Introduction

This morning we start a 3-week series on giving. Money is such a universal concern, it

HOWARD DAYTON[1] was born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1943. After graduating from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in 1967, he served two and a half years as a naval officer. In 1969, he developed a successful railroad-themed restaurant in Orlando, Florida. Howard began his commercial real estate development career in 1972, specializing in office development in the Central Florida area.

In 1973, after a business partner challenged him to study the Scriptures to discover what God teaches about handling money, Howard's life was profoundly changed. Howard said, “That study radically and permanently changed me from worshipping money to serving Christ.”

The Lord gave him a passion to share the life-changing principles he discovered, resulting in writing four books and starting Crown Ministries in 1985, a ministry that created discipleship materials on money. That group later merged with Larry Burkett’s ministry and in September 2000 they formed Crown Financial Ministries.

In that early Bible study, Howard Dayton catalogued all that the Bible says about money. He came up with a list of 2,350 Scriptures, and he organized these by topic.

The first topic is that “God Owns Everything.” As example among his many passages:

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. (Hag 2:8)

Different verses from the passages we’ll cover in our short series—2 Cor 8–9 and Malachi 3:8–12—pop up over two-dozen times.

The point in bringing that up is to say, the Bible has a lot to say about money. God has a lot to say to us about money.

Tells us that using money properly is important—and that it’s a powerful force for good or evil. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim 6:10).

Money used rightly to worship God and help others brings all kinds of blessings on the giver and the receiver. It also glorifies God himself, the Giver of all Good Gifts.

But why now? We don’t talk about money often, so why now?

• As the FAB and the elders looked at our January 2026 refinance date and the amount of our loan, we felt like this was a good time to do a capital campaign.
• If we were successful, it would make a significant long-term difference to the church’s ability to put more money into ministry and less money into our mortgage.
• Position us to get rid of the mortgage entirely.
• But we also felt we should seize the opportunity to make it a discipleship moment for each of us. A moment to go before God and seek him for where he wants us to grow.
• We want this to be significant for ALL of us—wherever we are on the financial spectrum.
• Some of us will be able to give a lot of money to the church and this campaign.
• But some of you will not be able to adjust your giving at all—or maybe don’t have any regular income.
• But if that’s you, feeling like you can’t commit to an amount of giving, please pray. Pray that something unexpected would happen that would enable you to give unexpectedly.
• God does all kinds of things when we pray and when we look for him to act.
• But also—Giving is only a part of our life with Christ.
• Just like a tithe: We give 10% really to say 100% belongs to God. So, with our giving, we want to give of ourselves financially because ALL THAT WE HAVE AND ALL THAT WE DO IS FOR HIM. The money I give is only a sign and seal that everything I have is his.
• This ALL FOR HIM campaign might be less amount money for you.
• It might be more about a new commitment to seek Christ every day through prayer.
• Or a new willingness to do an international mission trip.
• Or a new commitment to serve in a ministry in the church.

Our text this morning is 2 Corinthians 8. This week and next we’ll be in 2 Corinthians.

• Paul the apostle writing to the Corinthians.
• He has had a long history with them.
• But Paul was also a Jew keenly aware of the plight of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.
• And so for a couple years of his ministry, he worked hard to raise money in the Gentile churches for the saints in Jerusalem.
• You can see this described in Romans.
• The collection for the poor in Jerusalem:

“For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.” (Rom 15:26).

• The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were ostracized for their faith—faced opposition from the Romans and the Jews.
• Often lost key financial support when they converted.
• And then there were famines at that time (Acts 11:28).
• So the need was great.
• Paul was appealing for the Corinthians to fulfill their commitment to the poor in Jerusalem.
• They had already committed to do it.
• Paul is also a “pastoral opportunist” (Barnett, NICNT).
• A practical matter becomes a teaching opportunity.
• We see that in 2 Cor. 8–9.

Giving All for Him. What will that look like?

• Giving joyfully out of our poverty (8:1–6)
• Giving graciously to imitate Christ (8:7–9)
• Giving proportionally as each one is able (8:10–15)

Prayer – Maria’s email, All for Him

I. Giving Joyfully Out of Our Poverty (8:1–6)

Let me read the first 2 verses again. 2 Cor. 8:1–2.

The prevalence of “grace” (charis) throughout the chapters—10 times!

• “Grace” and its connection to “gift” (same word).
• “Grace” and its connection to “what God has lavishly and undeservedly given to those who do not deserve it.”

2 Cor. 8💯 Note that “the grace of God” is said to have been “given.”

• It was money that was exchanged. But in that exchange of money, there was also “the grace of God.”
• God’s “grace”—because HE was the source.
• God’s “grace”—because it was a way for God to do his work in his people. God was providing for his people and answering prayers as people gave and received money.
• God’s “grace”—because it was an evidence of God’s grace at work in the Macedonians.

The example of the Macedonianss

Joy and Generosity—even with “a severe test of affliction” and “extreme poverty” (vv. 1–2).

Gave “according to their means” and “beyond their means” (v. 3).

An expression of how “they gave themselves first to the Lord” (v. 5).

Application:

Giving out of our poverty is sometimes making the hard decision to sacrifice to be more generous.

But sometimes God just does unexpected things to enable you to give in an unexpected way.

Preparing for this sermon I turned to my file on 1–2 Corinthians. Found a note I made back in 2007. In it I said, isn’t it ironic that I’m reading 2 Corinthians 8 just 10 days before the start of Year 3 of our building campaign. This was our 2005–2007 campaign to pay for the expansion. Ultimately, we raised $1 million as a church.

Well, in my note I said what my salary was back then. I also said what my percentage giving was. That was challenging. It was a lot more than a tithe.

A percentage a good deal bigger than currently. But in my note I also made a reference to not having the ability to give something extraordinary. Others would need to do that!

That’s just what happened!

I wouldn’t say I was giving out of my poverty. But I also knew that others would be the ones to make up far more of the dollars raised for our building.

The result of that campaign? A building that has served us so well since 2007.

II. Giving Graciously to Imitate Christ (8:7–9)

Read 2 Cor 8:7–9.

“Excel in this act of grace!” (“Abound in this grace!”) (8:7)

• The ultimate example of “grace” is “our Lord Jesus Christ”! (8:9)

“Though he was rich” (v. 9).

“Though being rich,” a statement of what he was before he became poor. Radiant, glorious, exalted in heaven.

“Yet for our sake he became poor” (v. 9).

• Becoming poor is no exaggeration.
• Joseph and Mary on the run with no royal protection.

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22–24)

• The normal offering was a lamb. But Leviticus 12 says that if you “cannot afford a lamb,” then you should offer “two turtledoves or two pigeons.”
• And when Jesus ministered, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt 8:20).

“So that you by his poverty might become rich” (v. 9).

God has made us his! He has made us to share in his riches. In his grace. In his lavish love.

So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Cor 3:21–23)

Application:

You can see something of this in the life of Zacchaeus—that “wee little man” who climbed in a tree to see Jesus.

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1–10)

III. Giving Proportionally as Each One is Able (8:10–15)

Read 2 Cor. 8:10–15.

In this 3^rd section we want to pick up on this idea of GIVING PROPORTIONALLY.

• God’s providence is personal. His provision is unique to each one of us.
• For so many reasons, the financial situation of one person is never the same as the situation of another.
• That affects how much a person can give.
• Paul is dealing with the Corinthian church—fairly wealthy.
• And the Macedonian church—fairly poor.
• There’s no judgment in those facts.
• The AMOUNTS each can give will differ.
• This passage reminds us that as we GIVE JOYFULLY and GRACIOUSLY, we will also GIVE PROPORTIONALLY.

Note the phrases he uses:

• “What You Have” (v. 11)
• “According to what a person has” (v. 12)
• In our giving there is to be “a matter of fairness” (v. 13), “that there may be fairness” (v. 14).
• The idea here is that sometimes we’re the one in NEED and others give to us; sometimes we’re the one who HAS and we give to those in NEED.
• That’s the kind of “FAIRNESS” Paul means.

The result? “No Lack” (8:15).

To explain this idea he cites Exodus 16:18. Here’s a little more of the context:

15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. (Exod 16:15-18)

• God’s provision led to “no lack,” even though some were gathering “much” and some “little.”
• God’s provision came from the sky with the miracle of manna. But in 2 Cor the provision is through the normal means of working for pay and then the generous gifts of charity from other Christians.
• But the result is that there is “no lack.”

Paul saw here an example of what he calls “FAIRNESS” (Grk. isotēs).

• That Greek word would resonate with these Greek readers.[2]
• “Fairness” from isotēs was a word used in mathematics, law, philosophy, politics.
• Such “fairness” was to be modeled in a society among its citizens.
• So Paul was appealing to their conscience skillfully.
• Let what is often seen as an IDEAL in society be lived out in the CHURCH!

Ezra 2 and the super-abundance with this proportional giving.

There’s a powerful example of this in Ezra 2:68–70.

68 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments. 70 Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns. (Ezra 2:68–70)

Note the PROPORTIONALITY of the giving: “According to their ability they gave to the treasury” (Ezra 2:69).

Ezra 2:69 – But note what can happen when we ALL give: “61,000 darics of gold” is about 1,000 lbs. In today’s dollars, $48 million.

“5,000 minas” of silver is 6,250 lbs of silver = $3.2 million.

This also points to GOD’S AWARENESS of the giving. Preserved in sacred Scripture the exact count of “61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priest’s garments” (Ezra 2:69).

Just like Jesus knowing the widow put in “two small copper coins.” He knew exactly what she gave, and commended her for it.

Application:

In that enormous ingathering in Jerusalem, likely there were some households where all they had to give was a single silver coin.

But others had thousands they were willing to set aside for the temple project.

Those who couldn’t give much weren’t judged, and those who could give more weren’t put on a pedestal.

They were simply doing what they could, knowing that all of them working together could do something special.

The Logistical Details of 8:16–9:5.

• We won’t cover this in detail.
• But it concerns Titus going to Corinth.
• He’ll be with the “other brothers” he calls “apostles.”
• And the need to prepare the offering so that it’s ready for him.
• Paul mentions that some will be Corinth.
• Paul was careful to make sure that when a church gave money, a person from that church would accompany the financial gift.
• So that no impropriety—or false accusation—would occur.

Such logistic remind us that such practical concerns are NOT UNSPIRITUAL.

• We’re giving you a lot of logistics about the giving campaign.
• Such details are part of God’s Work not in opposition to it.

Conclusion

Giving:

• Joyfully out of our poverty
• Graciously to imitate Christ
• Proportionally as each one is able

Now in a campaign like this, some of you are going to be the Zacchaeus’s and contribute significantly to our giving campaign.

• Big offering as a sign of God’s work in your life and your joy in that.

But some of you are going to be like the widow in Luke 21.

• Jesus was there with his disciples.
• Watching many contribute to the temple in big and flashy ways.
• Likely some big contributions.
• But a widow put “two small copper coins” in the box at the temple.
• But remember what Jesus said: She “put in more than all of them” (Luke 21:3).

As we launch this All for Him campaign, we pray God does a deep work in you.

• Your finances would be all for him.
• Your time would be all for him.
• Your dreams and goals would be all for him.
• Your marriage and parenting would be all for him.
• May God speak! And may we respond!

Prayer

[1] This information from https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/d/howard-dayton/ and https://compassfinancialministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2350-Verses-Catalog.pdf.

[2] On this see Murray Harris, Second Corinthians, NIGTC, 590.