1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,760 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 2 00:00:06,760 –> 00:00:16,520 To contact us, call us at 1-877-open365, or visit our website openerthebible.org. 3 00:00:16,520 –> 00:00:17,760 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,760 –> 00:00:18,820 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:18,820 –> 00:00:25,080 Now please would you turn to second Corinthians chapter nine. 6 00:00:26,020 –> 00:00:30,799 And this is the last in our short series that we’ve called, A Generous Life. 7 00:00:30,820 –> 00:00:34,020 We’ve been dealing with issues relating to giving. 8 00:00:34,020 –> 00:00:38,439 And we’re doing that at Christmas for this very specific reason. 9 00:00:38,439 –> 00:00:42,740 That Christmas is about the self-giving of God. 10 00:00:42,740 –> 00:00:50,200 And when the new testament applies the self-giving of God into the lives of Christian believers, 11 00:00:50,200 –> 00:00:51,880 this is how the new testament does it. 12 00:00:51,880 –> 00:00:58,119 In 2 Corinthians chapter 8 in verse 9, you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 13 00:00:58,119 –> 00:01:02,860 You who are Christians, we who know the Lord, we know to grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 14 00:01:02,860 –> 00:01:04,699 in our lives. 15 00:01:04,699 –> 00:01:08,779 And what that grace meant for him was that though he was rich yet for our sakes he became 16 00:01:08,779 –> 00:01:13,300 poor so that through his poverty we might become rich. 17 00:01:13,300 –> 00:01:20,480 And Paul applies that great theme of the Christmas message, to Christian believers in Corinth 18 00:01:21,279 –> 00:01:27,480 us today by speaking to us about what it means to live a generous life. 19 00:01:27,480 –> 00:01:30,379 Now, a quick review of what we’ve learned. 20 00:01:30,379 –> 00:01:35,779 Perhaps the most important takeaway from this series, the single thing that I would want 21 00:01:35,779 –> 00:01:42,779 us to remember a year from now, would be that Paul moves this whole matter of giving out 22 00:01:43,080 –> 00:01:48,559 of the world of law and into the world of grace. 23 00:01:48,559 –> 00:01:54,680 Because Christian giving, New Testament giving, is always a response to grace. 24 00:01:54,680 –> 00:01:59,360 It is a reflection of the self giving of the Lord Jesus Christ. 25 00:01:59,360 –> 00:02:04,480 Remember nobody forced Jesus to come into the world. 26 00:02:04,480 –> 00:02:07,400 Nobody put pressure on him, no one ever could. 27 00:02:07,400 –> 00:02:13,279 The Lord Jesus came freely, and the Lord Jesus came joyfully. 28 00:02:13,279 –> 00:02:19,779 That is how he has given himself to us, and therefore giving that reflects his grace must 29 00:02:19,779 –> 00:02:22,119 be marked by freedom. 30 00:02:22,119 –> 00:02:26,740 Therefore there are to be no rules about it, and it must be marked by joy, God loves a 31 00:02:26,740 –> 00:02:28,179 cheerful giver. 32 00:02:28,179 –> 00:02:32,279 And therefore it is very significant, and perhaps this has come as a surprise to some 33 00:02:32,279 –> 00:02:33,279 of us. 34 00:02:33,279 –> 00:02:40,360 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 8, Paul refuses to make any rule in the church about Christian 35 00:02:40,360 –> 00:02:41,500 giving. 36 00:02:41,539 –> 00:02:44,639 He could have said as an Apostle, now all of you folks have to give 10%. 37 00:02:44,639 –> 00:02:48,600 Could have made an argument from the Old Testament on that basis. 38 00:02:48,600 –> 00:02:53,759 But he says very specifically chapter 8 and verse 8, I am not commanding you. 39 00:02:53,759 –> 00:02:54,759 Why? 40 00:02:54,759 –> 00:02:59,559 Because he wants to move the whole matter of giving out of the world of law and into 41 00:02:59,559 –> 00:03:07,500 the world of grace, where it belongs, because what is at stake here is not simply the amount 42 00:03:07,580 –> 00:03:11,880 that is given but the heart of the givers. 43 00:03:11,880 –> 00:03:17,160 What really matters is that we become increasingly like the Lord Jesus, who loved us and gave 44 00:03:17,160 –> 00:03:23,399 Himself for us and did it freely and did it joyfully. 45 00:03:23,399 –> 00:03:28,619 So for that reason we have been learning that Christian giving always marked by freedom 46 00:03:28,619 –> 00:03:29,779 and joy. 47 00:03:29,779 –> 00:03:33,779 It is really set out for us in chapter 9 and verse 7. 48 00:03:33,779 –> 00:03:40,820 Notice how it should happen, each man, each of us who knows the grace of the Lord Jesus, 49 00:03:40,820 –> 00:03:45,300 we should give what we have decided in our hearts to give. 50 00:03:45,300 –> 00:03:51,160 And no-one is to do this reluctantly Paul says, nobody is to do it under compulsion 51 00:03:51,160 –> 00:03:57,919 because God loves a cheerful giver. 52 00:03:57,919 –> 00:04:00,240 So we decide in our hearts. 53 00:04:00,259 –> 00:04:03,520 Now that we know that the principle is not law but grace. 54 00:04:03,520 –> 00:04:09,119 Now that we know God has given us this wonderful liberty to grow in generosity as we decide 55 00:04:09,119 –> 00:04:14,660 in our own hearts what we want to give with freedom and with joy, the obvious question 56 00:04:14,660 –> 00:04:17,739 is well how do you decide? 57 00:04:17,739 –> 00:04:26,559 How then do you decide what to give and what to keep. 58 00:04:26,640 –> 00:04:32,920 Well that very practical matter is the subject that Paul focuses on in the last part of chapter 59 00:04:32,920 –> 00:04:34,700 9 and that’s where we are today. 60 00:04:34,700 –> 00:04:39,739 And there are really two questions and then one marvelous application. 61 00:04:39,739 –> 00:04:44,200 The two questions are simply what should I give, given that it’s a matter of freedom 62 00:04:44,200 –> 00:04:45,420 and joy. 63 00:04:45,420 –> 00:04:50,299 What should guide your decision, by decision about what we give. 64 00:04:50,299 –> 00:04:54,480 Then the second question is what will I receive because Paul speaks clearly here of great 65 00:04:54,480 –> 00:04:58,459 rewards that come to those who grow in generosity. 66 00:04:58,459 –> 00:05:03,600 And then we’re going to see the Supreme example of this giving and of this great reward in 67 00:05:03,600 –> 00:05:06,820 our Lord Jesus Christ. 68 00:05:06,820 –> 00:05:08,739 So first then what should I give. 69 00:05:08,739 –> 00:05:15,200 Verse 6 Paul says Remember this. 70 00:05:15,200 –> 00:05:19,720 Now he’s talking about when you’re thinking about what to give. 71 00:05:19,720 –> 00:05:23,720 You’re deciding what to keep, you’re deciding what to give. 72 00:05:23,720 –> 00:05:32,660 Here’s what to keep in mind when you’re making decisions about your own giving. 73 00:05:32,660 –> 00:05:34,820 Remember this. 74 00:05:34,820 –> 00:05:44,480 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously, notice that word, 75 00:05:44,480 –> 00:05:46,399 will also reap generously. 76 00:05:46,399 –> 00:05:54,600 In other words, Paul says, think of everything that God has given to you in this world in 77 00:05:54,600 –> 00:06:00,600 the same way as a farmer would think of a great pile of seed. 78 00:06:00,600 –> 00:06:04,640 And when the farmer has a great pile of seed in the barn, there are two things he can do 79 00:06:04,640 –> 00:06:06,160 with it. 80 00:06:06,160 –> 00:06:13,119 He can grind it into flour and he can make bread or he can sow it in the field and raise 81 00:06:13,119 –> 00:06:15,839 a harvest next year. 82 00:06:15,839 –> 00:06:19,399 Obviously, he’s going to do both. 83 00:06:19,399 –> 00:06:20,959 But he has to make a decision. 84 00:06:20,959 –> 00:06:28,279 How much seed will he keep for bread and how much seed will he sow in the ground? 85 00:06:28,279 –> 00:06:33,279 And Paul is using this very, very simple picture to say that’s precisely how you should be 86 00:06:33,279 –> 00:06:38,619 thinking and how we should be thinking about the decisions we make with regards to our 87 00:06:38,619 –> 00:06:39,619 money. 88 00:06:39,980 –> 00:06:43,140 Now, says Paul, here’s what you should think about. 89 00:06:43,140 –> 00:06:50,440 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. 90 00:06:50,440 –> 00:06:55,540 So here’s Farmer Joe, and he’s a very cautious farmer. 91 00:06:55,540 –> 00:07:01,640 And he looks at his pile of seed in the barn and he says, well now, my, the winter is coming 92 00:07:01,640 –> 00:07:07,579 and it’s going to be very long and I’m going to need a lot of bread. 93 00:07:07,640 –> 00:07:14,140 So I need to keep as much of the seed as I can, and so he takes just a very small amount 94 00:07:14,140 –> 00:07:19,679 and he sets it aside to be sown in the ground for next year. 95 00:07:19,679 –> 00:07:22,239 He sows sparingly. 96 00:07:22,239 –> 00:07:27,019 Down the road is Farmer Bob. 97 00:07:27,019 –> 00:07:32,640 And Farmer Bob has the same pile of seed and he looks at it in his barn and he says, the 98 00:07:32,640 –> 00:07:37,839 summer is coming and I want next year to have a great harvest. 99 00:07:37,839 –> 00:07:44,820 So I must sow as much as I possibly can, and so he keeps what he needs for the winter, 100 00:07:44,820 –> 00:07:48,720 so that he may have sufficient bread for his needs. 101 00:07:48,720 –> 00:07:51,119 But he sows everything else. 102 00:07:51,119 –> 00:07:55,220 And he sows generously. 103 00:07:55,220 –> 00:08:00,420 Now these two farmers with the same pile of seed have made different decisions about how 104 00:08:00,459 –> 00:08:04,359 they allocate the seed that has been trusted to them. 105 00:08:04,359 –> 00:08:09,480 And Paul’s making the very obvious point that these different decisions will have very different 106 00:08:09,480 –> 00:08:13,040 outcomes one year on. 107 00:08:13,040 –> 00:08:17,980 When the summer comes, the one who sowed sparingly, reaps sparingly. 108 00:08:17,980 –> 00:08:23,079 And when the summer comes, the one who sowed generously, reaps generously. 109 00:08:23,079 –> 00:08:27,679 So the first thing that Paul says is remember when you’re thinking about this whole matter 110 00:08:27,679 –> 00:08:33,260 of giving that you will reap what you sow. 111 00:08:33,260 –> 00:08:41,840 Now let’s follow Paul’s very simple picture here and let’s look at it a year later. 112 00:08:41,840 –> 00:08:46,820 Farmer Joe and Farmer Bob come into their barn. 113 00:08:46,820 –> 00:08:54,140 Farmer Joe now has a smaller pile of seed than he had before because he sowed sparingly 114 00:08:54,299 –> 00:08:58,580 and he has reaped sparingly and the pile has gone down. 115 00:08:58,580 –> 00:09:04,320 And he looks at his diminished pile of seed and he says, my, this has been a terrible 116 00:09:04,320 –> 00:09:08,760 year, much less than I had last year. 117 00:09:08,760 –> 00:09:13,739 The winter is long and I’m going to need more bread this year and I must therefore 118 00:09:13,739 –> 00:09:17,099 keep as much seed as I possibly can. 119 00:09:17,580 –> 00:09:22,900 And so he has an even smaller amount of seed to sow for next year. 120 00:09:24,080 –> 00:09:30,000 Farmer Bob comes into his barn and looks at an increased pile of seed and says, this is 121 00:09:30,000 –> 00:09:33,859 a remarkable way in which God has blessed me in this last year. 122 00:09:33,859 –> 00:09:37,780 And I’m looking towards next summer and I want to see an even greater harvest so I will 123 00:09:37,780 –> 00:09:41,320 sow next year as much as I possibly can. 124 00:09:41,479 –> 00:09:47,559 And so again he keeps just what he needs for the winter and he sows everything else. 125 00:09:49,280 –> 00:09:53,719 Now you see the pattern of the picture that Paul is painting. 126 00:09:53,719 –> 00:10:03,880 There are now two patterns of life that are emerging from decisions that were made and 127 00:10:03,880 –> 00:10:10,679 continue to be made that reflect more or less the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. 128 00:10:11,479 –> 00:10:17,400 There’s a second truth here, not only do we reap what we sow but God calls us to sow 129 00:10:17,400 –> 00:10:23,239 what we reap. The seed that’s in the barn has itself been reaped it has been given by God 130 00:10:23,239 –> 00:10:29,719 and notice verse 10, Whatever God gives to you is for two purposes, God supplies 131 00:10:29,719 –> 00:10:39,320 verse 10 seed for the sower and bread for food in other words if you think of everything that 132 00:10:39,320 –> 00:10:44,840 God has given to you and I think of everything that God has given to me this month and this year 133 00:10:45,960 –> 00:10:49,880 God has given this to us, however much or little it is, for two purposes. 134 00:10:50,919 –> 00:10:58,919 Some of it is bread for food and some of it is seed for sowing. In other words what we’re learning 135 00:10:58,919 –> 00:11:06,200 here is that God supplies what you need to live and God supplies what you need to give. 136 00:11:07,320 –> 00:11:13,159 So think about the money that you have received this month, this year. Some of it was bread 137 00:11:13,159 –> 00:11:17,719 for food that is it was for spending, it was for saving, it was for using, it was for living. 138 00:11:18,840 –> 00:11:25,000 Some of it is seed for the sower. God gave it to you for giving, for sowing, 139 00:11:25,960 –> 00:11:32,440 and for scattering. The question that each of us faces on a continuing basis in our life 140 00:11:32,440 –> 00:11:39,799 is how we divide our seed, what we keep and what we sow. And Paul says just remember as you’re 141 00:11:39,799 –> 00:11:44,119 thinking about this because it is a matter of Christian liberty and it’s to be done with freedom 142 00:11:44,119 –> 00:11:50,200 and with joy but remember this that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly and whoever sows 143 00:11:50,280 –> 00:12:00,119 generously will reap generously. What should I give? There’s the counsel of the Apostle Paul. 144 00:12:01,799 –> 00:12:07,960 Now here’s the second question. What will I receive? Now I hope you have your Bible 145 00:12:07,960 –> 00:12:14,440 open in front of you because these verses of Scripture contain some marvelous promises 146 00:12:15,400 –> 00:12:24,440 that have been horribly abused by some Christian teachers. I say that they have been horribly 147 00:12:24,440 –> 00:12:31,880 abused because they are sometimes taught, these Scriptures are sometimes taught in a way that 148 00:12:31,880 –> 00:12:39,159 kills the very generosity Paul is writing to encourage. And that’s a horrible abuse to use 149 00:12:39,159 –> 00:12:46,919 the Bible in a way that has the opposite effect of the Holy Spirit’s intent. The teaching that I’m 150 00:12:46,919 –> 00:12:53,960 referring to, the horrible abuse, you will be familiar with it, it is sometimes known as prosperity 151 00:12:53,960 –> 00:13:01,719 teaching or as the prosperity gospel. And what it says is something along these lines. God wants 152 00:13:01,719 –> 00:13:08,200 you to prosper financially and the way that this happens is by a simple formula, the more you give 153 00:13:09,000 –> 00:13:17,559 the more you get, and you can see why people who teach a prosperity gospel like to come to 154 00:13:21,159 –> 00:13:26,359 And they will quote often verses like 2 Corinthians 8, 9, that great Christmas verse, 155 00:13:26,359 –> 00:13:31,640 think of what it says, you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that though he was 156 00:13:32,119 –> 00:13:36,119 yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty 157 00:13:36,119 –> 00:13:45,320 might become rich. Or chapter 9 verse 11, you will be made rich in every way. 158 00:13:46,280 –> 00:13:50,919 So the prosperity teacher comes and he seizes one of the verses of the Bible like this, 159 00:13:50,919 –> 00:13:58,280 and he says, well there you are, God wants you rich. And the guaranteed way for you to 160 00:13:58,919 –> 00:14:03,559 prosper financially is to increase your year end giving to the church. 161 00:14:04,200 –> 00:14:07,799 Now you’ve heard that kind of thing. You’ve seen that kind of thing. 162 00:14:08,919 –> 00:14:14,280 And you know as I do that a good salesman can make this sound like the sweetest deal. 163 00:14:15,640 –> 00:14:22,440 You reap what you sow. So giving becomes the path to prosperity. 164 00:14:22,520 –> 00:14:27,000 Now the problem with that lies right here. 165 00:14:29,320 –> 00:14:38,119 That when giving is taught as a means to gain generosity dies. It has to 166 00:14:39,400 –> 00:14:44,039 because the giving actually is about me and what i’ll get. 167 00:14:44,840 –> 00:14:49,239 When giving becomes the path to prosperity 168 00:14:50,200 –> 00:14:54,919 the very point of 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9 is lost 169 00:14:55,479 –> 00:15:04,200 and that is why I describe that kind of teaching as a horrible abuse of the Word of God right here. 170 00:15:04,679 –> 00:15:10,039 Let me give you a little story that I found in the book I referred to last week by Tim Keller. 171 00:15:10,359 –> 00:15:22,119 It’s a story about a king a gardener and a nobleman. 172 00:15:23,039 –> 00:15:26,719 One day the gardener who’d been working very hard in his garden, 173 00:15:27,400 –> 00:15:30,640 pulled the most magnificent carrot 174 00:15:31,219 –> 00:15:34,340 It was the finest carrot he had ever grown 175 00:15:34,340 –> 00:15:38,760 and he decided that the thing he should do with it is give it as a gift to the King. 176 00:15:39,320 –> 00:15:42,059 So he comes to the palace and the gardener says 177 00:15:42,059 –> 00:15:48,460 oh, king this is the finest carrot I have ever grown or ever will grow 178 00:15:49,359 –> 00:15:54,380 and so I want to give it to you as a token of my love for you, 179 00:15:54,380 –> 00:15:58,020 and my respect and my honoring of you my king. 180 00:15:58,359 –> 00:16:01,059 And the king receives this massive carrot, and he said 181 00:16:01,059 –> 00:16:02,460 thank you very much. 182 00:16:02,460 –> 00:16:05,159 And the man’s turning to go and the king said 183 00:16:05,159 –> 00:16:06,859 Wait a minute 184 00:16:06,859 –> 00:16:12,679 I own a field that is right next to the plot that you garden. 185 00:16:12,960 –> 00:16:16,760 And you’re obviously a marvelous gardener and a good steward of the earth 186 00:16:17,099 –> 00:16:23,859 and so I want to give you that field and you can garden it along with your garden 187 00:16:23,859 –> 00:16:27,000 and that field is going to be yours from today. 188 00:16:27,000 –> 00:16:31,580 So the gardener goes home absolutely rejoicing. 189 00:16:32,460 –> 00:16:35,739 Now in the court was a nobleman who heard this 190 00:16:36,239 –> 00:16:45,159 and he thinks to himself aha a whole field for a carrot I can do better than that 191 00:16:45,159 –> 00:16:51,059 Well the nobleman bred horses so the following day he brings in this 192 00:16:51,059 –> 00:16:58,580 magnificent black stallion and he says oh king I breed horses and this black 193 00:16:58,580 –> 00:17:05,160 stallion is the finest horse I have ever bred and I want to bring this horse as a 194 00:17:05,180 –> 00:17:10,680 gift to you as a token of my respect and my affection for you my King the King 195 00:17:10,680 –> 00:17:17,400 knew he had been listening and discerned his heart so the King just said oh thank 196 00:17:17,400 –> 00:17:24,959 you very much and the man’s face is absolutely crestfallen so the King turned 197 00:17:24,959 –> 00:17:33,979 to him and he said let me explain the gardener gave the carrot to me what you 198 00:17:34,099 –> 00:17:42,099 were really doing was giving the horse to yourself that’s the problem with 199 00:17:42,099 –> 00:17:51,920 prosperity teaching it kills generosity we’ve been saying that gospel giving is 200 00:17:51,920 –> 00:17:58,760 pulled out of the world of law and into the world of grace because generosity 201 00:17:58,760 –> 00:18:02,540 can only live and grow in the world of grace it cannot thrive in the soil of 202 00:18:02,599 –> 00:18:12,939 law and generosity cannot grow in the soil of self-interest either so we have 203 00:18:12,939 –> 00:18:20,040 to pull this whole matter of giving out of any sense of what is mine as a result 204 00:18:20,040 –> 00:18:26,520 otherwise we cannot grow in the likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 205 00:18:26,520 –> 00:18:31,479 listen the teaching of 2nd Corinthians and chapter 8 and chapter 9 if I 206 00:18:31,500 –> 00:18:36,420 can try and summarize it this way it’s not the more you give the more you get 207 00:18:36,420 –> 00:18:43,699 it’s the more you give the more you will be able to give notice that in verse 208 00:18:43,699 –> 00:18:49,739 11 and inverse 8 1st verse 11 you will be made rich in every way so that you 209 00:18:49,739 –> 00:18:57,459 can be generous on every occasion that’s what God promises to us if you set your 210 00:18:57,900 –> 00:19:02,739 more generous God will give you the ability to do so as you grow in 211 00:19:02,739 –> 00:19:07,359 generosity you will find that God enables the capacity of your generosity 212 00:19:07,359 –> 00:19:13,119 to increase the point of verse 8 look at that God is able to make all grace 213 00:19:13,119 –> 00:19:18,319 abound to you so that in all things at all times having all you need notice 214 00:19:18,319 –> 00:19:23,839 need not all you want but all you need he promises to supply what you need he 215 00:19:23,859 –> 00:19:28,140 says you will abound in every good work why because you are growing in the 216 00:19:28,140 –> 00:19:33,540 likeness of Christ and therefore the fruitfulness of your life just continues 217 00:19:33,540 –> 00:19:40,739 to blossom and to develop now here’s a very practical application of all of 218 00:19:40,739 –> 00:19:48,579 this we live in times when a good number of us have lost a lot of money and we 219 00:19:48,579 –> 00:19:54,400 would really like the stock market to give it back and hope it will and pray 220 00:19:54,400 –> 00:20:00,579 that it will but it would be good for us to think about this question if God 221 00:20:00,579 –> 00:20:05,540 gave you more what would you do with it 222 00:20:05,540 –> 00:20:13,579 that that’s a question that discerns my heart if God gave me more how much of 223 00:20:13,579 –> 00:20:17,119 the more would be more bread for the eater and how much of the more would be 224 00:20:17,180 –> 00:20:26,020 more seed for the sower do I want more so that I will have more or if God gave 225 00:20:26,020 –> 00:20:37,560 more would my heart be to grow in generosity as a result I think that we 226 00:20:37,560 –> 00:20:44,219 can ask God to prosper all those who set their hearts on generosity 227 00:20:44,260 –> 00:20:49,339 Don’t you think that’s a good way to pray? And would it not be a good thing to be 228 00:20:49,339 –> 00:20:58,780 able to pray personally Lord make me the kind of person you could trust with more 229 00:20:58,780 –> 00:21:03,660 now let’s look at the harvest that is promised we’ve talked about the horrible 230 00:21:03,660 –> 00:21:08,260 abuse which is trying to rest the scriptures and the cause of self-interest 231 00:21:09,260 –> 00:21:14,339 Let’s look at the harvest that is promised from a generous life. I want you 232 00:21:14,339 –> 00:21:19,739 to notice verse 9 in verse 10 where Paul speaks very distinctly not about a 233 00:21:19,739 –> 00:21:23,280 harvest of money but about a harvest of righteousness. 234 00:21:24,119 –> 00:21:30,959 As it is written, He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, verse 9, 235 00:21:30,959 –> 00:21:37,839 and His righteousness endures forever. Isn’t that interesting? The harvest of 236 00:21:37,839 –> 00:21:44,599 generosity is a harvest of righteousness. And the same thing in verse 10, 237 00:21:44,599 –> 00:21:48,479 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase 238 00:21:48,579 –> 00:21:55,540 your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. So the 239 00:21:55,540 –> 00:22:01,760 harvest that is promised very clearly is not a harvest of money but it is a 240 00:22:01,760 –> 00:22:08,359 harvest of righteousness. Here’s this person who scatters gifts 241 00:22:08,359 –> 00:22:14,520 to the poor, so this is a picture of lavish generosity in verse 9, the seed 242 00:22:14,619 –> 00:22:20,000 that God has given to this man he he disperses widely and liberally and 243 00:22:20,000 –> 00:22:24,959 strategically for the relief of those who are poor and God says about this man 244 00:22:24,959 –> 00:22:34,439 his righteousness endures forever. In other words what you give has lasting 245 00:22:34,439 –> 00:22:40,500 value. So I wrote down this and I’m gonna try and keep it in my mind and maybe 246 00:22:40,599 –> 00:22:48,300 it will help you to keep it in yours. What you spend is gone forever what you 247 00:22:48,300 –> 00:22:57,619 give lives on forever. Say that with me. What you spend is gone forever and what 248 00:22:57,619 –> 00:23:06,459 you give lives on forever. So that Jesus said even a cup of cold water that is 249 00:23:06,459 –> 00:23:11,500 given in my name it will not go without its reward. And you remember on the last 250 00:23:11,500 –> 00:23:17,719 day when Jesus gathers before him all of the nations and he says to some. I was 251 00:23:17,719 –> 00:23:24,839 hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me to drink. I was without 252 00:23:24,839 –> 00:23:28,719 clothes and you clothed me and they say well when did we ever do that? 253 00:23:28,719 –> 00:23:33,599 And Jesus says well as much as you did it to one of the least of these my 254 00:23:33,619 –> 00:23:37,739 brothers you did it to me. What’s happening? He’s remembering the 255 00:23:37,739 –> 00:23:43,579 righteousness of a generous life that goes on as a saver before God with its 256 00:23:43,579 –> 00:23:48,140 eternal reward forever and forever and forever. 257 00:23:48,140 –> 00:23:53,280 That’s the teaching of the New Testament. That’s the reward. Notice that Paul says 258 00:23:53,280 –> 00:23:58,540 three things about the way in which God raises a harvest from the generous 259 00:23:58,619 –> 00:24:03,619 giving of his people. They’re very simple and very obvious. In verse 12, the 260 00:24:03,619 –> 00:24:10,339 harvest of generous giving is firstly that it supplies the needs of God’s 261 00:24:10,339 –> 00:24:16,160 people. This service that you perform, verse 12, is supplying the needs of God’s 262 00:24:16,160 –> 00:24:20,739 people. In other words, where God’s people are generous everything that is needed 263 00:24:20,739 –> 00:24:27,339 for God’s work in the world is there to get it done. Supplies the needs of God’s 264 00:24:27,339 –> 00:24:34,060 people. Secondly generous giving brings praise and thanksgiving to God, and 265 00:24:34,060 –> 00:24:38,859 that’s verse 11, 12, and 13. Your generosity, verse 11, will bring 266 00:24:38,859 –> 00:24:44,619 thanksgiving to God. Verse 12, the service that you perform is overflowing in many 267 00:24:44,619 –> 00:24:49,079 expressions of thanks to God. Verse 13, men will praise God for the 268 00:24:49,079 –> 00:24:56,219 obedience that accompanies your faith. Your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You 269 00:24:56,219 –> 00:25:04,420 know, generosity, because it is an expression of love, is one of the 270 00:25:04,420 –> 00:25:11,719 evidences of the authenticity of Christian faith. It really is. Jesus said 271 00:25:11,719 –> 00:25:20,380 it’s by your love that you will be known. And generosity is an expression of love 272 00:25:20,380 –> 00:25:25,420 and compassion which is the effect of the gospel in the lives of Christian 273 00:25:25,439 –> 00:25:31,560 people. It’s a wonderful story that’s told of C. H. Spurgeon, the Victorian 274 00:25:31,560 –> 00:25:36,680 preacher in England, and he was stopped on the streets of London by an atheist. 275 00:25:36,680 –> 00:25:41,920 This is the end of the 19th century, and you know, atheism and Darwinism, all this 276 00:25:41,920 –> 00:25:46,760 kind of thing, beginning to be vigorous, as in some ways it’s vigorous again in 277 00:25:46,760 –> 00:25:50,939 our time, and the atheist said to Spurgeon, how can you possibly believe in 278 00:25:50,939 –> 00:25:55,579 God? What evidence do you have for the reality of God? And started going on 279 00:25:55,579 –> 00:26:00,380 about atheism is going to be the way of the future, and atheism is going to bring 280 00:26:00,380 –> 00:26:04,280 humanity to its full flower and its full potential, and so forth and so on. And 281 00:26:04,280 –> 00:26:11,500 Spurgeon said, let me ask you a question, he said, how many atheist orphanages are 282 00:26:11,699 –> 00:26:20,160 there in London? That was the end of the conversation. There wasn’t a single one. 283 00:26:20,160 –> 00:26:27,420 The atheists knew there were Christian orphanages all over the city because the 284 00:26:27,420 –> 00:26:35,140 generosity of God’s people, you see, was giving expression to the reality of the 285 00:26:35,140 –> 00:26:42,660 gospel bringing life change so that folks no longer live for self, but seek 286 00:26:42,660 –> 00:26:46,699 to reflect the one who loved us and gave himself for us. Bringing praise and 287 00:26:46,699 –> 00:26:51,819 thanksgiving to God. And more than that, he says, giving causes, verse 14, it 288 00:26:51,819 –> 00:26:56,579 deepens the bonds of love. Their hearts and their prayers go out 289 00:26:56,579 –> 00:27:03,599 to you, verse 14, because of the surpassing grace that God has given to 290 00:27:03,599 –> 00:27:11,459 you. What should I give? Well, Paul gives us guidance in thinking and making our 291 00:27:11,459 –> 00:27:18,560 free and glad decision. What will I receive? Not a harvest of money, but a 292 00:27:18,560 –> 00:27:24,319 harvest of righteousness because what I spend is gone forever. But what I give 293 00:27:24,359 –> 00:27:31,880 truly lives on forever. Now here’s the last thing in these last moments, that 294 00:27:31,880 –> 00:27:36,579 this picture of sowing and reaping, of a seed going into the ground and a 295 00:27:36,579 –> 00:27:40,500 harvest coming up as a result, this question of whether a seed should be 296 00:27:40,500 –> 00:27:47,239 kept or whether a seed should be given takes us to the very heart of the 297 00:27:47,239 –> 00:27:54,479 gospel. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this but the seed is one 298 00:27:54,479 –> 00:27:58,619 of the first names that is ever given to our Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible. 299 00:27:58,619 –> 00:28:04,199 I’m thinking about Genesis chapter 3 in verse 15 way back in the garden of Eden 300 00:28:04,199 –> 00:28:08,880 where God made that first wonderful promise to the human race, to Adam and 301 00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:12,920 to Eve, and he said there would be a deliverer who would come, and he gave him 302 00:28:13,160 –> 00:28:19,680 name. He’ll be the seed. Sometimes it’s the word offspring but if you check it 303 00:28:19,680 –> 00:28:23,079 carefully you’ll find I think in every Bible that I’m aware of that there’s at 304 00:28:23,079 –> 00:28:28,619 least a footnote that says literally seed. That is the first name, code name 305 00:28:28,619 –> 00:28:34,040 almost, descriptive name that is given to the Messiah who would come. God says he’s 306 00:28:34,040 –> 00:28:41,180 the seed, and he says when the seed comes the seed will crush Satan’s head and 307 00:28:41,420 –> 00:28:46,060 the seed will redeem men and women who have been taken captive by his power. And 308 00:28:46,060 –> 00:28:50,000 then you roll through the story to the time of Abraham and you get God giving 309 00:28:50,000 –> 00:28:57,060 great promises to Abraham about his seed. And if you look in Galatians chapter 310 00:28:57,060 –> 00:29:01,719 3 and verse 16, amazing how many 3 16s in the Bible are 311 00:29:01,719 –> 00:29:09,280 particularly important verses, Galatians 316 focuses on the seed. The promises 312 00:29:09,439 –> 00:29:16,400 were spoken to Abraham and his seed. And Galatians 316 says that the seed refers 313 00:29:16,400 –> 00:29:26,300 to one person and that is Galatians 316 Jesus Christ. So the Lord Jesus Christ is 314 00:29:26,300 –> 00:29:33,180 the seed promised from the beginning of time, this one life, the life of God in 315 00:29:33,180 –> 00:29:38,959 human flesh the seed the life that is of supreme value of more value than 316 00:29:38,959 –> 00:29:44,439 anything and everything that you or I will ever have. And the supreme question 317 00:29:44,439 –> 00:29:57,959 therefore about the seed is, will the seed be kept or given? And listen to what 318 00:29:58,280 –> 00:30:04,819 said about this in John chapter 12 and verse 24, marvelous statement. 319 00:30:04,819 –> 00:30:11,640 He said I tell you the truth unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground 320 00:30:11,640 –> 00:30:27,939 and dies it remains only a single seed but if it dies it produces many seeds. 321 00:30:28,260 –> 00:30:40,099 The seed and God chooses not to keep it but to give it. Christ is the seed and he 322 00:30:40,099 –> 00:30:47,979 chooses not to keep his life but to give it. So the seed falls into the ground and 323 00:30:47,979 –> 00:30:57,000 dies if Christ had kept the life of the seed. He would have been our supreme 324 00:30:57,060 –> 00:31:00,199 example the greatest person who ever lived but he would never have been your 325 00:31:00,199 –> 00:31:06,160 savior nor mine. But he came into the world and he gave his life. The seed was 326 00:31:06,160 –> 00:31:13,079 cast into the ground the seed dies the Son of God loved me and gave himself 327 00:31:13,079 –> 00:31:20,719 for me. And that is why Paul says at the end of 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 in the 328 00:31:20,719 –> 00:31:24,599 last verse did you notice what he ends after all this talk about giving thanks 329 00:31:25,479 –> 00:31:36,479 to God for his indescribable gift. The seed freely gave himself into the ground 330 00:31:36,479 –> 00:31:45,280 and because the seed is given the seed Jesus says is multiplied. It produces 331 00:31:45,280 –> 00:31:50,099 many seeds because of the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ 332 00:31:50,380 –> 00:31:56,640 The life of Jesus Christ is communicated into many many lives into millions of 333 00:31:56,640 –> 00:32:03,380 lives so that many people are able to say Christ in me is my hope of glory 334 00:32:03,380 –> 00:32:09,500 His life been communicated his life has been multiplied the image of Christ is 335 00:32:09,500 –> 00:32:15,660 reproduced for the glory of God for all eternity and and think of how the 336 00:32:15,900 –> 00:32:21,459 supreme gift just fits exactly and models exactly what Paul says what what 337 00:32:21,540 –> 00:32:25,380 does generous giving do he says verse 12 it supplies the need of God’s 338 00:32:25,380 –> 00:32:30,900 people all how the gift of Jesus Christ supplies your need and mine what’s mine 339 00:32:30,900 –> 00:32:36,979 need I need righteousness before God we need reconciliation before God and 340 00:32:36,979 –> 00:32:42,979 because that seed was not kept but given he supplies all the needs of all of 341 00:32:42,979 –> 00:32:47,640 God’s people so that there will be ransomed and redeemed people in heaven 342 00:32:47,640 –> 00:32:49,280 praising him forever 343 00:32:49,280 –> 00:32:54,599 thanking him and loving him that’s the fruit of his generous giving and even 344 00:32:54,599 –> 00:33:00,459 already there is a great company of redeemed people in the presence of the 345 00:33:00,459 –> 00:33:06,680 Lord Jesus Christ loving him thanking God there because he has supplied the 346 00:33:06,680 –> 00:33:11,400 righteousness that we do not have and don’t you find your self seeing when you 347 00:33:11,520 –> 00:33:13,699 think about it 348 00:33:13,699 –> 00:33:25,199 thanks be to God for his indescribable gift that the seed was not kept but the 349 00:33:25,199 –> 00:33:34,739 seed was given and through the harvest of the Son of God who loved me and gave 350 00:33:34,739 –> 00:33:36,900 himself for me 351 00:33:36,900 –> 00:33:42,140 there is life for us forevermore 352 00:33:42,140 –> 00:33:46,780 there was a man by the name of C.T. Studd he was a famous sportsman in England he 353 00:33:46,780 –> 00:33:52,479 played cricket a game that I will not even attempt to explain but he played 354 00:33:52,479 –> 00:33:58,920 for his country and he went and spent his life after his sporting career he 355 00:33:58,920 –> 00:34:02,939 went as a missionary to China and served the rest of his life there 356 00:34:03,619 –> 00:34:14,340 this if Jesus Christ be God and gave himself for me no sacrifice is too great 357 00:34:14,340 –> 00:34:18,540 for me to make for him 358 00:34:18,899 –> 00:34:29,399 Father your generosity your indescribable gift simply overwhelms us 359 00:34:30,239 –> 00:34:37,620 and we asked that it would overwhelm us in a way that would make us increasingly 360 00:34:37,620 –> 00:34:46,300 generous with freedom and with joy so that the life of Jesus already begun 361 00:34:46,300 –> 00:34:52,780 within all your people by faith in the Savior may be increasingly manifests 362 00:34:52,780 –> 00:34:58,379 until the day when the harvest of righteousness comes and eternal joy is 363 00:34:58,600 –> 00:35:05,280 ours with him forevermore and all of God’s people together said amen. 364 00:35:06,760 –> 00:35:11,419 you’ve been listening to a sermon with pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible to 365 00:35:11,419 –> 00:35:17,959 contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website 366 00:35:17,959 –> 00:35:21,800 OpenTheBible.org