Sermon Brief: It’s a Good Time for Giving

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ONE GREAT TRUTH: We are living in economically hard times, which is the perfect time for us to become greater givers!

We’ve been talking about the fact that times are tough and are getting tougher. This is especially true financially. I watched a video last week of a food giveaway that took place in Rogers, AR. One of the spokespeople stated that Benton and Washington County are in the top 3 counties in the state for homelessness. Can you believe that? This is the home of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, which is turning a profit when nobody else is. Yet people are going hungry all around us.

According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children. This is despite abundance of food resources. Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year. 700 million hungry human beings in different parts of the world would have gladly accepted this food.

Christmas is a season of giving, which is appropriate considering that Jesus is the greatest gift ever given to the world and on His birth night, wise men from the east came and presented gifts to Him. Today we give gifts in honor of God’s gift to us.

SECRETS TO BEING A GREAT GIVER…

When You Have A Need, Sow a Seed

Paul points out that the churches of Macedonia were going through a great “trial of affliction” and that it was related to a wave of poverty they were suffering. Yet they were giving liberally to the needs of churches elsewhere. One of the great advantages of this is the issue of perspective. We don’t feel as sorry for ourselves when we focus on the needs and hurts of others. But it also stretches our faith all the more to release our grip on what we do have.

See Giving As a Ministry

Ministry is serving people out of love and giving is definitely loving people and serving them. Sometimes the gift we give may be the only act of love the recipient has seen in quite a while. John Maxwell talks about going to eat with his grandaughter. The waitress wasn’t really interested in serving them, but John changed all of that when he told the waitress they were going to give a nice tip because she deserved it. His grandaughter later asked why tip someone who wasn’t being very friendly? Maxwell’s reply was that we should treat people as we would like them to be, not as they are.

Give Yourself to God First

This one is crucial. God doesn’t need your money, but He wants you! In fact, if He can’t have you, I don’t think He cares about your money at all. Make sure that you’ve presented your life to God first.

See Giving As a Pathway to Spiritual Growth

Paul does something interesting with giving – he aligns it with other “grace gifts” and says “abound in this also.” We so often focus on growing in the use of our spiritual abilities, but we forget to grow as givers.

Take a Step of Faith – Give Something Today

Paul closes out the passage by saying, “Don’t just talk about giving, do it.” Give something now, today. I would challenge you to find a way to give to somebody else within the next 24 hours. It might be doubling your tip at a restaurant, giving somebody a grocery gift card, paying for somebody’s gas at the gas station, or giving shoes and socks to Bethel’s shoe giveaway, but start giving today – it’s a good time for it!

The Greatest Gift Ever Given

At the end of chapter nine, Paul closes the section of the letter that talks about giving with these words, “thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.” God has given His Son for you. But you must receive His gift – must place your trust in Jesus as your Savior to spend eternity with Him.