IT MAY BE A SURPRISE to many to hear

Transcription

1 The Grace of Giving. IT MAY BE A SURPRISE to many to hear giving spoken of as a grace, but so it is. In 2 Corinthians 8:7 we find the words of the apostle Paul to the people of Corinth: "Therefore [he says], as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love,;0, us, see that ye abound in this grace also. That the apostle was referring to a special offering which he was taking up in the churches, is clear from the first verses of this chapter. He says that he was not demanding this by commandment but was giving them the opportunity, in this way, to bring great blessing upon themselves. Then in verse 9 we have these wonderful words: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." The apostle Paul was collecting an offering for the poor saints at Jerusalem. They had given their all to get the work of the Christian church started. They had even sold their property and put everything into a common fund, but this was now expended. Hard times had come, and those 3 55-E-40

2 very people who had given so liberally-in fact, had given everything-were now impoverished. The apostle gave.the opportunity to the Gentile Christians and others to send special help to those who sacrificed in the early days of the church -. And he laid his plan before them, not merely as something that they ought to do, but as something that they would be blessed in doing. He was very careful also that everything should be carried on in a very honest way, for we read in verse 21: "Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." In order to make everything clear, honest, and above board, he saw to it that certain men from various cities traveled with him to look after this fund which he was collecting. It was not for himself, to be used according to his own discretion. He did not wish the least taint of covetousness or the wrong handling of this money to appear anywhere. So it should be today in all Christian finance. Let me ask you this questiori-i am talking now particularly to Christian church members, regardless of what church you belong to-have you been faithful in supporting your church? Do you realize that not only does the church need your support, but far more than that, you need the blessing which comes from obeying God when you are faithful in this grace also- 4

3 this grace of giving, of sacrificingfor God's work, God's service? You know, friends, if all Christians all around the world had been faithful in their tithes and offe ings, the Christian church would long SIDce have given its message to all the earth. There would be no worldly methods of collecting money for the cause of God, and God would literally pour out a blessing that there would not be room enough to receive it, as we read in Malachi, the third chapter. When the opportunity comes to give of our means to the cause of God, where it is needed in these days as never before, let us remember this: You can't beat God in giving. What example of giving has He given to the world? We all know John 3:16, so wherever you are would you mind joining me in repeating this golden text? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but hace everlasting life." That's God's example of giving. And what about the example of our Saviour? Galatians 1:4 tells us that He "gave himself for our sins." He became poor that we might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9.) When God called Abraham to be His representative on earth, the father of the faithful, the man who believed God and to whom it was counted for righteousness, the man who was held up as an example of righteousness by faith, the Lord said to 5

4 him: "I will bless thee,... and thou shalt be a blessing." Genesis 12:2. And that is the way it should be with all of.us. 'We are not only to be blessed, but we are to be a blessing. Were Abraham's faith and devotion tested? Surely they were. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son."-hebrews 11:17. He was tested on this grace of giving and he made the greatest sacrifice that a father could make. 'When our Saviour sent His disciples out to preach, to heal the sick, and to raise the dead, what did He say to them? "Freely ye have received, freely give."- Matthew 10:8. God gives to us that we may give. We are blessed that we may be a blessing. God comforts us in our troubles that we may comfort others, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:4: "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Friends, all who accept the gospel, by that very act take upon themselves the obligation to pass it on with all its blessings to others. That's the way the gospel work is extended. God expects everyone 6

5 who has been reclaimed from sin and evil to join in the work of saving and blessing others. We are not to keep God's good things just for ourselves. As Whittier,.the poet, said: "Heaven's gate is shut to him who comes alone; Save thou a soul, and it shall save thy owni" While this may not be literally true in all cases, still it is a general truth that we must pass on the blessings of God to others. Love prompted God's great gift to us, and His love in our hearts will prompt our giving, and the grace of giving will become a part of our lives. The apostle makes it clear that we are to "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35. Our richest blessings are those we receive in passing on the good word to others. As the great poet said: "The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice bless'd:. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." In "the days of old, the days of gold, the days of forty-nine" in California, a minister is said to have preached a sermon on this text: 7

6 "H e that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord."-Proverbs 19:17. His sermon was this: "Brethren, do you think the security is good enough? If so, down with the dust." So they did bring the gold dust for the collection plate. In the days of ancient Israel, one tenth, or the tithe, was to be brought to God for the service of the sanctuary and the temple. Besides this, there were many free-will offerings. The tabernacle itself and the temple were built with such gifts. Can we vho are living in this day of Christian light give any less than God's children of old in the days of types and shadow? They had the sacrifices pointing forward to the coming of Christ; we have the church ordinances pointing back to the fact that He was here, and pointing ahead to His second coming. We are not speaking just now of the tithe as an obligation, but as a great privilege. Read, when you can, Malachi 3:8-12, beginning with the words: "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." Then the next verse speaks of the curse that comes upon those who rob God, and the following verse tells of the blessing that will come upon those who are faithful in supporting His work. Read it all for yourself. Thousands of Christians are tithers today, 8

7 and they say that they receive only blessing from returning to God His own. The work goes on faster, too. A certain farmer who knew very little of the graee of giving, of the blessing of sacrifice; had persistently refused to attend John Wesley's meetings. One day he was induced to go. The preacher's first point was, Make all you can. The farmer was delighted. The second point was, Save all yau can. The farmer was happier still. He said to himself, "This is the kind of preacher I like to hear." He thought how foolish he had been for not attending his services before. But the third point was, Give all you can. "That last point," the farmer said, "spoiled the whole sermon." That same spirit is the scandal of Christendom today. Our giving is not proportioned to our wealth. Alexander the coppersmith, the apostle Paul says, did him much evil in his day; and his spirit is still working mischief with the church. When Jesus holds out His pierced hand for a gift, too many of us try to cover the nailprint with a copper penny. Listen to this command in Proverbs 3:9: "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of au thine increase." The apostle Paul refers back to the temple days as a lesson for Christians. "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the 9

8 temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel."-l Corinthians 9:13, 14. If that was God's plan back there, surely we can do no less today. All belongs to God. The silver is His, the gold is His, He says in Haggai 2:8. "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."-psalm 50:10. And remember, it is He who gives us power to get wealth, as we read in Deuteronomy 8:18. That is one text my father impressed upon my brother and me as boys. "Remember," he said, "and never forget it -God gives you the power to get wealth. Every penny you earn, God gives you the power to earn it. He keeps your head beating. He keeps you alive. It is all His, and the least you can do is to remember His work and His service with tithes and offerings and receive the blessing He has promised." We are simply God's stewards. Jesus said: "For the kingdom of heaceti is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own sercants, and delivered unto them his goods."-matthew 25:14.. We are handling God's goods, but how are we handling them? Remember, the 10

9 payment of tithe went away back before the days of the Jews, away pack to Jacob who vowed that he would serve the Lord and give the tenth unto Him. ( Genesis 28:20-22.) Abraham paid 'tithe to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. Jesus is a "high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek," we read in Hebrews 6:20. And our Saviour said to the theologians of His day that, while they were careful about paying their tithes on little garden vegetables, they were omitting "the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Matthew 23:23. God savs:, "Prooe me now herewith [that is, try me], saith. the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room e110ugh to receive it."-malachi 3: 10. There is an epitaph of one, Robyn of Doncaster, who lived in 1579 at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. It reads: "That I spent, that I had; that I gave, that I have; that I left, that I lose." So remember this: An acceptable offering is one that comes from the heart. "Eve1"yman according as he purposetli in his heart, so let him git;e; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."-2 Corinthians 9:7. That means like the churches 11 of Mace-

10 donia of old-we first give ourselves, then we have the grace of giving, the blessing of giving. As the apostle said:. "If I do this thing willingly, I have-a reward."-l Corinthians 9:17. Our gift is acceptable to God on a clear, simple, true basis; and here it is in 2 Corinthians 8:12: "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a 11Ulnhath, and not according to that he hath not." This grace of giving is an important thing, friends. Nothing is sure and certain on this earth. Every earthly life comes to an end, either in death or in the second coming of Christ. "F 01' we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." -1 Timothy 6:7. It is only that which we send on beforehand in sacrificial giving, this grace of giving, that will last for,eternity and be the only investment that will never fail us. Huinan riches are uncertain in this world. As the apostle wrote to Timothy, we are not to- "... trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; "That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; "Laying up in store for themselves a good 12

11 foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternallife."-l Timothy 6: That's the blessing we need, this grace of giving in our own hearts, this willingness, this cheerfulness, this ungrudging joy in giving. When an old blind sewing lady in France gave 25 francs to missions, one of her friends told her that it was too much; that she could not afford it. "No," she said, "the women who work with me spend 25 francs each for oil for their lamps. I am blind and need no lamp, so I can give my francs to light other lives." Are we lighting other lives? Remember what Jesus said: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."- Luke 12:15. Then He told the story of the selfish man who instead of helping others as his prosperity increased, made bigger and better barns, bigger storage bins; but it was all for himself. He said to his own soul: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."-verse 19. Then, like a flash of lightning, came the terrible words of God to him: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast prooided? 13

12 "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward Cod."-Verses 20, 2l. Honestly, Christian friend, this is a serious and solemn and important subject for you and me. It is God's will that His own people support His work on earth. It is our shame that Christian ministers are not properly supported. It is our loss that missionaries everywhere are struggling for lack of funds. It is our responsibility that the glorious gospel of the blessed God be proclaimed everywhere quickly so that the Saviour may return, for- "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come=-: Matthew 24: 14. It is for us to help the sick, the weak, the needy everywhere; but above all, it is for us to experience in our own hearts this grace of giving, this blessing which we need to kill the natural covetousness of our hearts, to lay up treasure in heaven, treasure "that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." Luke 12:33. For it is truly said by one who knows the heart of man, his own Creator and Redeemer: "Por where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."-verse