Patrick: 00:13

Thank you for listening to First Today. I am Patrick Cooley, pastor of Northport Methodist Church. You can visit our website at northportfirstdot org. I believe it's what the church's is. You can also visit the podcast website at www.1stday.us.

Patrick: 00:35

And you can reach out to me at connect at first day dot us. So we're gonna continue on here with 2nd Corinthians chapter 8. Paul writes, we want you to know brothers and sisters about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia. For during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints.

Patrick: 01:18

And this, not merely as we expected. They gave themselves first to the lord and by the will of god to us. So that we might urge Titus that as he had already made the beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. Now as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in your and in our love for you, So we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. Paul now turns his attention away from his and Titus's relationship with the Corinthians to tackle what is the most pressing problem facing the church of Christ.

Patrick: 02:06

That is relieving the hardship faced by Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. What this hardship was is not precisely known, but many believe that a famine had again begun in Jerusalem as it was apparently also present in Macedonia. Paul praises the Macedonians for demanding to help him in his collection for the Jerusalem Christians. And even more because the Macedonians were in a severe ordeal of affliction and extreme poverty, yet they had overflowed with a wealth of generosity. The Macedonians demanded that they give Paul what they could to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.

Patrick: 02:57

This generosity was the result, Paul says, of their commitment to Christ since they gave themselves first to the lord and by the will of god to Paul. Perhaps this was to encourage Titus to motivate the Corinthians to follow their lead. Paul tells the Corinthians that as they first committed themselves to the lord, they will grow in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in Paul's love for them. And finally, after all this, they will subsequently, grow in their generosity. So they commit themselves first to the lord.

Patrick: 03:41

And when they do that, their lives will start to change and their faith will get stronger and their speech will get better and their knowledge of god and the things of god will grow. It's it's an incredible thing he tells the Corinthians here, And it's something that I think we need to remember in the church. So often kind of the prevailing attitude in the church today about people is, well, straighten out your life and then come to church. And and that's not what Paul says here. That's not the way that it works.

Patrick: 04:20

Now now flip this over on the other side. And the other side is God want God accepts us just as we are, and they wanted to stop there. Well, that's not it either. What Paul is saying here about the Corinthians and saying to the Corinthians is that if they give themselves and commit themselves to the Lord, they will change. They will grow in faith and speech and knowledge and eagerness and love and in generosity.

Patrick: 04:51

So, yes, God wants them just as they are, just as I am, etcetera, etcetera. You know, as as the song goes, God wants us just as we are, but God doesn't want us to stay just as we are. And so the promise that Paul makes to the Corinthians here is one that I really think that we need to pay attention to. That as we commit ourselves to God, as we commit ourselves to the Lord, we will be changed. The more committed we are to the Lord, the more we will be transformed.

Patrick: 05:26

So so, yes, I think that's something we need to keep in mind as we carry the church forward in the world that we live in today. Verse number 8. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our for your sakes, he became poor, so that by his poverty, you might become rich. And in this matter, I am giving my advice.

Patrick: 06:07

It is appropriate for you who began last year, not only to do something, but even to desire to do something. Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. This is something that the Corinthians, whatever this is, and in this case, it's giving to the church. This is something that the Corinthians must want to do. The church must must want from their hearts to to to reach out and serve and care for the church in Jerusalem just as the Macedonians had done.

Patrick: 06:58

Paul says in other words, what he's saying here is something that we probably forget as well, that the intent of our heart matters. We've got to want to help. We've we've got we don't help just begrudgingly. We don't help simply because we're supposed to. Though, though, we we learn from from Jonah, for instance, that, you know, the the the gospel is effective in proclamation whether we want to proclaim it or not because of Nineveh converted, and I guarantee you, Jonah's, gospel message to Nineveh was probably repent, repent.

Patrick: 07:39

And he probably said it about like that. You know, he wasn't standing on the street corners ringing a bell. You know, yet the gospel is effective. That's not what, you know, that's not what I'm talking about here. But what we're talking about here is that the heart of Christ must be the heart that we want as Christians.

Patrick: 08:03

We we must we must want to look at others and treat them in the same way that Jesus did. We don't just do this in order to do a checklist. We don't do this in order to simply reach some goal at the end. This is something this this gift to the church in Jerusalem is something that the that the Corinthians must want to do. And for encouragement, Paul reminds them of the generous acts of our lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for their sakes, he became poor, so that by his poverty, they might become rich.

Patrick: 08:48

This is a thought that Paul will repeat in his later letters. And, in the case of the Philippians, he does this. Even he even uses essentially the exact same words with the church in Philippi. We have received from God. We have received through Christ, according to Paul here, for the purpose of giving.

Patrick: 09:14

Although this collection had begun in the Corinthian congregation, it had not yet been completed, and Paul was eager for it to be. But he stresses only according to their means. Verse number 12. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, But it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need in order that there may be a fair balance.

Patrick: 10:04

As it is written, the one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little. Is your heart inclined to generosity? If it is, Paul tells us that whatever gift we can afford is enough. If giving all you have to another, making that person rich and yourself poor, that's that's not the point. The point is, is our heart inclined to generosity?

Patrick: 10:39

Do we truly desire in our heart of hearts to be generous to those that are in need to share the heart of Christ. He but there should not be relief for others and pressure on you. My my condolences to any television preacher whose flock chooses to finally read the bible for themselves. The concern here is not the amount of money that the Corinthians have, but the desire of the heart and the fair balance between their present abundance and the Jerusalem Christians' need. Paul wants them to realize again that we receive from God to give to others.

Patrick: 11:31

Paul uses here Exodus 16 18 as an example when God began to provide manna to his people and commanded them to gather only what they needed for each day. No one had too much and no one had too little. Verse number 16. Well, before I go into verse number 16, 16 and 17 here, let me go back up here when I made the comment about, you know, woe woe to the woe to the television preacher whose flock chooses to read the Bible for themselves. There are far, far too many television preachers, televangelists that will say, you give give until it hurts in order to get back.

Patrick: 12:22

The more you give, the more you will receive. That's not what Paul is telling the Corinthians here. Paul is telling the Corinthians here to use some common sense when it comes to giving. The point is the inclination of the heart. Now do we give in order to get back more, or do we give because god has blessed us so that others who have little might receive more?

Patrick: 12:53

These are 2 totally different the the attitude of the giver and why we give. Tele evangelists tell so many of their so many of their members, and I'm using the little flesh bunnies here, they tell so many of their members that the more you give, the more you will get back. So give until it hurts. Give to this ministry, my ministry, until it hurts. Well, Paul isn't telling the Corinthians that that's what this is about at all.

Patrick: 13:25

Paul says, you give what you can afford out of your abundance when they are in need for their sake. So that when you are in need, they, the church, the the recipients of your grace will give that grace back to you. So that no one has too much ultimately and no one has too little ultimately at at the end of the day. So, so there there there's my little rabbit hole for the day. Verse number 16.

Patrick: 13:59

But thanks be to god who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself have. For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord. Titus here is is as eager as Paul is to lead the Corinthians in their generosity. Again, Paul stresses that this is of Titus's own accord. He he's not doing this because someone told him to do it.

Patrick: 14:39

He's not giving because a televangelist tells him to do it. He's doing it of his own accord because he has been moved by the spirit and moved by the heart of Christ to encourage generosity in the Corinthians. Verse number 18. With him, we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclaiming the good news. And not only that, but he also but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this generous undertaking for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our goodwill.

Patrick: 15:24

So Paul here is most likely speaking about Timothy. The, God will provide the saints with help when it is needed. That Timothy is eager to go, and this this is this other person that's being sent along with with Titus. Verse number 20. We intended that no one should blame us about this generous gift that we are administering.

Patrick: 15:54

For we intended to do what is right, not only in the lord's sight, but also in the sight of others. And with them, we are sending our brother, whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters, but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you. Paul wants no one to be able to claim that there has been any kind of financial fraud in the distribution of gifts, from the gentile churches to the Jewish Christian churches. Verse 21 here is the standout to me, quote, for we intend to do what is right, not only in the Lord's sight, but also in the sight of others. It seems that the need for transparency has been paramount in the church from the very beginning when money was involved.

Patrick: 16:55

Paul is sending a third person and a third set of eyes and ears for the sake of accountability. And that is a scary word in many churches today, accountability. Verse 23. As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker in your service. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

Patrick: 17:23

Therefore, openly therefore, openly before the churches show them the proof of your love and of your reason and and for our reason of boasting about you. So the churches here are described as the glory of Christ. And this is something that we need to remember in our day and our age. We, the church, do not exist for ourselves. We do not exist to per to perpetuate our legacies or to have others to meet our needs.

Patrick: 17:57

No. The church is the reflection and the image of Christ brought into being to be God's righteousness in this world. We don't exist for ourselves. We exist for the sake of God's kingdom. Verse 16.

Patrick: 18:17

But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he indeed accepted our exhortation. But being himself very earnest, he went out to do you to out to do you of his own to outdo you of his own accord. We have sent together with him the brother whose praise and the good news is known throughout all the assemblies. Not only so, but he was also appointed by the assemblies to travel with us in this grace, which is served by us to the glory of the Lord himself and to show our readiness.

Patrick: 19:04

Titus' concern arises from God's motivation. Like Macedonia, he first filled his heart with the desire for the things of God, which gave rise to his most generous spirit. Here too, Paul adds an addendum concerning Timothy. He says that he is Timothy is being sent with Titus, not on Paul's initiative alone, but at the behest of the assemblies or the or or the churches. So Paul is sending Timothy along with Titus not it's not something that Paul unilaterally decided to do.

Patrick: 19:51

He wants the the the churches, the assemblies, the congregations want that accountability. They want that accountability, and they they want everything to be as transparent and above board as they can when all this stuff concerns money because, you know, you know what the Bible says about the love of money. So, so so Timothy is being sent, at Paul's behest, but really at the direction of the other churches. Verse number 20. Paul writes, we are avoiding this, that any man should blame us concerning this abundance which is administered by us, Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the lord, but also in the sight of men.

Patrick: 20:43

We have set with them our we have sent with them our brother, whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but now much more earnest by reason of the great confidence which he has in you. As for Titus, he is our partner and fellow worker for you. As for our brothers, they are the apostles of the assemblies, the glory of Christ. Therefore, show the proof of the love show the proof of your love to them before the assemblies and of our boasting on your behalf. Transparency is so important to Paul that he repeats what he just told them, just so no one can claim that they didn't get the memo.

Patrick: 21:36

Thank you for listening to FirstDay. I am Patrick Cooley. Please visit our website at www.firstday.us. You can listen to the podcast there or you can go and listen on Spotify, Amazon or Apple. Thank you for listening.

Patrick: 21:56

Blessings and goodbye for now.