1 Thessalonians 5:16- 18 – The Attitude of Gratitude

October, the 10^th month of our year is annually remembered as Thanksgiving month at Eastside. We do this deliberately to keep the culture of thanksgiving alive. The Thanksgiving offering built upon the biblical principle of thanksgiving, supplements the ministry and projects of our church. At this time we would ask you to consider giving generously to your  church,  as our financial resources are being  steadily eroded. We trust that you see the value of this church’s ministry, and your generous giving would very much affirm that.  This morning’s  sermon  is not designed to manipulate you, as many prosperity preachers  would  do in our day, but to help you to continuously live  a life of thanksgiving to God.

Our text from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians reads,   “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  [vv. 16-18]. The text contains three imperatives:  “rejoice always”, “pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances”.   Rejoice always – that is not a suggestion, but a command. Pray without ceasing – not a suggestion, but a command; give thanks in all circumstances – again, not a suggestion, but a command. Paul is speaking about our state of mind, our general attitude in life.  Christians ought to be always  joyful, always prayerful and  always thankful.  God wants us to respond to Him in ways that demonstrate our deep gratitude for what He has done for us and in us.  It arises from the great work of God in our souls. 

• The  Psalmist  in  30:11-12 says: ''You turned for me  my mourning  into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory  may sing  your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.'' The Psalmist was quite overcome by the goodness and mercy of God.  

• In a sermon on Psalm 100 (Make a joyful noise  to the Lord all the earth … enter into his gates with thanksgiving)   Charles  Spurgeon  had this to say:  In all our public service the rendering of thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke… [the] sacrifices are ended, but those of gratitude will never be out of date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. …Be thankful unto him. Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue, and let it all be for him to whom it all belongs. And bless his name. He blessed you, bless him in return; bless his name, his character, his person. Whatever he does, be sure that you bless him for it; bless him when he takes away as well as when he gives; bless him as long as you live, under all circumstances…

• In Psalm 103:1-5 David preached to himself: " 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, (and he begins to list them)  3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. And David's list goes on.

In the context of  Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians  this  joy, this prayerful spirit, this thankful spirit arises out of the fact that  they knew that God had chosen them to be His own  (1:4). The gospel had come to them not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1:5). They had received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1:6). They had turned to God from idols to serve the Living God (1:9)

Now as you listen to this you may be tempted to say, “Well, that all sounds all very nice and good, but it sounds somewhat idealistic. This just isn’t a reality for me. Joy regularly escapes me, prayer escapes me and thanksgiving escapes me.”  So, is Paul idealistic or sentimental when he says this? Isn’t this the problem with Christians – they are just a bunch of idealists?   

Well, let’s see. Paul says two  things in this challenging verse

(i)               Give thanks in all circumstances

(ii)             For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus

1.     Give thanks in all circumstances:

This little phrase  requires careful thought. It’s easy to be thankful   when things go well, but when things don’t go well for us, are we still to remain thankful? We need to read this carefully.  Hear then what Paul is not saying. He is not saying “for everything give thanks”. He says, “in everything give thanks”. There are some circumstances for which we cannot give thanks.  I could not say, when my cousin was brutally murdered his home on the 18^th June 2016, "Lord, I thank you for my cousin’s murder”. No one can give thanks for the brutal murder and dismemberment of that little girl, Avihe Cheryl Ujaha, (granddaughter of Pastor Seth Kaimu, an uncle of our Pastor Spencer Tjijenda) in recent months. You may have been at the receiving end of evil in your own life, and for this the LORD God is not asking you to give thanks in itself. That is not what Paul is asking you to do.But Paul is saying that in every circumstance, no matter how catastrophic, you are to acknowledge His presence and sovereignty in and over these things. For His own good reasons, God allows evil things to happen, and we are not always able to see the outcome.  He allowed His Son to be killed on a cross by evil men. We now know and understand the outcome.  It is very important that we maintain an understanding of the sovereignty of God in all things.   This is very important, because we can get so easily lost in our ugly emotions, as we will easily  take ownership of such  a situation and  become bitter, angry and murderous  in our own thoughts. God is perfectly  aware  of everything that happens to us, and He counsels us not to retaliate  (see Romans  12:17-21).

Let me give you an illustration to help us understand. You may have heard this story of Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the famous Puritan commentator  and  preacher  who was once  robbed. In his diary he records the event,

8^th  March 1713. Lord's-day. In the evening I went to London. I preached Mr. [Samuel] Rosewell's evening lecture, Psalm 89:16  -- the joyful sound. As I came home I was robbed. The thieves took from me about ten or eleven shillings. My remarks upon it were, -- 1. What reason have I to be thankful to God, who have travelled so much, and yet was never robbed before 2. What a deal of evil the love of money is the root of, that four men would venture their lives and souls, for about half a crown a piece. 3. See the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. 4. See the vanity of worldly wealth; how soon we may be stripped of it. How loose, therefore, we should sit to it.

Somewhere along the way, his meditations upon the event were reported as a prayer: Lord, I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.

This is the spirit of our text in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In these circumstances, though they were awful, Matthew Henry found reasons for thanksgiving.  Matthew Henry certainly knew how to make lemonade out of a lemon. Now that is how God expects us to react in such times, and we need to train ourselves to think like that, so that we are prepared for such events.  For you see, thanklessness toward God is the first step in backsliding from God. We see this in Romans 1:18-21.  Here Paul describes the path people take in departing from God, and at the heart of it is  an attitude of ingratitude. Paul says, “For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or gave thanks to him.” (Rom 1:21). A life of  ingratitude or thanklessness  leads to many bad choices. When we take God’s’ blessings for granted and neglect to give him thanks, we slowly have little time for God, little time for worship, and little time to help others. We become self-centered. Before we know it, we have wandered far away from God, and we wonder what happened to that  relationship we once enjoyed with God. That is why we must worship and give thanks to God. Gratitude toward God leads to peace, joy, and satisfaction.

You may know the remarkable story of Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) who became blind and deaf through a virus when she was only 19 months old.  Despite her immense disability she went on to become an author, political activist and a lecturer. I am not entirely sure of her  spiritual roots, but when she was  young  she was introduced to  Phillips Brooks,an Anglican clergyman  who introduced her to Christianity, Keller famously saying: "I always knew He was there, but I didn't know His name!" She said, “For three things I thank God every day of my life. Thanks that He has vouchsafed me knowledge of His works; deep thanks that He has set in my darkness the light of faith; deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to—a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song. Helen Keller may not have been thankful for the circumstance of being blind and deaf, but she was thankful in that circumstance. And that is precisely what Paul is saying to us. In every circumstance, we are to give thanks.

2. Why we should give thanks

I draw your attention  now to the second part of that statement: “Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you.” That means at least two things.

(i)               God wants you to give thanks in everything, and therefore, you ought to do it. It's just like when your mother says,  “Eat your broccoli”, and you say, “why?”, and she says, “Because I am your mother – that’s why!” God wants you to give thanks because He says so!

(ii)             But there is more to it than that. God wants  to teach us to be a thankful, joyful people, whose delight is in Him. He wants a people  who do not get lost in their circumstances, but  who get lost in in Him! This is who  Paul  is in a Philippian prison. And even though  we live in a fallen world in which there are many things  for which we cannot be thankful, we should  not miss  out on seeing the grace of God extended to us in these experiences.

How to give thanks: Here it is  in just three words, "In Christ Jesus." When  my friend Pastor Roland Eskinazi lost his first wife Sharon, in an accident  with  a taxi in Johannesburg, my abiding impression was that of a brother, friend and pastor,  who as he held his dying wife  committed her to the grace of the  Lord Jesus Christ as he was praying the 23^rd Psalm. There is not a trace of bitterness or anger in my friend today. He committed  her with a thankful heart  to the Lord Jesus in whose presence she now dwells. 

If you have  seen the  face of God in Christ, if you have tasted the love of God and the goodness  of God, you  will know that all that is taken from you  ultimately never was yours. They are His.   And therefore you rest in His grace, and you thank him for what you have. And the greatest treasure we have is Jesus! Amen.

Matthew 13:4 : “The Parable of the Hidden Treasure”

October is Thanksgiving month at Eastside  Baptist Church.  Last week  I  gave you  an explanation  of this tradition among us and I trust that I have helped  you to see  that  giving and thanksgiving are  a thoroughly biblical  practice  found in the entire  Bible. This practice is  a true act of worship.  We saw that the supreme motive for our thanksgiving  is  not only  determined  by what the holy  law  of God commands  us to  do.  We saw  that our  supreme motive  is  what  our thankful hearts  command   us  to do  when we think of  Christ’s  sacrificial love for us.

  

When  we  remember  that  Christ has perfectly kept the law of God  for us who  broke the law of God,  and when we remember  that He gave us His righteousness in place of our unrighteousness;  when we remember  that Christ took   away  the wrath of God  towards us  sinners  and when we remember  that Christ  made us  His brothers, and children of  God and  heirs of heaven for ever and ever, then  the  joy of having this treasure  exceeds  all  our  earthly riches .  

This is what our  text says:    “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “  (Matthew 13:44)

Picture the scene!  A  man  walks across a field, and he trips over  an object  sticking slightly out of the soil .  He looks  to see  what  it is that nearly made him fall  and   he discovers that this is a box   buried in the ground. He digs  and he   finds a treasure chest  filled with great  wealth. The problem is that the  treasure chest is found on a  piece of land which he does not  own.   And so , in order to get that great treasure he sells all that he has and   he  buys that land. Do you feel sorry  for the  man  who has  found the treasure  because he had to  give up everything that he had  in order to  buy that field ? This discovery, after  all  cost him everything!  No, you don’t feel sorry for him.   His sacrifice  is nothing   compared with the  treasure  he’s gained!  The man who found the great treasure made a short term  sacrifice in order  to obtain a long term reward. It might have cost him everything he owned  initially – yes, but in the end    it gained him everything that mattered [1].

When  he saw what he had found in the field   he made every effort   to get that field in order to claim that treasure.  Jesus says,   “in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”.  He    knew what he was getting , and it filled him with joy- so much joy that he was willing to give up everything else that he had! 

Now remember the purpose of  this parable . Jesus told this   story parable  to illustrate  the priceless value  of the ”kingdom  of heaven”,  when compared   with   our  earthly possessions – our  houses, belongings, money, investments , etc. .  The great discovery of  the gospel, which  is the key to the obtaining of the  kingdom  of heaven,   makes everything else  fade into   insignificance.  When we know  what  a great treasure  and inheritance  the gospel  obtains for us , all  other treasures  become  insignificant .

All this raises   an important question.  Is the kingdom of God  this valuable to you? If it is, listen to  important investment advice which the Lord Jesus  gives us  in Matthew 6:19-21: [19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

The investment advice  which Jesus  gives us  is  this – “Don’t store up treasure on earth – it  will become  worthless. Invest in heaven , and you’ll never lose .” This does not mean that  earthly money is unnecessary or useless . It’s ok , as far as it goes. You need it to live, and you need  enough to keep  you going.   Let it buy  you your present bread , clothes ,  an education – whatever you need  for now , but  Jesus doesn’t  want you  to  get  very anxious  about your future  (Matt. 6: 25-34).  He knows what you need (Matt 6:32), and He is committed to  look after you .   He looks after the birds and He  clothes the lilies  and the grass  of the field, and He says  “you are of more value than they!”  Do you trust the Lord Jesus with His words?

So , if you are a gifted and a talented person and   able to make a lot of  money with your skills , what should you do  with your surplus ?  Jesus says,    “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  Let your  money work  for heaven’s sake!  Let your joy  work  for heaven’s sake ! How do you do that ?  Invest wisely in sound  gospel work. The best work  to invest in is  your local church  - the  gospel  work in which you are hopefully directly  involved here on earth, and where you  receive direct accountability and where you  can ensure that kingdom work is being done.   

In Luke  16:9 Jesus has this to say : “ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”  Jesus counsels us here to  make this temporary money ( which will fail[2])  work  for the sake of the gospel.

Remember also  that you will take nothing with you when you die. Psalm  49:16, 17  gives great perspective: “ Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.  For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. You take nothing  with you  when  you die , but  you can  use your money  presently to invest in the growth of  the kingdom of God .  Randy Alcorn  says:   “ You can’t take it with you  - but you can  send it on ahead." [3]

Why then  are we so reluctant to hear the words of  Jesus   about investing heavily  in the kingdom of heaven? Here’s the problem.  It is a matter  of trust!  Investing treasures  in  heaven sounds so intangible. We prefer savings account or unit trusts. Monthly or quarterly statements  will tell  us that our investments  are growing.  We tend to put a lot of trust in banks, and  yet , if the truth be told, banks ( history is our witness)  are just not  worth  our trust.   But  here is the Lord Jesus . He advises you  not to invest heavily  on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves steal. If the truth be told , we  seem to have great difficulty  to   trust the Lord Jesus  with His words .   Heaven  and eternity  seem to be so far away!   But it actually isn’t. How long will it be for you?   30, 40 ,50  years? James says that it’s a mere mist appearing for a little time and then vanishes (Jas. 4:14)  

What makes this so difficult is that we  live in an  age  of instant gratification. We want to see results  - NOW (!)  , but Jesus teaches us  that we need to think of deferred  gratification. Even financial planners tell us  that when it  comes to  investing your money you should not think in terms  of three months or three years , but rather  of 30 years . You need a ‘ long term view’ . More importantly you need to  trust  Jesus  in this.  You need to know that , that  which you give up now  for the sake of  buying the field with the hidden treasure   will only become yours  in the fullest sense in heaven . By the way ,  Jesus   promises that those who   sacrifice now  for the sake of the kingdom  “will receive  a hundredfold   AND will inherit eternal life.” (Matt 19:29).  Heaven  is our real treasure.  

What are you living for ?

 BIBLICAL  PRINCIPLES  OF STEWARDSHIP   

1.     God does not  need your money.  He already owns everything.  As  Creator and Owner, God doesn’t need anything. He  is self-sufficient   and  self-existent.

·       Psalm 24:1-2 “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, The world and those who dwell therein,  for he has founded it upon the seas  and established it upon the rivers.

·       Psalm 50:7-12 [7] “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.  Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.  I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.  For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the hills,  and all that moves in the field is mine.  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.

2.     We  own nothing  ultimately . We are God’s stewards, managing His resources for His glory !  Stewards  are caretakers  and not owners. They  simply manage it on behalf of the owner. God made this clear to Adam and Eve on the day He created them.

·       Genesis 1:28-29 : “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”

·       Genesis 2:15 : “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it  and keep it.

·       Matthew 25:14-30 : The parable of the owner and the servants.

3.     God will supply every need of those who trust and obey  Him. Just as God provided for Adam and Eve’s needs, He also provides for us.  He sometimes chastises us for our poor stewardship. 

·       Psalm 37:25: “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children  begging  for  bread.”

·       Matthew  6:25-34 : “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on….

·       Philippians 4:12-19  -  the Apostle Paul recognized that God took care of him, and that as a result, in all circumstances, he could be content.

4.     God wants your offerings to Him to reflect your faith in Him. Since God doesn’t need anything to accomplish His will, our offerings to Him accomplish a different purpose: to build our faith. It takes faith to trust that God will meet our needs when we give thank offerings  to Him. 

·       2 Corinthians 9:6-11 – learning to give cheerfully 

·        Proverbs 3:9  “ Honor the LORD  with your wealth and  with the  firstfruits  of all your produce".

5.     Material things will eventually vanish, but they can be  invested to reap eternal dividends.

Material things are not inherently evil; they have a place. But that place is temporary and limited. In fact, the harder we attempt to hang onto material things, the quicker they  disappear. God often reminds us of these realities in His Word.

 ·       Proverbs 23:4-5 : “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.  When your eyes light on it, it is gone,  for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

·       Luke 12:15-21 – the parable of the rich fool

---

[1] Randy Alcorn  : The Treasure Principle , p.11

[2] See the Wall street  crashes  in 1857, 1929,  2008-9

[3] Randy Alcorn  : The Treasure Principle , p. 17 

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 "THE SUPREME MOTIVE FOR GIVING!"

Since the beginning  of its existence, our church has,  as far  as  I can remember, observed   October as   a "thanksgiving month".  It is the 10^th month  of the year, and  the  biblical 10^th  portion reminds us of an OT principle on  giving   which guides, but certainly does not bind the NT church today. We certainly  do not want  to propagate meaningless traditions  in our church. God detests  mindless  habits. This is unfortunately a human problem  and it became one of the problems  in  Israel.

Many times  in Israel people   were  bringing their tithes, offerings, sacrifices  in a thoughtless  fashion. At other times, people were  not only thoughtless. They were plainly  irreverent towards God. In  the prophecy of Malachi  the prophet rebuked the people for bringing diseased animals to the altar (Mal. 1:6-10) and  the LORD  God needed  to remind them: “Oh that  there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts.” (Mal. 1:10). On another occasion  the people had to be reminded, that    “to obey is better than sacrifice” (e.g. 1 Sam. 15:22; Micah  6:6-8).  

Mere outward  display  for the sake of religious  duty  does not please  God at all. This was the problem that Jesus had with the  Pharisees. In Matt. 15:8,9 Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah saying: "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me… ".  It is  significant  that the Lord Jesus says this in the context of the Pharisees’  hypocritical   approach to giving. It was not done  as an act of worship to God. It  was done in order to be seen by men  (Matt 6:1-4). So then,  we need to explain  why we pursue this tradition. 

A GENERAL OVERVIEW:  THE THEOLOGICAL BASIS OF GIVING:

Ever since the beginning of biblical history, thank offerings were brought to God. Abel brought  the first  acceptable  offering to God, whilst his brother  Cain brought an unacceptable  offering (Gen. 4:1-7).  Abraham gave his tenth to God through Melchizedek,  that mysterious priest of God Most High  (Gen. 14 : 17-24).   So did  Jacob at Bethel  (Gen.28:22).

Thank offerings were a   regular feature  in  OT temple worship. The  bringing of tithes and offerings  into the temple  continued  to be the  practice in Jesus’ time, and Jesus  never  said anything negative about that!  The  story of the poor widow’s   offering (Mk. 12:41-44)  shows that  Jesus did not discourage this practice at all. Here, He  merely commented on the generous giving of a Hebrew widow, while  the rich were giving out of their abundance and not sacrificially.

Jesus also paid the temple tax (Matt. 17:24-27). He assumed the practice of regular giving  in Matthew 6: 1-4, as much  as  He  assumed the practice of regular  prayer and fasting (Matt 6:1-15). 

The early church  participated in regular  giving,  as an act of worship,  on the first day of the week  (1 Cor.16:1-4). Part of this money was  used to help the poor among the saints  (Rom. 15:25-28).  The early church also  looked after  its elders who  “labour in preaching and teaching”  (1 Tim. 5:17,18), remembering the OT rule  in  Deut. 25:4, “ you shall not muzzle  an ox when it treads out the grain”. In this they called to mind  the OT Levites,  the priestly tribe Israel   who were to be supported for their work  in the temple.  

And so we note that  the act  of thanksgiving,  and the giving of tithes and offering is a practice that is deeply rooted in the worship  of the  whole Bible. We believe that  it  remains  a thoroughly biblical practice  for every believer. 

The New Testament however  presents the profoundest  reason and motive  for giving:  Jesus  Christ  and His Gospel!  In  2 Corinthians 8  and 9 we have a  beautiful and touching  example of cheerful, happy, willing  and sacrificial giving reflected  in the testimony of the  Macedonian believers.  Consider their testimony in   8:1-5.  

How on earth do poor people give like that?  

What moves them? 

The answer given is that  they had received  the grace of God  (8:1,9; 9:8,14-15). They had understood and appreciated  the richness  of God’s gift to them in Christ Jesus.  They saw themselves as debtors to grace, and they were now looking for ways to express their thankfulness   to God for this great salvation.For this reason they begged Paul, “Please  allow  us  participate in this act of giving. We want  to show our thankfulness   to our Lord Jesus  by helping to supply the needs of the saints in Jerusalem”   (8:4).  

Background:  Between AD 52 - 57 a considerable proportion of Paul's time and energy was devoted to organizing a collection among his gentile churches for the "poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (Rom. 15:26). After their conversion to Christianity many  people in Jerusalem (particularly orphans and widows) were ostracized, socially and economically. The  Jewish social system only cared for their own.  That is why Acts 6: 1,2 addresses the issue of caring for widows,  for which purpose deacons were appointed in the early church, to oversee this ministry. In addition,   there was also  the great  famine  which was experienced  in this region , culminating  in  AD 46 (Acts 11: 27 - 30).

So then,  the  great example of the Macedonians  was used  by the apostle  Paul to challenge the Corinthian Church,  a church that appeared to have been very self- centered. He urges them  that they should imitate  their  Macedonian brothers, and to  “complete  and  even excel  in this act of grace “ (8:6,7).  

The example of the Macedonians  continues to challenge  the modern church. Our church has  come to a point in time  when it appears as if   the Lord is challenging us to expand   the  ministry of the Word to particular  segments of our  community.   To do this we are in need  of  dedicated giving  in order to  do the work that the LORD has  burdened  us  to do  in our  own generation.   And in the spirit of Paul,   I   appeal to you as thankful worshippers  of the Living God, as men and women  liberated by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ  - and "debtors to God's Grace in Christ" – and  as  stewards, and not "possessors" of  your material gifts : "excel in this grace of giving"  (8:7)   as  you  consider the need of our  own day.

The Bible, the Word of God  although it is  respected  and possessed by many  in our city,  is little read, little studied, little  understood  and therefore  little appreciated by the vast majority. There is little real  gospel preaching  heard in  our city. I remind you that “the gospel is the power of God  for salvation for everyone that believes…” (Rom.  1:16-17).  Feel good, psychological pep talks and    mysticism dominate our  pulpits, but this accomplishes nothing  in the minds and hearts  and lives of people. On the contrary, it appears as if  the Word-less, gospel –starved  church in Windhoek  becomes more and more conformed  to the image  of  lost-ness, capitulating to the  ever increasing trend of moral relativism. People  are not  really helped  to look to Jesus.  They are hurting because they have been taken captive by hollow philosophy. There is no answer for their sin , because they  are not confronted with the gospel, by which  they are shown their  sin  and then the Saviour.   We need to invest in gospel labourers.

Now, if you have been freed by the grace of God  from  a vain and meaningless life , then I  challenge you to consider   what Paul has to say in  9: 6 – 15 in terms of investing  in the kingdom of God:  Follow the logic of the text.

a.       Engage  in bountiful kingdom giving – not  stingy giving  (v.6).   The law of sowing and reaping is applied here. To give is to sow. What is given for kingdom work is not lost. Like the seed sown by the farmer   it is multiplied. Lives  changed  by the power of God,  one person  at a time  change  our society, and we will benefit  much more from  that  than from economic  or political reforms.

b.      Engage the heart in your giving ! (v.7)  Reluctance and  compulsion  are bad  motives for giving.   Cheerful, heart felt  giving  pleases God. The word ‘hilaron’, translated as cheerful, forms the basis of our word hilarious and exhilarating . God loves a hilarious giver!

c.       God helps you in your giving. (v.8-11) The ability to give by the poor Macedonians  is attributed to  the grace of God which  they had received.(8:1) It teaches us that  God is able to triumph over human inability, as His power is made perfect in our weakness.  Paul is confident  that what  God did for the Macedonians  He could do for the Corinthians… and therefore He can do it for Eastside.     If you  have it in your heart  to give, even when it hurts,  God  will make sure that  it you have sufficient.  Your jug of oil and your flour will not run out.   In support Paul quotes  Psalm  112: 9 (v.9)  in which  we find the example of  a man who gives freely because he delights in the Lord. It is a righteous  act that endures forever. God honours such a man.  In fact , v.10  continues to magnify the grace of God  as  we are reminded yet again, that God supplies the seed for   sowing and for making bread.  We ultimately need to remember that we have nothing  which we have not received.  V. 11  provides us  with an interesting perspective. John Chrystostom  (349-407 AD), bishop of Constantinople said  upon this first portion of v.11  text,  “in things which are necessary  he  allows them to seek for nothing more than need requires, but in spiritual  things  counsels them to get for themselves a large superabundance.”[1] .

d.      Vv. 11b,12, 13   such giving itself produces thanksgiving to God! Enabled giving  perpetuates worship ! “… is not only supplying the needs of  the saints” – one of the highest acts by which we   worship God is seen  in how we take care of the needs of the saints in the church  – the poor, the orphans, destitute, widows, and those who work on our behalf  i.e.  those serve us   through preaching and teaching the gospel by which men and women are redeemed from their slavery …(2 Tim. 5:17,18) …  but is also overflowing in many  thanksgivings to God …  NOTE   how the cycle is completed  :  (i)  The act  of giving  (an act of worship) (ii) meets the needs of the saints  (iii)  and  the  thankful saints     again return  thanks back  to God  for  the faithfulness  of  your   giving  which is based on  your confession of the gospel of Christ  (v.13)  

e.        Generous giving  is a benefit to the giver [v.14] while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.  Those who are generous will be genuinely appreciated   and they  will be  prayed for.

f.    Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!  [v. 15] Here is the ULTIMATE MOTIVE  for our thanksgiving expressed in  clearest terms.   Glory goes to the Lord God for His indescribable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have become what we are! We give because we have been made glad!

SUMMARY AND   APPLICATION:

The supreme  motive for giving  is   a profound thankfulness   to  God for  the Lord Jesus,  His indescribable gift.   This is at the heart of  cheerful giving  (9:7).   People   that give in such a fashion do not give  reluctantly or under compulsion.  They give with a free heart. Their  first  question  is  not  “how much  can I keep for myself?” Their heart is where their treasure is. (Matt. 6:20,21).

As a church we have  yet much to accomplish in terms of a country where the true gospel  is understood by so few. We have much to do in a country where  many of our  churches  are so  poor! May God  give us a heart filled with wisdom and compassion in these things. May He  continue  to encourage  you to give generously , as you  think of yourselves as debtors to grace  and as  you are  filled with joy  at the  thought  of your future heavenly reward.  

AMEN!

---

[1] Quoted in  NICNT Commentary (Eerdmans) by P.E Hughes , p.  336