The heart of a Giver

The Heart of a Giver
2 Corinthians 8:1 – 9:15
June 8, 2025

As we continue our study of second Corinthians, we get to chapters 8 and 9 where Paul starts to address some more practical things in the local church. The focus of this chapter is generosity and giving.

The back story is that the church in Jerusalem was going through difficult financial times. The Jerusalem church was where the church was born and because of the missionaries initially going out from there, it set the stage for these gentile churches to have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and had the opportunity to be saved.

So the gentile churches felt they owed the church in Jerusalem a debt of gratitude. Now, the Jerusalem church was struggling, and Paul encouraged the churches in Greece to support them with financial gifts so that there could be equality in the body of Christ.

In this section, Paul tells the Corinthian church how the churches in Macedonia, although they were poor, contributed generously towards the Jerusalem church, and how he, Paul, boasted with the Macedonians on how generous the Corinthians are and the funds that they, the Corinthians also intended to send.

Although these are more ‘housekeeping’ chapters, there are certain very important principles for us to also take hold of. As we read it, it also challenges us about our view of money and giving.

In most churches, when you start to talk about money, it becomes very silent, yet it is something that Jesus spoke about a lot. The reason is that it is one of the things that has the greatest potential to be an idol in our lives and something many people filter most of their decisions through.

When our money and giving is also guided by biblical principles, it brings freedom as we use it as part of our worship towards God.

I. God Loves a Cheerful Giver

• Offerings and giving have been part of God’s prescriptions and principles from the beginning. If we go through Deuteronomy and Leviticus, we see all the prescriptions for the different types of offerings.
• God gave instructions for tithes that had to be given, first fruits offerings from their harvest to honor God, but then also free will and love offerings that they had a choice to bring to the Lord.
• Unfortunately, through some dark times in church history, the giving of money and indulgences was used to manipulate people, telling them that their giving would be directly correlated to the forgiveness they would receive from God.
• That had the effect that giving money almost became like an impersonal contractual agreement. I give money, I buy forgiveness.

Illus – I know of churches where, even today, they would send elders to all the congregants every month to go and collect their money. Some churches send a membership bill to their members. Personally, I think this grieves God’s heart, because they are missing the point.

• Thankfully, the reformation came about where they received the truth of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

2 Corinthians 5:21, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

• As a sidenote, we have a principle and distinctive at this church that we do not fundraise. Where God guides, God provides.
• Because of all the wrong perceptions concerning money and giving, it is important to address this, as we see Paul did in this chapter.
• When we look at giving, we see that the primary focus was never money, it was something much deeper.

A. Give Yourself First

• God has no interest in your money if your heart hasn’t been changed first. God is God. All the riches belong to Him. Cattle on a 1000 hills belong to Him. All the gold and silver belong to Him. God is in need of nothing. What is there that we can give Him that He doesn’t already have?
• One cannot buy your way into heaven. One cannot tip God, and then think that He must be so grateful that He will now do what you want Him to do.
• 8:5 – … they first gave themselves…
• This is the key principle. They gave themselves first. Relationship with God is key. This is the first and most important priority. This is why God has no interest in you giving a lot of money if your heart doesn’t belong to Him, because His primary objective is to have you with Him for eternity.
• Relationship with God is of paramount importance.

B. It’s all about the heart

• When you give yourself to Him, it changes everything. Now money, instead of lording over you and being god in your life, becomes a resource that can be used for God’s glory.
• We read that the Church of Macedonia was quite poor, yet they were incredibly liberal in their giving. Because they were poor, Paul was hesitant to take the money from them because He said that they were in need of it themselves. But they were adamant to share and to give.
• It is interesting to see that it isn’t necessarily wealthy people who are the most giving, but many times it is the poor or those who have struggled before who give more freely, because they know what it feels like to be poor and to be in need.
• God doesn’t measure your giving by the amount you give, He measures it by the heart that you give from.

Illus – There is the very famous account when Jesus was standing at the temple observing the people that brought their money to the temple. There He saw many wealthy people making a big showing of the great amount of money that they were putting into the treasury. But then there was one widow lady who came up to the treasury, somewhat ashamed because of the little she had to give. She dropped into the treasury the equivalent of half a penny.

Mark 12:43-44, Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

• When you give yourself to Christ, your perspective concerning money changes. When money is someone’s security, it can lead to people being very stingy. But when God is your security and you understand that money is the resource that He provides, it sets you free.

Illus – I once heard the testimony of a wealthy businessman who spoke about giving and how it impacted his life. He has applied the principle of his circle of need which he prayerfully considered. Any income in excess  of that need, he sows into the kingdom of God. It grew to a place where he was keeping 10% of his income which was more than enough to cover his circle of need and sowed 90% of his income.

•  Imagine if a rich person at the treasury gave 90% of his money and kept quiet about it. He would have gotten the same commendation from Jesus as the poor widow. It is not about the amount; it is about the heart.
• The right heart will also give cheerfully.

2 Corinthians 9:7, Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 

• Such a person does not give begrudgingly, moping around because he or she had to give something. God has no interest in that.

Illus – Imagine you give your teenager an allowance, and he excitedly invites you to come have a milkshake, his treat…

• A cheerful giver, giving with the right heart, also give without looking for recognition.

Matthew 6:3, But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

• It is all about the heart. Everyone can give. I have heard people ask, how does my dollar make a difference? It makes a difference in your heart.

II. God Gives Most

• As Paul is encouraging them, he again urges them to step back and see the situation from a different perspective.
• Instead of being focused on your own life, your needs, your lack, striving to make ends meet yourself, focusing on the self, he, even when speaking about money, points their attention to Jesus.
• Look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Look to Jesus, His example and what He has called us to.

A. Follow Christ’s example

• Paul says that this giving that he’s talking about, he doesn’t give as a command, but that it will be a fruit that shows the sincerity of their love.
• Giving is an act of worship and thank, acknowledging God’s goodness in your life.
• He then uses Christ as an example.

2 Corinthians 8:9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

• In other words, Christ was willing to let go of His majesty, His glory, all the riches of heaven, and became poor, born in a manger, working hard to learn the trade as a carpenter, eventually dying, stripped of everything on the cross.
• This He did so that through His poverty, we might become rich. Rich in forgiveness, rich in grace, rich in provision.
• He encourages them to have that same love. To show that same compassion. To hold very loosely to their own “riches”.

Illus – The good Samaritan…

B. The Lord will provide

• With the foundation of a life surrendered to Christ, with money in the right perspective, with a heart that is aligned with God’s will, he then shares the following principle.

2 Corinthians 9:6-10, Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 

• God supplies seed to the sower. He doesn’t ask you to give what you do not have.
• Verse 12 – For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
• God is not expecting you to go max out a credit card and sow from it with what you do not have.

Illus – I have heard these erroneous teachings from some television ministries before… Some people go into debt to sow, because their focus is that God will multiply their sowing hundred fold, whereafter they can pay off the debt and make a nice profit.

• The focus is wrong.

James 4:2-4, You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?

• God does not bless you to make you selfish so you can spend it on more pleasures, committing ‘adultery’ with the world.
• God blesses those whose hearts are set on Him and who is aligned with His purposes so that they can be conduits of blessing to others and the kingdom.
• As you sow, God supplies, as you sow more, He supplies more.

Illus – I remember one time; someone brought my mom some pumpkins…

Luke 6:38, Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

• As a sidenote, sow in fruitful ground, led by the Spirit of God. Paul speaks of the needs of the saints in chapter 9 verse12. Some are guilt-tripped by charlatans, frauds, or pretenders into giving.
• The Jerusalem church was fertile soil of believers being sown into.

App – As an example, we are called to look after the widows and orphans, but Paul gives clarity on this issue.

1 Tim5:9, A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. 

C. You are blessed

• A beautiful truth is that by giving, you are blessed. Financially, yes, but more than that.

Acts 20:35, In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’  ”

• You are blessed when you bless others. Why? Because you are demonstrating the nature of God. God is a giver.

James 1:17, Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…

• Some people think God is stingy. You should not bother God. If this is your view, you will reflect that view in your living and giving.
• No, God is a giver. When you give, you are aligned with His character. You are acting like God, like an ambassador, like a child of God. You experience the approval of His Spirit in your heart. ‘Well done, my son!”
• Your soul comes alive when you give.

Illus – Giving at Christmas blesses you…

• Another blessing is that it sets you free from the power money has over you. When you give, sow, tithe, you operate in contradiction with the sinful nature of being envious, disgruntled, selfish.
• By the action of sowing, you are confessing that God is your source. You put your hope in Him, not in money. Money is no longer the anchor and foundation of your life; God is.

Illus – When Abram went to rescue his nephew Lot from the kings that captured him, he came back and gave a tithe to Melchizedek, king of Salem. Melchizedek is a type of Christ in the Old Testament.

Genesis 15:1,  After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great.

Illus – Many of you might be able to testify that you have experienced the strange occurrence that when you tithe, 9/10ths seems to go further than 10/10ths.

D. Sowing produces thanksgiving

• Lastly, we see that the result of the churches sowing, was that others were thanking and praising God for the provision.
• Your giving produces thanksgiving to God by the recipients.
• They also thank God when they see that you are not just talking the talk, but putting your money where your mouth is.
• It becomes an evidence of our faith when we sow. It shows that we practically believe God’s word, His promises, and trust Him for His provision.
• They also thank God for you and remember you in their prayers, and in such a way the church is knitted together more closely in love.
• The beauty of God’s plan with finances, is that He takes the one thing, money, that in worldly applications stir up greed and results in the vilest things in people, and redeems it by people freely sharing and giving, becoming a resource to knit people together in love.
• May our prayer be: God, also in this, give me Your heart.