2 Corinthians 8:1

Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. In a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, and yes, beyond their power, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God, insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as you abound in everything—in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and diligence, and your love to us—see that you abound in this grace also.

Father, as we take time now to look into your word, we ask that you would give us wisdom and insight, understanding into the passage of Scripture before us, Lord. Transform us more and more into the image of your Son, that we would reflect your glory and your grace as the awesome God that we just sang of. Lord, let you reflect that through us in the places where we live, work, or go to school, wherever we are. We pray that you would shine your light through us in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

So, as I said, we began last week a series of studies here in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, dealing with treasure, wealth, and giving. This, of course, is a topic that can sometimes cause a stir within the church. When a minister talks about these issues, it can sometimes make some people uncomfortable for a number of reasons.

Different reasons contribute to the varying attitudes toward the subject of money and giving in churches. Some churches speak on the topic excessively. Perhaps you've been a part of a church like that before, where the constant talk revolves around the issue of money and giving. Conversely, there are some churches that hardly address it at all. In fact, you may attend for many years and never hear it mentioned.

Some churches have simply not stewarded their finances well, which can cause concern among members when the topic arises. One of the primary reasons that discussions about wealth, treasure, and giving stir discomfort among people in churches across our nation is that many individuals are not often good stewards or managers of their resources and finances. They may not give at all. This reality can make people uncomfortable when the issue is brought up.

As a general principle, those who get riled up by teachings on giving are often the ones who do not give. I do not say this to offend anyone; if it offends you, it may be worth considering what I am saying. The fact is that those who are bothered by studies on stewardship are often those who have been fiscally irresponsible and have not managed their finances well.

On the other hand, those who give regularly in their worship and seek to manage their finances well are generally blessed and encouraged when the topic is discussed from a biblical standpoint. Here at Cross Connection, we do not talk about treasure, wealth, and giving very often. We really only address it when the Scriptures we are going through touch on the subject. Currently, we are in 2 Corinthians, which deals with this topic quite a bit, and that is when we address it.

Every time I do address it, I hear from people within our church who are blessed by the fact that we are discussing what Scripture has to say about this. There are some challenging things in the passages we will be studying over the next several weeks. We must recognize that if we are ever bothered by a subject being biblically addressed while studying the Word of God as a church, we need to take note of that. We should recognize that God speaks through His Word and uses it to reveal important truths to us.

There are areas in our lives that may need to be changed. If there is a preacher preaching on the issue of covetousness and I feel challenged and convicted by that, I can't get mad at the preacher or at the Word of God. I need to step away and say, "Lord, are you seeking to deal with me on something, the issue of covetousness in my life?"

Similarly, if someone is preaching on the issue of anger, malice, rage, and wrath, and I find myself getting angry and malicious through that, then I should consider that perhaps the Lord is seeking to speak to me. The Apostle James tells us in the Book of James that the Bible, the Word of God, is like a mirror. How many of you have a mirror in your house? At least one; probably every single one of us.

If you're anything like me, when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, it's frightening what happens. You don't take that the wrong way; my goodness, it's frightening what happens during those hours of sleep. Everything is disheveled and going in different directions. We look in the mirror, and its purpose is to reveal what has been wrecked in the night so that we can put it straight and make it right. However, the mirror itself can't fix it; it just exposes what's out of place and what's wrong.

The Word of God, however, does both things. It is able to reveal what is wrong and show us the right way to move onto a correct path. This is why the Apostle Paul says in one of his letters to Timothy that the Word of God is Scripture that is God-breathed and useful. It is useful for instruction, correction, reproof, and rebuke in instruction and righteousness. It shows us what's wrong, the right path to get onto, and how to stay in that place.

God's Word is the perfect law of liberty. When we look into it, it reflects back to us where our heart is and shows us the things that need to be changed and set right. It also shows us how to do that. This is what we will be seeing as we go through the text in Second Corinthians 8 and 9, dealing with giving, treasure, and wealth.

In light of that, before we jump into the text, I want to offer a little bit of encouragement. When you look at the landscape of American Christianity, statistically speaking, the American church is a giving church. This church is no different; it has always been a very giving church, and not just financially. When we talk about giving, we are talking about giving of our time, because generally speaking,

That's our most valued asset in this place in which we live. How many of you feel like you're busy and you never have enough time? Most of us do. We recognize that we're always short on time and getting the things done that we would like to do. Typically, we're more short on time than we are on money. If we could pay money to get more time, we probably would do that. There are people who are trying to do just that, aren't they? They're spending lots of money to maybe try and cheat the end of the time that they have.

How many of you have heard of Larry King? Larry King had his show on CNN for many years. He has already planned and paid for having himself cryogenically frozen within minutes after his death so that, should they find a cure for death years down the road, they can bring him back to life. He's a pretty scary-looking fellow. He'll really freak some people out in the future if that works. So here's a guy who's spending a lot of his wealth to try and defeat the loss of time that's coming.

When we're talking about giving and stewardship, we're discussing stewarding our time, which is a valued asset. We're also talking about stewarding our talents. God has given every individual he has created abilities and talents, and those things ultimately can and should be used for His glory and honor. God has also entrusted us, especially in this nation that has so very much, with the ability to gain wealth and the ability to have wealth. He desires that we would manage those things in a way that honors Him and brings Him glory.

That's why He talks about these things quite a bit in His Word. Just as Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. God desires that our heart would be with Him, and ultimately, we desire that too, because in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore, as stated in Psalm 16:11. We want to make sure that we are treasuring treasure in the right way. Amen.

There is a group called the Barna Group, a Christian research and polling firm located north of us in Ventura County. Through their studies, they have shown that the evangelical Christian church in America, which we would be considered a part of, is by far the biggest giver in the church. Not only are they the biggest givers in the church, but that makes them the biggest givers in America, because the church is the largest charitable giving entity.

In the nation, the reality is that the evangelical Christian tends to be the biggest giver in the world. When you look at how much is given by nations and people groups, the Christian church, specifically the evangelical Christian church in America, is by far the largest when it comes to the amount that is given.

In 2007, Barna did some research and found that 96% of evangelical Christians gave money to their churches that year. Furthermore, 81% of them contributed at least a thousand dollars to their church. On average, evangelical Christians in 2007 gave $4,260 to non-profit entities in America, in addition to their church contributions.

To put that in perspective, those in our nation who identify as non-Christians but still attend some sort of religious institution gave, on average, under a thousand dollars in 2007—specifically, $905. In that same period, individuals who classified themselves as atheists or agnostics, who do not believe in God, gave less than $500, averaging $467 to any non-profit organization. This means that the evangelical church in America gives ten times more than atheists. Let that sink in for a moment: the church gives ten times more than atheists.

I think that’s a significant statistic, and I appreciate it. That’s the way it should be. Why does the church give more? They give more because their God, the one they follow, love, and seek after, has given so much to them. It is His nature to be a giver, and He has imparted that nature to us. Therefore, it is only right that the church should be seen giving ten times more than those who classify themselves as non-believers.

Interestingly, it is typically that group of atheistic and agnostic individuals in our nation who would say, "It's not my responsibility to do that; it's the government's responsibility." They believe that the government can tax them and take care of it. However, the church does not operate under that premise.

The church believes that it is their call by God, their responsibility to lovingly meet the needs of others, because we are children of our great God, the Savior, who is a giver. He has given us everything that we have, and we recognize that.

Yesterday morning, our elder board got together, as we routinely do. At each of our board meetings, our controller, Pastor Richard, gives a financial report to our board of elders. At our board meeting yesterday, he reported to us that after 25 weeks into this year, 2012, the weekly giving averages for our church are 11 percent higher than this time last year.

I want to say this because sometimes when a pastor like myself teaches on giving, people think they are only teaching on this because we don't have enough money. That's not why we're teaching on this. We're teaching on this because the Bible speaks of it, and we're discussing it because God is teaching us from His Word about this issue. So it's not because we need more money. God has blessed our church, and that's a phenomenal thing.

When Pastor Richard shared that, one of our elders, Don Steigerwald, said, "That's a miracle." And it is. It's a blessing to see how God provides through His church and for the work of the church. We see this as God's blessing, and we see this as an indication of the willingness of our body to give. It is a great encouragement to our leadership to witness what God does in and through the body.

As the pastor of this church, I sit in a position where I get to see what a lot of other people don't see regarding what is going on through the body here at the church. Many of you are involved in areas of ministry, and you know what ministry you're working with. However, because of the position God has given me, I get to see the whole breadth of what's happening here and how God is moving. It continuously blows my mind because every time a need is shared at our church, it is almost immediately taken care of. It is such an awesome blessing to see.

On average, each person sitting here in this sanctuary on a Sunday morning gives just under $35 to the general fund every single week. When you look at what God is doing through that, you may say, "Well, that doesn't seem like a lot." But when you consider how many people are contributing to the work of the ministry here, it truly adds up.

At the church, our budget for this year is just under $1 million. It's phenomenal. When we put that budget together every year, we look at it and realize there’s no guarantee that any of this is going to happen. It’s just kind of like we put a number down and say, "Well, that’s what we’re praying for and hoping for." Every year, the Lord meets and exceeds what we expect of Him, because as Ephesians 3:20 says, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. So, we’re just crazy enough to continue to ask Him to do great things, and He does. It’s such a blessing to see Him work in such an awesome way. It’s exciting to witness His regular faithfulness to His church.

For the last four years, we’ve seen Him increase every single year what He’s bringing to Cross Connection SNEDO, enabling us to reach out into other places. It just blows our minds. During that same period of time, many people in our church have experienced financial difficulties and troubles. We’re talking about the years 2008 to 2012, one of the deepest recessions that our nation has experienced in a generation or more. Some indicators are near to what took place during the Great Depression, although we’re not feeling it like they did at that time.

What we see God doing here is mind-blowing. I talk with other pastors within the Calvary Chapel movement from different places in our nation, and they share how the recession has hit their churches in a big way. Many have reduced their budgets by 30 or 40 percent. When they ask me how things are going at our church, I almost feel embarrassed to tell them that things are going really well. I feel bad when I’m talking with them, so thank you for making me feel that way in that respect.

It is an awesome blessing to see what God is doing. Yes, there are people in our church and in our nation, all around the world, who are experiencing financial difficulty right now. What we’re going to see in these first seven verses of Second Corinthians, chapter eight, is that what is happening at our church is very similar to what was happening in the churches of Macedonia in the first century. The churches of Macedonia include those that the Apostle Paul planted in the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. He planted those churches in the book of Acts, specifically in Acts, chapter 16. Those churches were not thriving.

Economics and powerhouse cities often intersect. Many of these cities were going through difficult, depressed times financially. Yet, the work that God did through these churches is truly awesome. It is similar to the work that God has been doing through our church in the last several years.

Paul uses the Macedonian churches as an example. He holds them up to the churches of Corinth in the southern part of Greece, saying, "Look at what God is doing here in Macedonia." He presents them as an example of what you might call gracious giving. I use that term because it is often applied to New Testament giving. Just as God, our Savior, is a gracious giver, the body of Christ becomes gracious givers as well.

One of the objections that is often raised when a pastor or a church begins to talk about tithes and offerings is that the tithe is a Jewish ordinance of the Old Testament and is not necessarily something we see in the New Testament. I wanted to address that objection before we get into the text today, as it is an important question. Is it true that the Old Covenant mandates a tithe, but the New Testament speaks nothing of that? To that, I would answer yes and no.

First, I want to explain just what a tithe is. What is a tithe? The word "tithe" literally means a tenth, one-tenth. The tithe is a command that was mandated by God in the Old Covenant for the nation of Israel. We see that in the book of Leviticus.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, which is at the beginning of your Bibles: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. We will look at Leviticus chapter 27, starting at verse 30. This is God speaking to His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses. He says, "And all the tithe, the tenth of the land, whether a seed of the land or a fruit of the tree..."

It is the Lord's. It is holy unto the Lord. Now, circle that word "holy." It means set apart or consecrated. The idea is simple. When you and I get paid every single month, there are certain things that get set aside or consecrated from our check.

The very first thing that generally gets set aside or consecrated for most people's checks is taxes, which are taken out and consecrated to the United States government. How many of you are saying, "Yeah, I know about that"? How many of you like that? Let's not talk about that. So, that's consecration. The money that's taken from you and set aside for the U.S. government is consecrated. They hold onto it for you, right? Then they'll pay you back what they don't use.

After that, if you're anything like me, you may have a budget where you consecrate other money to different things. In my house, the next thing on our list is our offerings and our tithes. We take that immediately and consecrate it. It's not ours; we set it aside. From there, we say, "Well, the next biggest thing we have is our mortgage." So, we consecrate money from that. We say, "Okay, that's set aside. We can't touch it." Although we only pay the mortgage once a month, we don't touch that at all. That means nothing else comes out of there but the mortgage. It's set apart; it's consecrated.

God here says to His people, the nation of Israel, concerning the seed of the land and the fruit of the tree, "10% of it, a tenth, is the Lord's. It is consecrated unto the Lord." Skip on down to verse 32, concerning the tithe of the herd and of the flock. Not just of the seed that they bear from their fields or the fruit from their trees, but also their herds and their flocks. This was a farming country, a people that were primarily farmers and herdsmen.

Even whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth, the tithe, shall be consecrated wholly unto the Lord. Here’s the Old Testament principle: a tenth of their GDP, their gross domestic product annually, was to be set apart, consecrated for the Lord, not to be touched for any other thing. It's God's. The word again for consecrate is the Hebrew word "Kadesh," which means sacred.

Set apart, consecrate. Now the question is, what were they to do with it? We know that they were supposed to set it aside, but is this big mountain of fruit that they pick from their trees just to sit there and rot? Is all this seed to go to waste? Are these animals just to be set aside to die? No, God answers for us in the next book, in the Book of Numbers, just what He wants us to do with it, what He wanted them to do with it.

Turn in your Bibles to Numbers, chapter 18, beginning at verse 21. This is again God speaking through the prophet Moses. He says, "And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithe, the tenth in Israel, for an inheritance for their service, which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." Then skip down to verse 23: "But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. They shall bear the iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations that among the children of Israel, they have no inheritance, but the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Lord." They are giving it to Him. God says, "I have given it to the Levites among the children of Israel, and they shall have no part of inheritance in the land."

So God says the tithe of Israel, this 10% of GDP, was to be consecrated to Him. Then God says that He is giving it to the priestly nation, to the priestly tribe, the Levites in the nation of Israel, who oversaw the work and service of the tabernacle. This is what is called the Lord's tithe.

Now, the interesting thing is that this was not the only tithe that was given in Israel. That was the first of three tithes that the children of Israel were to give. Here in this passage in Leviticus and in Numbers, we see the first tithe is the tithe unto the Lord, the Lord's tithe, which He then takes and gives for the ministry, for the service of the nation of Israel, their spiritual concerns. But there was a second tithe that God commanded the children of Israel to observe, and He gives that command in Deuteronomy, chapter 12.

Deuteronomy chapter 14 discusses what is called the festival tithe. Deuteronomy chapters 12 and 14 state that an additional 10 percent was to be given annually at the Feast of Tabernacles. The children of Israel observed seven holy days, or holidays, known as feasts, one of which is the Feast of Tabernacles. At that feast, the nation was to give a 10 percent contribution for the festival tithe.

In addition to this, there was a third tithe that they would give every three years, which amounted to about 3 percent a year. This was referred to as the tithe for the poor, as mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 14, verses 27 and 28. The tithe for the poor was given every three years to address the social needs and welfare of the poor in the nation.

When you add that up, essentially, the nation of Israel was commanded and mandated by God to give 23 percent of their gross domestic product—what they would earn in a year—to support the temple, the tabernacle, the priests, the festivals, and also the poor.

That's not all. Every single year, remember that the nation of Israel was primarily composed of farmers. When they would plant their fields and reap the harvest, they were not allowed to harvest the edges of their land. Those edges were to be left so that anyone poor in the nation could come and glean from the leftovers. If you were a farmer with a large acreage, you could only harvest the center part of your field, while the edges had to be left as a welfare system for the nation. This can be seen as another form of tax that they were to give.

Furthermore, in the book of Exodus, Moses instructed the nation of Israel that every man 20 years and older was to give a half shekel contribution annually to the temple, known as the temple tax. In fact, in the New Testament, you may remember that Peter and Jesus went to the temple, and Peter mentioned that he did not have the temple tax. Jesus then instructed him to go down, put his hook in the water, and catch a fish, promising that something great would happen. So, he catches a fish.

He pulls it up, and there are some shekels in the mouth of the fish. So, he goes and pays the temple tax for both Jesus and Peter. Now, more than just a tax to take care of the temple, because half a shekel per person is not going to really do a lot, primarily, that was a way of taking a census of the men in the nation who were 20 years and older. However, it was still something of a tax.

On top of that, this is a nation of farmers. Every seventh year, as unto the Lord, they were not allowed to plow their fields or plant their crops. It was called a Sabbath rest for the land. During the six years leading up to that seventh year, that Sabbath rest, they had to prepare for that year when they were not allowed, as unto the Lord, to plant their crops.

Now, how many of you wouldn't mind a full year vacation every seven years? That sounds pretty good. Additionally, in the 50th year, it was called the Year of Jubilee, where they would take an additional year off and were not allowed to plant their crops.

So, you see all these different things happening in the nation of Israel. This is beyond the burnt offerings, sacrifices, and freewill offerings that the nation of Israel would give as worship to God. It sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Twenty-three percent annually from GDP. All the edges of their fields were left open for the poor to come and glean. Every seventh year, they left their land fallowed, committing a Sabbath rest to the Lord.

When you go through the list—the half shekel and all these different things—why so much? Why did God call His people, the children of Israel, to give so much of what they had? To that, I would say, I believe that God called them to do this, mandated that they do this, so that they would acknowledge that everything they had was His.

When He brought them as captives out of the land of Egypt, He brought them out after they had been slaves in Egypt for over 400 years. For 40 years, He took care of their every need. As they wandered in the wilderness, He gave them bread from heaven; they called it manna. He gave them water out of rocks, and then He brought them into the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He gave them cities that they did not build and vineyards that they had not planted. He gave them wealth abundantly. The Bible says it was a land filled with silver and gold. As He brought them into the land, He called them to give in this way.

Way because they are recognizing and acknowledging God. All we have is Yours. For the first many years of their existence, Israel lived as a theocracy. God was their king and their leader, and they gave in this fashion as God mandated.

However, there came a time in Israel's history when they decided they didn't want God as their king anymore; they wanted an earthly king. God told them that as soon as they had an earthly king and moved from a theocracy to a monarchy, they needed to understand they would have some new taxes because their king would require that they pay for the kingdom.

In 1 Samuel chapter 10, they required a king. They asked for a king, and God gave them King Saul. Sure enough, they saw that they were taxed even further and bore the burden of taxation for the kingdom. All that they had done prior to becoming a monarchy was an acknowledgment that God was their king. They recognized that God took care of them and had given them the promised land. Everything they had was God's, and they were going to give back to Him, knowing that He would provide as they needed. God did provide as they sought the Lord and diligently set themselves to Him. As the Scriptures say, He gave seed to the sower and bread to the eater. God is the provider, and they recognized Him as their provider.

The question arises: the tithe is in the Old Covenant, and it's far more than 10 percent. The tithe was commanded and mandated in the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? Is there a tithe in the New Testament?

Yes and no. I say yes because Jesus, in Matthew chapter 23, verse 23, affirms the importance of a tithe. Turn there, if you will, to the first book of the New Testament, Matthew chapter 23. Look at verse 23. I will read from the New Living Translation, which may seem different from what you have in your hand.

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus, speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day, says, "What sorrow awaits you, teachers of the religious law and you Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you are careful to tithe on the tiniest income from your herb gardens."

But you ignore the more important aspects of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. Jesus says you should tithe, but do not neglect the more important things.

Now, let's boil this down and unpack it a little bit. Jesus is speaking to a group of religious leaders who, on the outside, looked like they had a very good, holy life. The reality was that they were hypocrites; they were not living in line with what God had called them to do. Externally, they made a show of their lives. One of the things they would do when they gave alms to the poor is described in Matthew chapter six. The Pharisees would have people go in front of them and declare, "Look at what this great Pharisee is doing." They performed their works to be seen by men.

They were so meticulous and exacting about the tithe that, literally, Jesus says they would tithe on their herbs. It would be like this: they would glean their seeds and herbs, counting out nine for themselves and one for God—nine for them and one for God. They were so meticulous about this, but all the while, they were breaking God's law, being unjust in their practices with other people, and unmerciful in the way they dealt with the poor. They were wicked men in their hearts. What they were basically doing was trying to buy off God.

There are some people who try to do that. They figure, "You know what? I contribute. I give. That means I can live however I want to live." But God says here, and Jesus says here, you cannot buy off God. In fact, if you've been doing that, stop. Notice what He says at the very beginning of that verse: "What sorrow awaits you?" That is not a good thing. It does not sound good to me, at least. What sorrow awaits you who are trying to buy off God?

So the question is, what tithe is Jesus speaking of? He says here, "Yes, you should tithe." I believe that Jesus is talking about the Lord's tithe, the tithe that is given to the work of the ministry. This is the tithe that was given to the Levites in the Old Testament and to the tabernacle, which is still given to the work of the ministry here in the church today.

The reason I believe this is because the Lord's tithe was given before the law was established. We see this in Genesis chapter 14, when Abraham, over 400 years before the law was given, gave a tithe to a very interesting figure.

There is a character called Melchizedek. You can turn there if you like. I'm going to read a few verses from Genesis chapter 14, specifically verse 18. Abraham has just fought a battle against five kings in the land of Canaan. After he has won this battle, he goes to Salem, which is Jerusalem, and he interacts with this character called Melchizedek.

Genesis 14 verse 18 says, "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine." This is interesting because bread and wine are the elements of communion. Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God. He blessed Abraham and said, "Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth." This man, Abraham, is indeed blessed; he is the possessor of heaven and earth. Melchizedek acknowledges Abraham's great wealth, saying, "God has blessed you." He continues, "Blessed be the Most High God, which has delivered your enemies into your hand."

Then, notice what it says at the end of verse 20: "And Abraham gave him a tenth, a tithe of all." Abraham, this wealthy man whom God had blessed, gave a tithe to Melchizedek, the king of Salem and the priest of the Most High God. This event occurred 400 years before God commanded that a tithe be consecrated unto Him for the work of the ministry. Therefore, the tithe that Abraham gave predates the law.

I believe that Jesus reaffirms this in the New Testament. What He is saying is that giving should be a part of our lives. So, how is the new covenant different from the old covenant? It is different in this way: the old covenant required it. The old covenant commanded and mandated it, while the new covenant does not. The new covenant is a free will offering; it is not something we are mandated to give. It is what we would call gracious giving. It is not required. When Abraham gave to Melchizedek, he was not required to do so.

He did so of his own free will. He gave graciously. Now, it is my personal conviction that New Testament giving is not mandated in the same way as Old Covenant giving because the church is not a nation like the nation of Israel. The church is not a nation like national Israel; it is a theocratic entity. Remember, Jesus is the head of the church. God governs His church. It is not man-governed. Yes, He puts people in places of authority within the body of Christ, but they answer to God.

Jesus is the head of the church, so the church is a theocratic entity. It exists as a kingdom that spreads vastly throughout other kingdoms. The church is what we might call the Kingdom of God upon the earth. It is supranational. You can write that down in your notes if you'd like to. What it means is this: the church exists in a way that transcends national boundaries, borders, and governments.

Christians, who make up the church, live under national authorities, but they are a kingdom that exists under the national authorities of democracies, dictatorships, monarchies, republics, and so on. There are all kinds of different governments on the face of the earth today. There are communist governments, socialist governments, democracies, republics, and totalitarian dictatorships. Yet, under all of them, the church exists, and God is over His church.

In every one of these countries where the church exists, the church pays taxes. Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. That is one of the commands of Jesus that not many people in America like: pay your taxes. That's what Jesus said. Pay your taxes. Is there anybody who likes that? Let's not ask that question. He said to pay your taxes.

We pay our taxes for the support of the government and social structures of the nations in which we live, while at the same time, we have the added opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom of God. In being a part of the Kingdom of God,

We also support the ministry. We support ministers within the ministry and Christians in need, both in our own churches and in churches in other parts of the world. The body of Christ also supports people who are not Christians and who suffer. This is one of the tangible, practical ways we express the grace and love of God to people in this world.

The church does not give under a taxation where they are required to give. The church does not give according to commandment, compulsion, or coercion. They give freely and graciously, in the same way that God has freely and graciously given us everything we possess, including salvation. We are not to give as we are commanded, compelled, or coerced to do so. You will never have an elder from Cross Connection Escondido show up at your door and say, "Listen, we'd like to sit down and talk with you about how much you should be giving." You're just not going to have that because we do not believe that giving within the body of Christ is by compulsion, command, or coercion, although some of our elders would probably enjoy doing that. No, I don't think they would. They wouldn't at all.

Now, with all this in mind, as a foundation for the time we have remaining, I want us to consider 13 principles on giving that we find in the first seven verses of Second Corinthians, chapter eight. These principles are exemplified in the giving church of Macedonia. If you want to put a heading in your notes, I call this the "Giver's Dozen."

The first principle, if you're taking notes, is that the giving church at Macedonia gave as God was giving through them. Second Corinthians, chapter eight, verse one states, "Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches of Macedonia." I want you to be aware of what God in his kindness has done.

Through the churches in Macedonia, God moved to inspire their giving. They gave because it was God working in them to will and to do His good pleasure, as Philippians, chapter two, verse 13 says. God did it through them, and this is a principle we should seek in our giving: "Lord, you give through me. You work in me to represent You."

Additionally, they gave as an expression of God's grace. I will read the same verse from a different version, the English Standard Version. Paul says, "We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia." The churches of Macedonia gave a financial gift, and Paul states that this was an expression of God's grace.

What is God's grace? God's grace is God's riches at Christ's expense. He gives it to us freely; it is our undeserved, unmerited favor from God. We didn't do anything to earn it, and we don't do anything to maintain it. He purely gave it as a gift of His grace.

One of the things you notice about non-Christians, people who don't follow God, is that when they give a gift, it is almost always in response to something that was done for them or to try to get something in return. They do not give with no strings attached, and therefore, it is not a gift of grace. However, we know that salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

When we give as God works through us, we do so with no strings attached. It is an expression, an extension of God's grace through us.

Finally, they gave as they were motivated by God's grace. Again, from verse one of Second Corinthians, chapter eight, I will read from the New King James Version. "Moreover, brethren, we make known unto you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia." Why do we give? We give because God...

God has given so much to us, and we are inspired. We are motivated. We are stirred to give, just like our Father who is in heaven. For God so loved the world that He gave. When we behold the giving nature of our God, it stirs and motivates us to also give.

In fact, if you ever find yourself in a position where you're being compelled to give and you don't want to give, don't give. Why? Because we see in Second Corinthians, chapter nine, that God loves a cheerful giver. If you can't give cheerfully, then don't give. If you can't give with a willing heart, then don't do it.

You might wonder how to get a willing heart. Step back and behold God's grace. Think about how awesome He is and what He has given to you. I guarantee you will be motivated to give because you'll see what a great gift He has given for us.

The same principle applies to serving. If you're serving within the church and every time you do it, it feels like a burden, and you're just going through it begrudgingly, then take a break. Step back and say, "Lord, reveal to me afresh and anew Your grace for me." The churches of Macedonia gave because they were motivated by God's grace.

They gave even though they were in the midst of severe difficulty. This is important because many in our nation, and many in our own church, have been experiencing trials in their finances over the last several years. When we're going through difficulties, we might feel like we can take a break from serving or giving. However, we shouldn't adopt that mindset.

Look at the church at Macedonia. In the first two verses of Second Corinthians, chapter eight, Paul says, "Moreover, brethren, we do you to with the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction..." Even though the churches of Macedonia, including the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, were going through a great trial of affliction, they were severely and deeply distressed. The words used for "great trial of affliction" highlight their struggles.

It speaks of an extreme pressure upon them. Even though they were going through this, they still gave. When they were giving, they were probably upset about it, right? Look at what the next part of the verse says.

Second Corinthians chapter eight, verses one and two states, "Moreover, brethren, we do you to with the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy." The New International Version says, "Out of the most severe trial, they overflowed with joy." They were hard-pressed, and yet they gave joyfully.

You might think they must have been really rich, because how could you go through a trial and give joyfully unless you had a whole bunch to give? However, look at the rest of the verse in verse two. It says they gave in spite of deep poverty. Second Corinthians eight two continues, "How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their gift." The New International Version states, "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up into rich generosity."

You'll sometimes hear people say, "Listen, if I had more, I'd give more. As soon as I get that raise, then I'm going to give." Maybe you've heard someone say this, or perhaps you've said it yourself: "If I just won the lottery, you can't understand how big of a giver I would be."

However, if you don't give when you have little, you won't give when you have much. He who is faithful in little will be faithful with much. He who is unfaithful in little will be unfaithful in much. That's what Jesus said in Luke chapter 16, and it's true. Don't expect that if a big inheritance were to come your way tomorrow, you would suddenly become a rich giver overnight. It doesn't work that way.

They gave an abundance and beyond their ability. Look at verse three. I'm going to read it from the New Living Translation. Paul says, "For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more."

They gave not only what they could afford, but far more. Now, I have to be honest; this is probably one of the most challenging points for me. I have always had a strong conviction that we should be wise with our money. We should be good stewards and good managers of what God has entrusted to us. That means that sometimes, if you don't have anything, you just can't give.

However, that's not what we see in the church in Macedonia, and it's pretty interesting. As I thought about this and reflected on my own life over the last week or so, I realized that there have been times in my personal experience as a Christian where I have seen this actually happen. I hear about a need; God reveals a need to me through a ministry in our church or through some other means. I am stirred in my heart and want to help, but then I think, "I don't have anything to help with. I don't have anything to give."

There have been times when God speaks to my heart and says, "Do it anyway." I respond, "But how am I going to take care of that?" The Lord always ministers to me in the midst of that situation, asking, "Do you trust me in this?" This church gave from what they didn't have. I see some of you nodding in affirmation today because you've experienced this as well. God stirs your heart, motivates you to give, and you say, "I don't know how I'm going to take care of this, but I'm making a commitment to give." After making that commitment, we see that God is faithful.

Why is that? Look just one chapter over to 2 Corinthians chapter nine, verse eight. Paul says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."

Let me just say, as I mentioned last week, we do not believe in or align with what is called prosperity theology. We do not believe that if you just give, then you're going to get; if you just give more, then God will give you more, and you will get rich. We don't believe that at all. However, we do see in the Scriptures that God honors giving. He gives to those with an open hand and to those who will also give. Jesus said it like this in the Gospel of Luke.

He will give to us a full measure, overflowing, pressed down. Given, it shall be given to you. Now, that sounds like prosperity theology, but if you're giving for the sole purpose of getting rich, then you have a problem. However, if you're giving because, "God, I want to be a conduit through which you give to other people," you will see and learn the truth that you cannot outgive God.

Number eight, they gave willfully. I have to hurry up. They gave willfully. Second Corinthians chapter eight, verse three states, "For I testify that they gave not only of what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will." Paul did not have to compel them to give. He presented the need, and they were motivated and inspired by God's grace to give. They gave with abundance. They gave joyfully. They gave willfully, not out of compulsion.

Number nine, they gave eagerly. Look at Second Corinthians chapter eight, verse four. They begged us. The New Living Translation says they begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. You don't have to answer this question: How many of you have ever begged for an opportunity to give? The church at Macedonia did. They begged for the opportunity to give because, number ten, they considered giving a privilege. They gave, considering it a privilege to do so. Again, verse four states they begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They knew full well the teaching of Jesus from Acts 20, verse 35, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. So, they saw it as a privilege.

Number eleven, they gave as unto the Lord. Look at verse five. It says, "And this not as we expected." Paul says, "We didn't anticipate this. We didn't expect this, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." They gave themselves first to the Lord. It is so important that we take this truth to heart: when we give, we are giving as unto the Lord. We are not giving to man. If we give to...

Another individual may sometimes hold us accountable to do something for them, but not in Christ. When we give to Him, we give purely motivated by His grace, recognizing that it is His to give to whomever He wills.

Number 12: They gave in accordance with the will of God. Again, in verse five, it states that this they did not as we expected, but first they gave of their own selves and unto us by the will of God. The gift was unto the Lord and it was according to God's will. When we give graciously in a godly manner, we are giving as the Lord would desire us to do.

Number 13, the last one: They gave in such a way as to become an example to others. Look at verse one of the same passage again. Notice what Paul says: "Now I want you to know, dear brothers, I want you to know about this." Here we are, 20 centuries later, 2,000 years later, and they still stand as an example of godly, gracious giving. They were an example to the church in Corinth in their day.

Titus, who was the link between the church in Corinth and Paul in Macedonia, is mentioned in verse six of chapter eight. Paul says, "So we urge Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving." Since you excel so much in your faith, in your gifted speakers, in your knowledge, in your enthusiasm, and in your love for us, I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

The church at Macedonia is an example because they gave as God gave through them. They gave as an expression of God's grace, motivated by His grace. They gave joyfully, even though they were in the midst of a severe trial and great difficulty. They gave in spite of deep poverty, abundantly beyond their ability. They gave willfully and eagerly, counting it a privilege to give. They gave as unto the Lord, in accordance with His will. Therefore, 2,000 years later, they stand as an example of giving.

It is my prayer that I do not fall off the stage. It is my prayer that we would be a pattern, an example of giving as well.

Not because we need a bigger bank account here at the church, but so that we would reflect the grace and glory of God wherever He would call us to go. It's my prayer that we would reflect Him in the way that we give of our time, our talents, and our treasures. We should reflect Him in the way that we live in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our schools, wherever we may be.

This is the sole purpose why we're taking the time to go through this passage. God is the greatest giver, and one of the ways that He manifests His glory through His church is in the fact that we, the church in America, give ten times more than atheists. That's awesome! In my opinion, it should be greater. It should be even bigger. It should be to the point where everybody in the world looks and says, "There's something about the church in America. There's something about that church in Southern California."

As a result of our fallen nature, we are connected to our treasures, trying to hold on to them. It is so different; it is so counter to the culture of humanity to have an open hand with no strings attached because it's otherworldly. It's from God. It's not of this earth. Amen.

Let's stand and pray that God would work this into us. Father, I thank You for Your Word, although it's challenging. Lord, I pray that You would work into us that we would manifest Your glory. May we reflect You wherever we go today, this week, whether we're in our neighborhood, at the baseball field, at the grocery store, or at school. God, manifest Your glory through us so that people would see You in us. Transform us, Lord, in the way that we live, the way that we think, and the way that we consider our future and our treasure. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.