Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 20 Issue 7 April 18, 2010
II Corinthians 9:6-7 ...he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
What makes a cheerful giver?
What is it about that kind of person that God loves?
Please note: Although God loves a cheerful giver, He will certainly receive from a grouch!
Sadly for many there is not much cheer in the act. For some folk giving is likened to having a root canal.
But what is it about a cheerful giver?
The Greek adjective for "cheerful" gives us our word hilarious.
Giving is not a matter of logic, it is more an acknowledgment. "What do we possess that was not given us?" God has blessed us with abilities, material goods and offered us a new life of forgiveness.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich." II Corinthians 8:9
In the end we possess nothing except what we have used and shared and given away.
People come to realize this when they make out their wills, but then it is too late, because they are making others happier after their death rather than in their lifetime.
No gratitude is felt for the benefit when the gift lingers in the hands of the person who is giving it; when the giver seems sorry to let it go…..
The cheerful giver knows how to use material things without being possessed by them.
The cheerful giver does not identify who he is with what he has. He or she uses what they have to enrich life. They’ve discovered the secret to life; it is better to give than to receive.
Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get; but we make a life by what we give."
A cheerful giver wants to be like Jesus who came to minister, not to be ministered to. The depth of our commitment is revealed not by what we can get out of this, but by what we give and do.
If our religion is based only on what we receive, then we set ourselves up for disappointment. For enough is never enough.
If our faith is based on loving and serving, then it will never be disappointing, because the opportunities are endless.
It takes commitment to be a giver in a world which says to be a taker.
When we give with “cheerfulness” an astounding thing happens: God is praised.
Proverbs says that when we give to the poor, it is like “lending to the Lord."
Let each give as each has decided, not grudgingly or by compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Why?
Because the cheerful giver moves closer to understanding what God is all about.
Many years ago a boy of sixteen was obliged to leave home because his father was too poor to support him. So he left with all his worldly possessions in a bundle dangling from his hand, resolving, as he journeyed, to set up in business as a soap maker in New York. When the country boy arrived in the big city, he found it hard to get work. Remembering the last words of his mother and also the godly advice given him by the captain of a canal boat, the youth dedicated his life to God, determining to return to his Maker an honest tithe of every dollar he earned. So, when his first dollar came in, the young man sacredly dedicated ten cents of it to the Lord. He continued to do this. And the dollars rolled in!
Soon this manufacturer became partner in a soap business; and when his partner died a few years later, he became sole owner. The prosperous businessman then instructed his bookkeeper to open an account with the Lord and to credit to it one tenth of all his income. The business grew miraculously.
The proprietor then dedicated 20% of his earnings; then 30%, 40%; and finally, 50%. It seemed as if his sales increased in exact proportion to his generosity, so that soon his soap became a household word.
The late William Colgate was this man whom God so signally prospered in return for his faithfulness to his Maker.
Blessings come due to the faithful payment of an honest tithe.
Henry P. Crowell, contracted tuberculosis when a boy and couldn’t go to school. After hearing a sermon by D. L. Moody, young Crowell prayed, “I can’t be a preacher, but I can be a good businessman. God, if You will let me make money, I will use it in Your service.”
Under the doctor’s advice Crowell worked outdoors for seven years and regained his health. He then bought the little run-down Mill in Ohio. He faithfully tithed 10% from each paycheck. Within ten years Quaker Oats was a household word to millions. For over 40 years Henry faithfully tithed 60 to 70% of his income.
America’s first billionaire said, “I never would’ve been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I hadn’t tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.” John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937)
Real charity doesn’t care if it’s tax deductible or not.
Stanley Tam American businessman said, “You hear a lot of strange things about tithing. Some say it is a church tax, and they expect me to pay it and that is the end of it. Others say that when I give God one-tenth of my income, He blesses the nine-tenths that is left to the extent that the nine-tenths now goes as far as the whole thing used to go. This isn’t really true, is it?
Suppose a farmer had 100 bushels of corn in the barn and he decides to plant 10 bushel in the ground. What multiplies? Is it the 90 bushels that he has left in the barn? Oh, no. All of us ‘farmers’ know it is the 10 bushels you put in the ground that multiplies. Similarly, it is the 10 percent you give to God that multiplies.
One of the reasons churches in North America have trouble guiding people about money is that the church’s economy is built on consumerism. If churches see themselves as suppliers of religious goods and services and their congregants as consumers, then offerings are ‘payment.’”
Stanley Tam started by making God a partner, then made him owner.
Food for thought:
With the price of everything else going up these days, aren’t you glad the Lord hasn’t increased the tithe to 15%.
Personally: My family and I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. However my personal take on tithing is that it has become a diversion. The real issue is: How do we use God’s trust fund - namely, all we have, for His glory?
Why does God bless you financially?
II Corinthians 9:8
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