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WITH GLAD AND GENEROUS HEARTS
Psalm 112:1-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
October 22, 2006
Pastor Bob Sanders 
By now, most of you have figured out this is a stewardship sermon. For some this stirs up a reaction that is best described by the little boy who was fidgeting in church one Sunday. As the sermon wore on, he leaned to his mother and asked, “Mom, if we give the money now, do you think he’ll let us go?”
The answer is: “Not yet!”
At Lake Grove Presbyterian we don’t talk a lot about money. Not that there’s anything wrong with the subject. Jesus talked a great deal about money, and so did Paul. But nowadays some people complain that churches are always asking for money. Our focus here is on the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t want anyone put off from Jesus for the wrong reason. But today I am going to talk with you very directly about the giving of money because next Sunday we dedicate our 2007 financial pledges, and I want what we give and why we give it to be informed by Scripture. So let’s give our attention now to the reading from the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (Today’s New International Version)
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever."
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
The theme of our stewardship campaign this year is With Glad and Generous Hearts. That’s a description how the first century church went about its giving (see Acts 2:46), and I think it’s a pretty good description of the kind of giving we’ve seen at this church. Over the past three years the total amount from your pledges has increased by some twenty-five percent, and for 2006 you pledged over $2 million dollars to our general operating budget. In that same three-year period you pledged and gave an additional half million dollars to help retire the church’s building debt. On top of that, you’ve also given generously to special offerings to support our mission partners at home and around the world. Just since last January you’ve given an additional $280,000 to fund schools and wells in Africa, to assist rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast, and to help needy families right here in our own community. And what I like best is that you’ve given it without a lot of nagging from people like me. Nobody has had to pressure you. You’ve done it freely and joyfully. You’ve given out of glad and generous hearts.
With Gladness
Let’s think about those two words glad and generous for just a moment. Start with glad. For some people “glad giving” is oxymoronic. Let’s be honest. For some of us stewardship brings up feelings of dreary obligation or relentless pressure. That’s a sign something is out of whack in our lives. Because one of the distinctive marks of a follower of Jesus is joyful giving. Most everybody enjoys getting, of course. I remember as a little kid on Christmas morning going outside to meet my friends and the question always was, “What did you get?” I don’t remember anyone ever asking, “What did you give?” Jesus reverses that. Jesus says, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Jesus says giving can be more blessed, more joyful, more fun than getting. Has that been your experience? How glad are you when it comes to giving?
In verse 7 Paul says this: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” The Greek word for “cheerful” is hilaros, from which we get our word “hilarious.” A hilarious giver? OK, I know we’re Presbyterians so that’s probably pushing it. But God does indeed love a cheerful giver, a glad giver. God takes no delight in a gift that’s given out of guilt or compulsion. God isn’t very excited about some grim “duty dollar” reluctantly given.
God wants joyful giving, giving that comes from a heart of gladness and gratitude. The place to begin is with God’s giving to you. God delights in giving. God enjoys giving. He gives freely, generously, lavishly. We never have to twist God’s arm or pressure him. Think for a moment of all that has been freely given to you: your life, your health, your next breath. Your energy, your talents, your ability to work, to think, to play, to love. Your relationships and the people who surround you with love. Your resources, your possessions, your financial and material blessings. Your salvation. Which of these did you earn? I submit to you they are all gifts from a generous God.
Sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we start thinking they’re really ours – stuff we’ve earned, instead of gifts from God. Maybe you’ve heard the story about the woman who went out shopping at the mall and, after a while, she stopped by the food court and bought herself a cup of coffee and a bag of cookies. All the tables were filled, except for one where a man sat alone reading a newspaper. So she sat down in the opposite chair, took out a magazine to glance at and reached for a cookie from the bag on the table. To her surprise, the man across from her also reached out and took a cookie. She glared at him, but he just smiled back at her. Moments later she reached for a second cookie, and the man did the same. She became angry, and as she stared at the one remaining cookie the man broke it in half and offerd her a piece, smiling all the while. She was furious! She got up and walked toward the exit. As she did, she opened her purse to get out her car keys, and discovered her bag of cookies there in her purse. She had been eating the man’s cookies all along, and she thought he had been eating hers.
Guess what? The cookies are not ours. The material possessions, the financial resources, the talents and relationships we enjoy – they’re not ours. They are gifts from God for our use, and we have a choice. We can sit back and hoard them. Eat all of them ourselves. Or we can share from hearts of gladness. Which is what brings joy to God. God just loves a cheerful giver.
With Generosity
With glad hearts, yes, and with generous hearts. The words “generous” and “generosity” appear five times in the ten verses we read from 2 Corinthians 9. In verse 11 Paul says, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Some people think that in order to be generous you have to be rich. Not true. Generosity is not limited to the wealthy. In fact, studies show that poorer Americans are often more generous than rich Americans. The rich may give larger amounts of money, but the poor give a much higher percentage of their income to help others than do the rich. Remember how Jesus watched the poor widow as she put her two pennies into the offering. Jesus said she’d given more than the high-rollers who gave out of their cushy big incomes. See, the amount she gave was small, but it was extraordinarily generous, because it was all she had.
A few years ago I preached a stewardship sermon and after the service I was given a pledge card with a remarkably generous pledge. It was for fifty cents a week, two dollars a month, for a total of twenty-four dollars a year. I should tell you: it was from a nine-year-old boy, and this fifty-cents-per-week pledge was his tithe – exactly ten percent of his weekly allowance. His mother told me he did this completely on his own, because he wants to be part of God’s work at this church. I’ll never forget the smile on his face when he handed me that pledge card – truly his was a glad and a generous heart.
Generosity is not determined by the amount but by the proportion. He gave a tithe. What proportion of your income is given to God’s work? And how does it compare, say, with the proportion you spend on entertainment, or clothing, or home decoration? Whatever the amount you give, can it be described as generous?
Or would it be better described as tipping God? I saw a cartoon that showed the pastor greeting the worshipers after church. A father and mother with their Dennis-the-Menace-type youngster were coming through the line. The little boy looked up at the pastor and innocently asked, “What are you going to do with my dad’s dollar?” The father looked like he was caught in one of those Southwest Airline commercials: “Wanna get away?” His face was red with embarrassment. His son had exposed the measly tip he’d just tossed toward God.
Some of you may recall the words of Presbyterian pastor Peter Marshall as he prayed over the offering plates one Sunday morning. “Lord,” he said, “no matter what we say or do, here is what we really think of you.”
I can speak this way because I really don’t know what any of you give. I do know that some of you are very generous in your giving to support the Lord’s work here. I know that some of you would like to do more, and I’d like to encourage you. The Bible instructs us to give proportionately. That is, to set aside a pre-determined percentage of your income and give it to God. Based on Scripture, many of us have found the tithe – ten percent – to be a helpful guide. Others start with a lesser percentage and increase it year by year. Still others can and should do more than the tithe.
That kind of giving is not easy. It means making choices and doing without certain things that others are able to buy. But I can tell you, from years of practice, that tithing is a joy. Debbie and I decided early on to give at least ten percent our income directly to our local church, and then to give over and above that for other important causes – special offerings, sponsor children, and so forth. And we’ve never regretted it. I have a bright red file folder on my desk at home that contains the monthly bills that need to be paid. And I always keep my church pledge card on the top of that pile of bills so the first check I write goes to support God’s work at Lake Grove Presbyterian. That’s the check I most enjoy writing, and so I do it first – before the mortgage payment, before the credit card bills and utility statements and all the rest. I don’t determine my gift to God from whatever’s left over after I pay all those other bills. I want God to get the first check – the tithe.
Proportionate giving begins as a step of obedience. But it soon becomes a source of lasting joy. I mean it: joy! If you don’t believe me, try it. I can guarantee you won’t regret it. The fact is, I have never met a former tither.
Because You Gave
Paul says, “Your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” Because of your giving, Paul says, people are praising God. People right here and people far away. People you know and people you’ve never met. It was true then, and it’s still true today. Because of your giving, lives have been blessed here in this church and this community, and throughout the world.
I’m telling you: your giving makes a difference! That’s got to bring you joy. Use your imagination on this. Imagine how it will be in heaven someday when, Lord willing, you and I hear other folks say, “Because you gave at Lake Grove Presbyterian, I heard about Jesus Christ for the first time. Because you gave, there was a youth group that held onto me when I was about to wander off. Because you gave, there was a prayer group when I was in trouble. Because you gave, there was a pastor who walked with me through that terrible crisis.”
It’s true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes time and time again. Because you gave, homeless people along the Gulf Coast are getting help. Because you gave, people in Zambia and Senegal have wells that provide clean water which means their children are going to live instead of die, and they’re beginning to believe in this thing called “hope.” Because you gave, men and women in Tijuana are hearing for the first time the good news of Jesus Christ. And they thank God for you.
Just think about the eternal consequences of your generous giving. In Sunday School classes children learn how much Jesus loves them. Junior and senior high students give their lives to Christ and go on to serve him. Marriages are strengthened. Broken persons are counseled. Lonely persons are visited. Hungry persons are fed. Homeless families are sheltered. Sick children are treated. Spiritually lost persons are put in touch with Jesus Christ.
Because you gave. Can you think of any investment that produces a better return? I cannot.
Because you give “with glad and generous hearts” this church will continue to be a blessing to many right here and around the world. But we need your pledge. We’re not funded by a few big contributors. Lake Grove Presbyterian depends on the generosity of each and every one of us. So, if you are not yet pledging, I ask you to begin doing so. A pledge is a faith commitment between you and your Lord. If your circumstances change, you can always change your pledge. But it’s a tool to help you make a real choice about your giving, and it helps our church leaders make solid plans for the coming year. If you are pledging, I ask you to continue, and to consider increasing your pledge in 2007. There is so much more we’d like to be doing – so many needs we’d like to meet, so many lives we’d like to reach, so many opportunities to be a blessing to this community and the larger world. We need the glad and generous financial support of each and every one of us to do that, to be that blessing.
We Have the Money
Take your pledge card home with you, and take some time this week to think and pray about your response. Think about God’s gracious giving in your life. Think about how God has blessed you and provided for you. Think about God’s love and faithfulness in and through this congregation. Then determine a pledge amount that is generous for you. Rather than give God what’s left at the end of the month, determine a percentage of your income you want to give off the top. Try that for, say six months, and see how it works. Try giving three percent or five or ten or fifteen percent of your income and see if God doesn’t do what our text says: “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and…your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Try giving generously. See if God doesn’t provide what you need to follow through. If it doesn’t work, you can always reduce your pledge. But it will work, and think how excited you’ll be when you see that happen!
Bring your completed pledge card with you to worship next Sunday, and we’ll dedicate our gifts and our pledges to the Lord in our Joash Chest service. If you can’t be here, of course you can mail in your pledge card. But I hope you’ll be here next Sunday and ready to worship the Lord once again with glad and generous hearts.
I close this stewardship message with an important announcement. I want to announce that we have the money we need for 2007. We have all the money we need to fund our Sunday School, our mission partnerships, our outreach, our music ministry, our youth groups, and all the rest. It’s true. We have every dollar we need.
All we have to do is to give it.
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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