Friday March 6, 2015

Read 2 Corinthians 9:11-15

As you read these verses, the words ‘thanks’ and ‘praise’ come up four times. It’s repeated over and over because our generosity leads to thanks and praise - to God and not to us.

That’s a great motivator. I’ve seen this repeated many times over. As a church grows in generosity, as the individuals grow in generosity, that church can then help meet others’ needs. These people, having their needs meet, give praise and glory to God because of the help given to them by brothers and sisters in the Lord. Personally, I find it a great joy to know that others are praising God and giving thanks to Him from my service to Him. What a joy to know that the Lord is glorified by my service and my generosity. How often in your giving/tithing have you prayed for and praised God for the fact that this offering will lead to others giving thanks?

Even more so, when a church reaches out to the genuinely needy non believers in the surrounding community, these non believers will look to God and offer thanks to Him. They know that churches help because they have a walk/relationship with God. They are challenged to know God themselves. Awesome! Even more so, many have come into the faith  because they have received blessing through the generosity of the church. Awesome! 

Added to this, others will see our obedience to the Lord as we give generously and this too will lead to praise and thanks being offered up to God. Giving is not optional. Generosity is not optional. As Paul says in verse 13, it is the obedience that accompanies our confession of the gospel. When others see obedience they praise God but they are also challenged to be equally, if not more, obedient. This causes a positive chain reaction of obedience to rise up. Hallelujah!

Finally, our generosity is a marker showing how much we have understood the generosity of the Lord to ourselves. As we grow in grace and understanding of what the Lord has done for us, generosity becomes easier and easier. No wonder Paul finishes this section with, ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.’ God has given us everything in Jesus Christ. He has given up His one and only Son. He has poured out His wrath on Jesus rather than on you and I. God has adopted us as His children. He has given us an inheritance - the inheritance of Christ. He has poured out the Holy Spirit into our hearts and has sealed us for the day of redemption. He is leading us home towards our eternal inheritance kept in heaven for us.

God has given you and I so much. His indescribable gift is enormous and often unfathomable. He alone deserves glory, honour and praise.

Prayer:

Use the day’s reading notes and Bible passage to pray meaningfully:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

· Think of 5 generous people or families you know and give thanks/praise for them.

· Pray that your church would rise up to become a generous church that gives and serves generously. Pray that the church would no longer have to ask for volunteers as people give generously with their time, their talents and their treasures.

· Pray that there would be no needy people in your church as the generosity is shared around and distributed equally among the needy.

 Discussion & Reflection

1. How does it make you feel knowing that your giving and tithing leads to praise to God?

2. Should we have as a personal goal getting others to praise God? Discuss your answer. Should this be a church goal?

3. Discuss a time you have praised God because of another’s generosity? Share with the group what happened and why you praised God?