of this world. Be free from having to wear the nicest and drive the nicest and look the nicest and live in the largest and status and have, and have and have and have. Just be free of that. And you know how you be free of that? Understand all that you have in Christ Jesus. You are a fellow heir of Christ. And your generosity is storing up treasures in heaven that you can happily wait for. And if you can wait for it, you can be free to be generous now. So as we remember Christ's sacrifice on the cross with some bread and juice, here's what we need to remember. God's generosity towards us frees up us to be generous. And when we get all that we have in Christ, generosity should overflow out of us. And that's the church we want to be. Amen. All right, let's pray. Father, I pray that you would just break this love affair of this world. That we would get rid of our foolish bucket list of just trying to have our best life now and have complete confidence that what you have waiting for us is better. And you would give us a spirit willing to wait for you, not try to have everything now. And with that freedom, we would be generous. And with that generosity, we would testify this to this world that you are worth waiting for. We pray in your name. Amen.