SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 4/21/24
Our section of text today can easily be described as one of the most clear and instructional portions of scripture that frames the Christian heart of giving and we will see that at the bottom of it all is the Gospel. This text is a GIFT to the church for clarity on giving. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: The Gathering: Why Sunday Matters
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
TITLE: Gospel Generosity
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: The Gospel Forges Generous Givers
POINTS:
1. Gospel Freedom
a. Purposeful Giving
b. Cheerful Giving
c. Faith-filled Giving
2. Gospel Mission
a. God Funds the Gospel Mission
b. God Secures the Gospel Mission success
c. God is Generous toward us so we will be generous in the Gospel Mission
3. Gospel Glory
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Giving, for the believer in Jesus, must not be disconnected from the Center of our faith – The Gospel of Christ.”
“God’s people give. A simple survey of our Bible reveals this is the case. Verse 7 may be misunderstood as allowing giving as an option as one “has decided” BUT don’t miss the clear imperative to “give.” The text is not instructing us on whether or not we can or should give but, rather, giving is assumed and it begins to instruct us on HOW and WHY we are to give.”
“These words in the original carry the meaning that can be described as the Purpose of the Heart. Not simply moved by the whims of the heart or the mind and certainly not from whatever we feel like in the moment.
“This ‘decision in his heart’ carries with it intentionality that is motivated by a deep sense of conviction – the fountainhead and morality of the mind/the will.’”
“Purposeful, intentional giving is what the Spirit of God in verse 7 teaches us. Packed in the meaning of this is thoughtful planning, and consideration. NOTE: giving did not begin with the budget, the ledger, the spreadsheet, the pen and napkin. The Purpose of giving begins in the heart.”
“In addition to the purpose, there is the disposition of the heart… one of cheer and joy! Without joy, we find that our giving can be pragmatic and mechanical. How strange it would be for the believer in Christ to be filled with joy in his salvation and yet not his giving!”
“In verse 6, the Cheerful Giver is illustrated in the sower who sows bountifully. Imagine the hopeful, happy farmer with a sunbaked smile sowing happily into the field.”
“‘God is able!’ - these are trust-anchoring words. They move our faint hearts from our circumstances and uncertainty places us upon the very promises of God, His power. He promises to provide, and He will provide EVERYTHING that we need at ALL TIMES, enabling us to do what we originally thought was impossible.”
“This grace of giving comes from the fountainhead of the heart that is purposeful and joyful BECAUSE its faith is grounded on God himself.”
“Our sinful nature wrestles deeply with the “desire of having.” If we have much, we desire to hold on to it selfishly. If we have little, we desire to hold on to it selfishly… And in both cases, with much and with little, we selfishly do not want to let it go.”
“Loosed from the shackles of selfish reluctance, dread, and mechanical compulsion the GOSPEL CHANGES THE SOWER: FREEDOM flows from our hearts with purpose, joy, and faith.”
“This sower sows bountifully, burying his hand into the supply he casts GENEROUSLY with an open hand. Yes, with wisdom and intentionality but nothing is holding him back. The sense of the text likely imagines the unwilling white-knuckled grip on the gift being now WILLINGLY and FREELY opened and the gift being hurled into the field.”
“One act of God’s grace for the giver in Gospel mission is that God Himself is the one who funds the Mission! ‘He supplies the seed to the sower.’”
“HE IS NOT RELUCTANT! He freely gives to us GENEROUSLY! But, he does so so that we would turn and be ‘generous in every way.’"
“In Mattew 6, Jesus instructs us not to give in such a way that we draw attention to ourselves (and easy temptation). Without contradicting Jesus, the Apostle in the original language of Vs 12, along with what he writes in 8:1-7, reveals that this act of giving was corporate. Humble Gospel giving at the Gathering is an act of corporate worship. It is witnessed BY the church because it was done AT church.”
“Generosity is not about dollar amounts nor about percentages. It’s about the Grace of God at work in their hearts that empowered them even in the face of severe affliction in such a way that Gospel joy met their extreme poverty and the result was an overflowing ‘wealth of generosity’ that measured beyond their normal means! Their generosity was measured by sacrifice, not dollars!”
“God has given dearly to us! Romans 8:32 ‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’ There was nothing more valuable to the Father than His only begotten Son, Jesus, and HE GAVE HIM for us.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 12:34
2 Corinthians 8:7
QUOTES:
John Calvin- “...for nothing is more famished and starved than the distrustful, who are tormented with an anxious desire of having.”
Randy Alcorn - “Another benefit of giving is freedom. It’s a matter of basic physics. The greater the mass, the greater the hold that mass exerts. The more things we own – the greater their total mass – the more they grip us, setting us in orbit around them. Finally, like a black hole, they suck us in… We think we own our possessions, but too often they own us…”
APPLICATION:
- Survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died
- Study the Gospel and probe the depths of our Generous God and Savior.
Let the Gospel in your right hand preach to your tightly closed left hand until it loosens its grip and let that seed fly!
A man made happy and grateful by the Gospel will give generously and freely.