First, They Gave Themselves

Stewardship 2                                                                                                LSB #’s 819, 730, 728
Text – 2 Corinthians 8:3-5
 
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, & beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints – & this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord & then by the will of God to us. 
 
FIRST, THEY GAVE THEMSELVES
 
 
The Apostle Paul wrote of the Macedonian Christians, & a gift they’re going to send to the suffering Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.  He said, they “did not do as we expected,  but they gave themselves first to the Lord…”   Paul pointed out very clearly, concisely & powerfully  that they gave beyond their ability to give: “…they gave …beyond their means, of their own accord.”  
Those faithful believers were not just giving what they could afford to,  they were giving from their necessities.  Outsiders looked at them & asked, “How can they do that?”  St. Paul encouraged the Macedonian Christians, & each of us,  to be faithful,  cheerful & generous givers. 
A missionary pastor in Chile had been faithfully proclaiming the Word of God to the people he served.  They were very poor people.  Poverty was something with which they were well acquainted.  Because he was wrestling with something & did not know what it was, one of his conversations with the Lord went something like this:
“Lord, what is it in addition to justification by faith alone?  What is it, Lord, in addition to proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Christ of the Cross, crucified for our sins?  What is it, Lord, that I’m missing in telling Your people from Your word.  In addition to Christ & the empty tomb, the words, ‘He is not here; He is risen,’ what is it that I’m missing?” 
The missionary pastor felt compelled that there was something he wasn’t proclaiming to his people.  After months of wrestling in Word & in prayer, in lots of prayer & in the Word,  he came to one thing he felt the Lord wanted him to do that he had not done, & it bothered him to do this.  He felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to teach his people about the tithe – giving ten percent & more – returning ten percent & more  to the Lord.   The result was that he got up on the first Sunday, &,  feeling just awful about it,  yet compelled to do so to preach the Word of God in its truth & purity, he proclaimed the tithe. 
Next Sunday the people came back.  The pastor hadn’t given it much thought, but they came back, & at the time of the offering they put their chickens on the altar, they put their eggs on the altar, they put their grains & other crops on the altar.  They put the clothes that they had woven on the altar.  They put leather goods on the altar. 
The altar was heaped with gifts from this very small & poor congregation.  After the service was over, still feeling guilty for taking these things from these poor people, the pastor took some things & distributed them among the destitute & poorest in the community.  Some of it he sold to provide things the church had long needed, since it was a ramshackle building.  
Sunday after Sunday after Sunday they came back again, & again, & again with their offerings.  Then the people, along with the pastor, began to realize that the Lord really was blessing them.  Their crops were abundant; the harvest was bountiful.  It got to the point that the communities around them were buying food from them because their crops were so plentiful. 
They were making money now.  So, they brought not only the firstfruits & ten percent from their land, they were bringing offerings of money as well.  It was an incredible turnaround for this small congregation; this tiny group of people gathered in the Lord’s name in Chile. 
I stand before you today as a pastor like that Chilean missionary who has wrestled & struggled, who has prayed & studied the Word of God with regard to bringing before you this message about giving from our blessings.  The question we face, “What is an appropriate gift or response to God’s generosity?” 
I am very aware, & I hope you are too, that,  in the OT,  the tithe was the requirement. 
Leviticus 27:30 says, “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.”  God’s people were required by the law to give ten percent or more, & they gave more.   In the NT,  it is not a requirement to give ten percent, yet St. Paul wrote:
“You will be enriched in every way   to be generous in every way,  which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”  (2 Corinthians 9:11 ESV)    Have you noticed that generous people tend to be happy people,  & happy people tend to be generous people?   They know how to live life & do not seem to be hurt by giving. 
Pastors do people an injustice when they fail to preach about the stewardship of money. 
I pray that,  as we learn what Scripture has to say on this subject, we’ll rejoice in the foundation God has built for us to stand upon.   On that foundation we become the kind of givers that He desires us to be – givers who honor & please Him & give glory to His name. 
Now, what did Paul have to say?  One of the first things that struck Paul is how the Macedonians did not give as he expected them to.  They gave themselves first to the Lord.  What does he mean by that?  When it comes to giving, I think it means that you recognize God’s ownership of everything in your life – everything,  including yourself. 
When you were baptized, you became a child of God.   Through the Holy Spirit,  a relationship is established that makes us His own. 
What is the second thing Paul saw?  When he looked at these Macedonian Christians, he said, “They are giving beyond their ability.”  People were observing them & saying, “Wow!  Where did all this come from?”  I’m sure the missionary pastor in Chile was thinking similar thoughts.  “Where are all these gifts coming from?” 
Better yet, a question might be, “What has enabled them to give like that?”  It’s the same
thing enabling you & me to give like that.  Through faith, God opens our minds & our hearts.  God’s Spirit enables us to understand that God is our creator, owner, sustainer,  & provider  of all things.  We are God’s through creation,  & again through redemption.   We continually see His love & grace working in our lives. 
A wise woman was walking along  when she found a very precious stone in a stream.  She picked up the stone, put it in her bag along with her food,  & went on her way.  As she was going along her journey, she met a traveler, & she could see in his face that he was hungry, tired & weary.  She opened her bag & offered him some food. 
As he looked in the bag,  the sun hit just right  reflecting that precious stone.  Instead of taking the food, he asked, “May I have that stone?”  Unhesitatingly, she reached inside her bag, lifted out the stone, & with a smile on her face gave it to him.  Greedily he grabbed the stone in his hand & raced off hurriedly.  She closed her bag & went along on her journey.  
A few days later the greedy traveler came back to her with an outstretched hand holding the stone: “Here, I give this back to you now.  I give this back to you in the hope that you can give me something even more precious & valuable than I know that this stone is.” 
Though the traveler knew the stone could provide a lifetime of security for him & his family, he returned the stone to the woman, saying, “I hope you can give me that which enabled you  to so freely give it to me.”   He wanted the gift of generosity, of giving like Mother Teresa.  What was it that enabled her to give so freely & in such difficult circumstances? 
What enabled her to give her life so completely to people who were poor & filthy?  What enabled her to give  a lifetime to those who were diseased & hurt,  harassed & helpless?   What enabled her to do that  but the grace of God!  The same grace of God given to each one of us by the indwelling Holy Spirit  enables us to be people different than  what we ever imagined we could be.  The Holy Spirit, alive inside our hearts, changes us, transforms us.  We are not people who are getters; we are givers.  We are transformed from people who keep score  into people who forget the score.  We are people who are not superstars in our own right,  but rather  we’re servants of our Lord & of one another.  God’s grace enables us to give beyond our ability. 
May God receive the glory for that as we rejoice at how He uses us.  He has changed us.  We are different, even though we struggle.  God’s grace enables us to be cheerful givers.  The Lord loves a cheerful giver & would rather that we not give under compulsion or because we must.  He wants to change our ‘have to’ into an ‘I want to.’ 
That is the difference between OT tithing & NT giving.  In the OT,  a believer was required to give 10 percent & more.  In the NT,  it is by the grace of God that we give  what we give.  Unfortunately,  a survey has revealed that today  Christians give,  on average, 2.5 percent. 
That’s sad  because it appears that the requirement of the law accomplishes more than the power of grace through the Gospel.  Jesus Christ is the One Who causes us to be transformed & motivated to give  in a way that is far beyond what anyone could imagine.  However, American Christians have lost the enthusiasm, the excitement, the heartfelt joy  of the first Easter morning.  
Women went to the tomb.  When they got there, they were frightened,  but still heard the message: “He is not here; but has risen!”  (Luke 24:6a ESV)    Have we forgotten Jesus’ promise: “Because I live, you also will live”?  (John 14:19b)   Have we lost the joy & excitement that comes from the Holy Spirit  through God’s Word & Sacraments?  
The forgiveness of our sin changes things,  opening our eyes to see things differently than we saw them before.  It brings the joy of the Resurrected Lord,  the joy of being people who’ve been raised up & daily rejoice in the effects of our baptism.  By God’s grace, by His forgiveness, by His Spirit,  we can do things we’ve never done before.  We give ourselves first to the Lord.  We give beyond our ability.  We give cheerfully.  May God grant His grace to work so powerfully & abundantly in your life that we begin, & continue to see,  new horizons as we live lives of faith in Jesus Christ,  trusting in Him alone for salvation.  Amen. 
 
We pray.  Thank You, Lord, for all You do & for all the countless gifts You give to us.  Thank You for Your Spirit Who works faith within us  & stirs us to acts of love for others.  Help us never to grow weary in service to our neighbors.  Lord, open our eyes & give us hearts full of gratitude for Your great & wondrous love revealed in Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.