Title: The Spirit of Annals and Jesus Christ
We always grab money and say that it belongs to us. But after all, we are slaves to money. Rather, we are governed by money. We are willing to do anything but die to get money. Without money, it seems that the world cannot survive even for a moment.
Of course, money does not have any vitality. Because of that money, we even ignore each other's personalities. We love and we fight. If human beings do not have desire, the money may be useless.
But money also does good things. They do good deeds to help the poor and the hungry. The money glorifies God and sometimes hides the glory of God. We shouldn't be slaves to that money. We must handle that money wisely.
Not having money is nothing to be ashamed of. It's just a little hard. But the money is a beautiful thing given as a blessing to the faithful saints who work hard and live for the glory of God. The problem is, God's judgment is different depending on how he manages and uses that money.
Today we are going to take a look at offerings within the church. I hope that no saints have been tested because of this offering sermon, which was officially held once a year. I went to church today, saying, “The day I go is a market day,” but you should not be tested by preaching on offerings.
The Apostle Paul explains 2 Corinthians 8:9 as a yearbook of offerings. Why did Paul call offerings a yearbook? Also, what kind of spirit did you want to put into the yearbook? By examining these words, we are going to examine the specific aspects of the saints who said they were saved by believing in Jesus.
1. The Macedonian church that showed service to the saints through the yearbook (verses 1-5)
Before Paul exhorts the Corinthian church members about their genealogy, Paul tells the example of the beautiful genealogy of the Macweonian church members. What kind of example are you?
Let's look at verses 1-3.
“Brothers, we make known to you the grace that God has bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia, that in the midst of many trials of affliction, their overflowing joy and extreme poverty made them rich in generosity. Volunteer beyond your strength.”
to summarize,
① In the midst of the many trials of tribulation, he made abundant generosity.
② Excessive joy and extreme poverty have made a rich yearbook.
③ Not only did I do it according to my strength, but I volunteered to exceed my strength.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you know what the church in Macwena is, you will know how valuable their donations are. This region of Macedonia was a Roman colony. The region of Macedonia was famous for its abundant natural resources. However, it has been ravaged by several wars.
Rome plundered the resources of Macedonia. This has caused difficulties for the churches in this area. However, the church members in that Macedonian region kept the abundant grace of God even in the midst of difficulties.
There is an old saying, “The poor knows the heart of the poor”. See what kind of people are serving the church, serving the church, and making a donation. Even in their poor and difficult life, the people of God who kept God's grace, love, and salvation were always zealous.
Difficulty in the economy could not make him stop donating. Rather, it was God's grace that gave us the power to give more abundantly in the midst of such economic difficulties.
Rather, we are actively participating in the work of serving the saints who are helping the same saints who are in trouble with God's grace.
Let's all look at verse 4.
“We earnestly ask for this grace and participation in the service of the saints.” Amen.
What this means is that the Macedonian church members earnestly asked Paul to participate in the work of saving other church members. In simple terms, if it is such a good thing, I will also participate in the donation, so please give me permission. How beautiful is this? Paul is proud of this beautiful story of the Macedonian church members to the Corinthian church.
Also in verse 5 it says this. “Not only what we hoped for, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us according to the will of God.” This means that the Macedonian church participated in the offering beyond Paul's expectations.
And they didn't just donate money, they first gave themselves to God, and then they made offerings according to God's will. Where there is money, our hearts follow. Giving to God means that God has a heart. At least we should have something like this. It should also be in our church.
2. Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to give an annual report (verses 6-11).
When Paul told the Corinthian church members to make a genealogy, the zeal and passion of the Macedonian church members in advance was not intended to provoke rivalry.
Rather, as verse 8 says, “I am not speaking by command, but to prove the sincerity of your love with the earnestness of others.” This means that talking about the zeal of the Macedonian church only confirms that the love of the Macedonian church members as well as the Corinthian church members is sincere.
Already a year ago, the Corinthian church promised a yearbook. In other words, they promised a relief offering. At that time, the promise was made with a willing heart. That heart is a God-given heart. However, now that a year has passed, the question is whether we should make the promised relief offering.
We are moved by God's grace, and we have a desire to donate and serve. But once you have that kind of mind, another mind will approach you right away. So you get conflicted. do i have to Shouldn't it?
However, you should always know that the first thought is the heart given by God. Once you have made up your mind, you must push forward with that emotion, grace, and faith. When we do this, our God will give us abundant grace and blessings.
So Paul tells us to check the love, truth and grace of the Corinthian church members as they are now carrying out the offering they were supposed to do a year ago. If we truly believe in Jesus Christ and are God's people who have been saved, we must practice it. We must show the faith, love, and truth we have in our hearts by putting them into action.
3. The spirit of almsgiving (verses 9-15)
In Chinese, the yearbook is called a yearbook because it is a year to be thrown away and a yearbook to be added. As much as I donate, it disappears to me It is lost to me, but what is lost is added to others. This means that we have our neighbors who will benefit from that hope as much as the sacrifices I make. This is the spirit of yearning. Let's look at this spirit in terms of the New Testament and Old Testament principles as follows.
First, the principle of the New Testament (verse 9).
“And you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich” (verse 9).
Paul always introduced Jesus Christ only through any story. We testify of the gospel of Jesus only through the story of marriage. Also, we testify of the gospel of Jesus only through the story of money. Because of this gospel, we are talking about annuals and offerings. The genealogy testifies to the gospel of Jesus Christ through the story of the yearbook in which I make sacrifices to help other brothers and sisters in the family. What is the gospel?
Jesus was the rich man who originally sat on the throne of high and high glory, but this Jesus became poor for us and came to this earth to make us rich, that is, to save us who are poor and sinful. This is the principle of yearbook.
We must always remember Jesus like this through the yearbook. It's not just about money. He wanted to convey the grace of God through Jesus Christ through that money.
Second, it is the principle of the Old Testament (verses 12-15).
In verse 12, Paul says that if you give with a happy heart according to your circumstances, God will accept it. God doesn't want to force you to give something you don't have.
Also, they don't tell us to donate when we're not there. The point is that God demands of us because we have to do it. If God is pleased with our things, it can be said that we are truly blessed with God.
If we misunderstand Paul's emphasizing the yearly genealogy to the Corinthian church members, we can say that it is only us who suffer and suffer. However, if we help our brothers in need now, they will be a great help. On the other hand, if we are in trouble, those who have helped us will also help us (verse 14). We need to help and support each other. This is called “to equalize” each other (verse 14).
This is related to the giving of manna in the wilderness to the Old Testament Israelites. He gave the people of Israel the daily bread that day. Those who gathered much manna that day, or those who gathered little, could only use food for one day. Even if you gathered much, it was food for a day, and if you gathered little, it was a day’s food (verse 15).
Likewise, just because we donated for others, we end up eating three meals a day the same. Ultimately, God is in charge of our daily bread. So we should not be greedy and help each other. When we donate, it means that we all participate together. Being greedy for money and having a lot of money doesn't make you a better person.
If God says we need our material, we should be willing to give it. If God has given us material things as a blessing, we should use those materials well. When you give, you give, and when you help others, you help.
Israel's Dead Sea. Dead Sea means the sea of death. Why the Sea of Death? Water enters the Dead Sea, but there is no way out. So the river is stagnant. Maybe God gives us material things, and if we don't send them out, we will become like the sea of death. You need to know how to get back in if you scoop it out.