2Co 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet
for your sake He became poor, so that you
through His poverty might become rich.
2Co 8:10-15
(10) I give my opinion in this matter,
for this is to your advantage, who were
the first to begin a year ago not only to
do this, but also to desire to do it.
1Co 7:12 But to the rest I say, not the
Lord, that if any brother has a wife who
is an unbeliever, and she consents to live
with him, he must not divorce her.
1Co 7:12 But to the rest I say, not the
Lord, that if any brother has a wife who
is an unbeliever, and she consents to live
with him, he must not divorce her.
1Co 7:25 Now concerning virgins I
have no command of the Lord, but I
give an opinion as one who by the
mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.
2Co 8:10-15
(10) I give my opinion in this matter,
for this is to your advantage, who were
the first to begin a year ago not only to
do this, but also to desire to do it.
Good Heart—Good Start
(11) But now finish doing it also, so
that just as there was the readiness
to desire it, so there may be also the
completion of it by your ability.
Joyful giving
2Co 8:2 that in a great ordeal of
affliction their abundance of joy
and their deep poverty overflowed
in the wealth of their liberality.
Sacrificial & voluntary giving
2Co 8:3 For I testify that according to
their ability, and beyond their ability,
they gave of their own accord,
Dedicated giving
2Co 8:5 and this, not as we had
expected, but they first gave themselves
to the Lord and to us by the will of God
(12) For if the readiness is present, it is
acceptable according to what a person has,
not according to what he does not have.
(12) For if the readiness is present, it is
acceptable according to what a person has,
not according to what he does not have.
Biblical stewardship is not distanced from
lifestyle choices or economic circumstances.
(13) For this is not for the ease of others and
for your affliction, but by way of equality--
(14) at this present time your abundance
being a supply for their need, so that their
abundance also may become a supply for
your need, that there may be equality;
(15) as it is written, "HE WHO gathered
MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE
WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK."
God reveals a vital relational
mechanism in the dynamic of giving
God issues a
command
Expression
of desire
God issues a
command
God creates
a demand
Expression
of desire
Presence
of tension
2Co 7:5 For even when we came
into Macedonia our flesh had no
rest, but we were afflicted on every
side: conflicts without, fears within.
2Co 7:5 For even when we came
into Macedonia our flesh had no
rest, but we were afflicted on every
side: conflicts without, fears within.
There is the consumer mentality of our culture
and the compulsion to consume of our nature.
God issues a
command
God creates
a demand
God enables
a response
Expression
of desire
Presence
of tension
Desire
&
Ability
God issues a
command
God creates a
demand
God enables a
response
God details
a way
Expression of
desire
Presence
of tension
Desire
&
Ability
How to
overcome
Php 1:6 For I am confident of this
very thing, that He who began a
good work in you will perfect it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
When it comes to relationship there
is no substitute for proximity
When it comes to relationship there
is no substitute for proximity
Joh 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
When it comes to relationship there
is no substitute for proximity
Joh 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
Rom 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to become conformed to
the image of His Son, so that He would be
the firstborn among many brethren;