Page 1 of 5. I) Introduction: Scripture Reading is: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

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1 Page 1 of 5 Sermon Title: Generosity Generates Growth Written: April 30, 2016 Preached: May 1, 2016 at Waterville FBC Vessel: Russ LaFlamme Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Thesis: Paul teaches the Corinthians the benefits of being generous; Purpose: We will learn how generosity is tied to our spiritual growth. Key Points: #1 Generosity Builds Our Faith #2 Generosity Builds Our Joy #3 Generosity Builds Our Reward I) Introduction: Scripture Reading is: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 A) The Setting: 1) Two weeks ago we learned that Generosity begins with Jesus. (a) It was because God FIRST Loved us that He gave His SON, Jesus, to die in our place. (b) God generously gave salvation to all who accept Jesus as their Lord. (c) Jesus offered to give His life as a ransom for our lives; so that we could be restored to a right relationship with God. (d) We learned how our generosity expresses our genuine gratitude in appreciation for God s generosity toward us. 2) Last week we looked at how generosity is about discipleship. (a) That being a disciple of Jesus implies a desire to follow Christ and His teachings. (b) And that a disciple will then in turn share these teachings with others. 3) This week we see that Generosity Generates or promotes our Growth to be citizens of heaven. (a) Learning how to use our resources for God and the building of His Kingdom... is part of our maturing as disciples. (b) God is giving to each of us all that we need to prepare us to live with Him in all eternity. 4) Paul is teaching the Corinthians that we should not be afraid to be generous with our resources. (a) That generosity should be something that is expressed because of the joy of what God has and is doing for us. (b) That generosity shows that we are growing in our faith. 5) So, that brings us to our scripture reading for today in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. B) Sermon Prayer C) (The Hook) 1) If generosity is a matter of following Jesus... then our resistance to growing more generous puts limits on the level of spiritual maturity we may attain. 1 (a) Paul makes this point in 2 Corinthians 9:6 when he says, the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously. (NIV) (b) We should avoid the temptation to think that Paul means those who give a lot of money will make a lot of money. (c) What he means is this: those who embody the generosity of God by sowing extravagantly with their resources (Time, Talent and Treasure) will reap the harvest of growing in godliness. (d) God, Paul says, will increase the harvest of your righteousness, and you will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) (NRSV) (e) Those who imitate Jesus by giving generously will grow in godliness as they grow closer to God in Christ.

2 Page 2 of 5 (f) Without this attitude of generosity, then there are aspects of the character of Christ into which we will never grow. 2) Illustration: DON T BE CHEAP WITH THE SEED 2 (a) In Canada, a believer operated a large grain farm; his spread included some twenty-five hundred acres. (i) When asked how he planted the seed, he pointed to a distributor that was some thirty feet wide. (ii) "We take that double tandem truck, fill it with certified seed, back it up to the distributor, open the slots, and pour in the seed." (b) He went on to say, "If you re ever going to be cheap, don t be cheap with the seed." (i) One bushel of seed invested yields thirty bushels of grain harvested in a good year. (ii) Thirty-to-one is not a bad return, if you are ready to believe and willing to invest. (c) God says, "Believe Me, trust Me, try My plan, prove My ways, and see the kind of harvest I will give." (i) So Paul guarantees this principle of truth in the Scripture with the promise, " And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8 NRSV). (ii) This is what generosity is about; it is growing in our faith to the point where we are able to show our trust to God by using what God has provided as an offering to Him. TS: We are trusting that God will continue to provide what we need because we know that... II) Body: (Key Points) A) Key Point #1: Generosity Builds Our Faith 1) You cannot out give God 2) Farmers understand the principle of sowing seed and reaping a harvest. (a) They know that in order to get a good crop they must sow a lot of seed. (b) But the investment is worth it as they get back many times over what they invest most of the time. 3) Some years are better than other; but over the long haul they will always see much more than they plant. (a) But the farmer must first be willing to sow generously and trust that he will reap a reward. (b) If he holds back the yield will be small. 4) God uses the same principle. (a) If we aren t willing to risk what we have and trust God, then we will not received the blessings of His abundance. (b) But God is faithful and when we put our trust in Him; God will provide not only for our needs but for the needs of others. 5) My wife and I determined early on in our marriage to give God a portion of our income and over the years have been able to increase that. (a) The funny thing is that when we were struggling in the early years and thought we couldn t afford to do that; at time we struggled to pay our bills. (b) But since we made that commitment to give God the first portion of our income and not what was left over; God has never let us down. (c) We have received money or goods during the rough part from sources we know not.

3 Page 3 of 5 (d) It would just come as a knock on the door or an anonymous check in the mail or some times in the form of a bonus we did not anticipate. 6) God has used these moments to grow our faith in God s ability to meet our needs and trust Him more. (a) And the funny thing is that we have always had more to work with even in tough times when we were keeping our commitment to God than when we did not. (b) God is faithful and worthy of our trust. 7) It doesn t matter whether you have a little or a lot; the principle is the same. (a) I have found that it is not that I can t afford to give back to God. (b) It is that I can t afford NOT to give back to GOD! TS: This brings us to the attitude of our Generosity; because we have found that... B) Key Point #2: Generosity Builds Our Joy 1) J. Vernon McGee wrote in his commentary that, God does not want one penny from you if you would rather keep it for yourself. (a) If you are going to bring an offering to the Lord begrudging it in your heart... (b) Then God doesn t want it. (c) Not only does He not want it; but I believe He won t use it either. 2) There is no blessing in a gift that is given because you feel you have to give it. (a) God wants us to give back to Him out of our joy expressing all God s blessings. (b) But when we give out of our FAITH generosity brings a special JOY to our hearts. 3) We sing every week and again just this morning, Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings flow. (a) Did you mean it? Did you understand it? (b) We sing this as we bring our offerings to God because we are acknowledging God as the source of all our blessings. (c) We are giving back to God out of His blessings. (d) If it weren t for God we truly would have nothing to offer. 4) We give generously to support our church so that we can meet in this beautiful place for worship to the God who owns everything. (a) We give generously to support the ministries and missionary who carry on the work of taking the Good News of God s Grace to the world. (b) We give generously to help those in need to show the love of God is for everyone. 5) Nothing material on this earth is mine; I am only a servant of the master who has entrusted it to me for the time I am here. (a) When I leave this life for the life after; I will only take my relationships with me. (b) Nothing of this world will go with us. (c) Oh, the joy of knowing the blessed peace of God! TS: True generosity is not given to get something; but one benefit is that... C) Key Point #3: Generosity Brings Us Reward 1) Friday night Debbie and I attended a concert at the Faith Evangelical Church with the Hyssongs and Greater Vision, two of the best gospel trio groups in gospel music today. (a) Both groups have songs playing in the top 20 Southern Gospel songs this week playing on the radio. (b) It was a time to praise and worship God in the message through the words of the music. 2) Rodney Griffin who is one on the members of Greater Vision wrote a song in 2005 called Faces; I want you to listen to some of the words of this powerful song:

4 Page 4 of 5 I dreamed my life was done I stood before God's Son It was time to see what my reward would be With love He reviewed my life To count what was done for Christ For that is what will last eternally See I'd done my best to share That Jesus really cares And He would save if they just believe Oh, but seldom did harvest come And so few did I see won Until the Lord said, "turn around and see." Then He showed me the faces of the ones who'd come because of me So many faces that my life had led to Calvary All those years I thought nobody saw as I labored in lowly places That's when Jesus smiled and showed me all the faces. He said though you did not see the yield, You were faithful to plow the field At other times you helped me plant the seed No matter how small the task, you did just as I asked And thanks to you these souls have been set free. 3) You see our generosity is building the relationships of those who may come to Jesus. (a) This is a reward we will receive knowing we played a part in their salvation. (b) Maybe it was from inviting them to church or giving them a free ticket to a Christian Concert or event like Why Jesus. (c) Or maybe you brought them with you to a Crusade event where they could hear the gospel. 4) Did you know that Franklin Graham is coming to Maine next year? (a) People need the Lord now more than ever before it is too late. (b) Keep praying, keep inviting; keep witnessing with your life. (c) Use these special opportunities and pray that whether it be through the music, the message, the worship or your relationship that all will come to Jesus. TS: What are the lessons we can learn here? III) Conclusion (Life Application) A) Generosity begins with Jesus. 1) Because Jesus first loved us. 2) We love Him back. B) But, Generosity is also about Discipleship 1) Committing to the teachings of Jesus 2) Generously showing the love of Jesus to those around us 3) And identifying and acknowledging that Jesus is your Lord. C) And Generosity generates growth in our spiritual walk with Jesus. 1) Building our faith, joy and rewards; 2) Where one day we all hope to hear the words of our blessed Master, Well done my faithful servant. D) It has been my hope that we understand and experience a small lesson in being generous that lead to the challenge I issued.

5 Page 5 of 5 1) For I wish each of you could have an opportunity to experience the blessing of generosity. (a) And even though two weeks have passed, I still am offering to continue my challenge. (i) To give each of you $10 if you accept my challenge. (ii) If you will put this money to work as seed money and see what God can do with it. (b) Think of it like the parable of the talents where the Land owner gives so many talents for each of His servants to manage while he is away. (i) When he returns he wants to see what they have done with it. (ii) I don t know what the result will be. (iii) To be honest not many have accepted the challenge; so, you are going to miss out on the blessing. (iv) I am trusting that God will teach us all a lesson of what He is capably of doing when we put our Faith in Him. (c) If you accept the $10, find a way to invest it for the next 2 weeks and see how much God can make it grow. (i) In 2 more weeks we will bring the $10 plus anything produced from using it and give it as an offering to the Lord. (ii) It has cost you nothing except some time and effort. (iii) We will then take this blessing from God and offer half of the offering using it toward the restoration of the steeple and front of the church. (iv) We will use the other half and give it to the sandwich program for the work of ministry. (v) In this way we are taking care of our facilities where we gather for worship and provide equally towards the ministry for which we exist. (d) If you accept the challenge, then all you need to do is see me after the service and I will give you $10 free and clear and you are on your honor to do your best to make it grow. (i) You can use it to purchase supplies for arts and craft projects... (ii) Or you can use it for cooking and a bake sale or lemonade stand. (iii) You know favorite things that people always like as a treat. (iv) Make it something you can do with the family or alone. (e) Be creative; but Please do not buy a lottery ticket or bet with it in a game of chance. (i) Just see what God leads you to do to increase the $10 in the next 2 weeks. (ii) What I am hoping is that you can have some fun and in the process make a little profit that you can use to help the ministry of our church. (f) YOU will experience the Joy of God in the process and feel like you are a part of what we are doing here at this church. (i) I believe and I am trusting that God will bless our efforts. (ii) And at the end of the challenge we will report back on how we did. 2) Will you give it a try? (a) I am providing the seed money so no one has to take it out of your normal offerings to God. (b) This is over and above anything that you regularly give. (c) Put God to the test and see what He can do. 3) Finally, Let s find a way to show genuine love for God in a generous way. IV) Invitation: Let us Pray! V) Bibliography 1 to Inspire True Generosity by Matt O Reilly. 2 Jack Exum - James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p From a sermon by Gerald Flury, "Sown Any Good Seed Lately?" 1/12/2009