 We're in 2nd Corinthians. We're going to look at chapter 8 verses 1 through 9 and I'll begin reading at verse 1. I'm going to give you a prolonged introduction I know that's unusual, but I'm going to give you a prolonged introduction to lay the foundation for this and You'll see why I'm doing that in in just a moment. So beginning at verse 1 reading to verse verse 9 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 Paul writes more over brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints. And not only as we had hoped but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes, he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. So in chapter 8 and chapter 9 here in 2 Corinthians, Paul turns to a new subject and the subject that we're going to be looking at in chapters 8 and 9 will be a collection taken for poor saints in the city of Jerusalem. So in order for us to understand this, what's the purpose of this? Why would he insert this in this particular portion of his letter? In order for us to understand this, like I mentioned a moment ago, let me lay a foundation. We need to develop a background. We need to remember that the church, even as we celebrated Pentecost Sunday recently, we need to remember that the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost in AD 33 almost from the beginning, almost from the beginning. The believers in church had a financial need. They needed help. You see, as the church began to regularly gather and regularly be taught, needs within the confines of the church began to appear. From the beginning, the church developed identifiable organizational structure. The believers, according to Acts 242 following, the believers remained steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers. They maintained consistent fellowship, members, as they did so, began to be recognized as genuine. So as they were doing these things, as they were in fellowship and growing together, getting into the word and prayer, there were people who began to be recognized as the genuine article. They were really believers. And as this was taking place, it helped them to love one another. It helped people to begin to see that God was moving in the midst of this group called the church. And the world around them began to see their genuine faith in Jesus Christ. And the church actually, you might find this interesting, one commentator put it like this, the church actually became an ideal society that truly cared about others. The church began to do what Jesus taught us to do in Luke 12, 33. Remember, he said, sell your possessions, give to the poor, provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where the thief comes near, where no thief comes near, and no moth destroys. So the church actually became a family of believers who died to self-interest and died to competition. Instead, they were motivated by sympathy for other people and they were motivated by a spirit of self-denial. When you read the history of the early church and look at Acts 2, 44 and 45, it says, all who believed were together, had all things in common, sold their possessions and goods, divided them among all, as anyone had need. So the obedience to the teachings, the fellowship, the prayers produced generosity in the believers. And the church rallied to the support of their Christian family members who would be in need. It became an obvious element of the Christian faith. It also became part of how they responded to real, genuine needs in the church. Again, in Acts chapter 4, 34 and 35, it says, there were no needy persons among them, for from time to time, those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. So the church continued to grow. And as the church continued growing, needs began to increase in the fellowship. So as you're going through Acts chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, when you get to chapter 6, Acts chapter 6 records the selection of seven men for the distribution of goods for widows who had genuine and real needs. Church structure had been put into place to meet the needs of those who were poor. But financial needs became a continuing condition in the church of Jerusalem. And though believers were spiritually rich in Jesus, financial concerns remained. Now, what contributed to this poverty? How did that take place? Well, you can see how that takes place by looking at the book of Acts. When you look at Acts chapter 11, for example, that chapter reports something occurred during that time. It was approximately AD 46. And Acts 11, 27 through 30 says it like this, during this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. And this they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. So a famine had come, people were in a lot of need. And so that began in around 46 AD. In AD 51, the church was still in need. That's referred to when Paul met with the apostles Peter, James and John. Because when you read Galatians 2, 9 and 10, Paul said, James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing that I was eager to do. Now moving on, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul closed with a call to help poor believers. In 1 Corinthians 16, 1 through 3 he says about the collection for God's people, do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of the week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made. Then when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. The believers had become impoverished. There were members of the church who were poor. How had this happened? Well one, I mentioned a moment ago, the famine that had hit. But you might find this interesting too. Many, when they became Christians, well many Jewish believers were disinherited by their families. Jesus had made that clear. This is going to happen in Matthew chapter 10 verses 34 through 36. He said, do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I didn't come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to send a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Man's enemies will be those of his own household. And so when these Jewish people came to faith in Messiah Christ, Jesus, what they did is they lost everything, all support. So the famine hit, but also families began to be, people began to be disinherited by family members. And on top of that, when you look at Acts chapter 8, according to Acts chapter 8 verse 1, a great persecution hit the believers in Jerusalem. And so you had disinheritance, you had a famine, and you had persecution. All of this over time was combining. And as it combined, it produced poverty for some, for many. And so what happens is Paul is now saying we need to help our poor brethren in Jerusalem. Now I want to take it a step further, one more thing to consider. Some people might wonder, why should Gentiles, remember the Corinthian church as a Gentile church? Why should Gentiles be concerned about Jewish believers, Jew and Gentile? Why should that matter? When you begin to remember your Bible for centuries, Jews excluded Gentiles. They called them dogs. They were pagans. They were people without God. Peter made that clear when he was speaking in Acts chapter 10 to a Roman man by the name of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 verse 28. Peter said to him, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But he goes on to say, but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Why should Gentiles care about Jews? Look at the way that they were spoken of. Look at the way they were treated. It was so common. Remember in the Gospel of John, even the Samaritans who were not regarded by the Jews, like John says, he said, the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. There were differences, cultural and religious that were huge. That's why when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, that woman of Samaria, she said, how is it that you being a Jew speak to me, a woman of Samaria? There was such a hatred and such an antagonism culturally. The Jew and the Gentile, the Jews worship the one God. The Gentiles were regarded as those without God. And they had no dealings with the Samaritans either because they were a hybrid mix, a pagan mix of religious, religion of the Jew and Jewish heritage. It was something they had nothing to do with. They didn't want anything to do with that. So why should the Corinthians care about a group of people who excluded them, had nothing to do with them, would speak poorly of them? Why should they care? Well, one, because in Christ there is no Jew, nor is there a Gentile, not in Christ. In Galatians 3, 28, the Bible says it. There's neither Jew nor Greek. There's neither slave nor free. There's neither male nor female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. Jesus came to take the two and make them one in him. That's why we should care. In Romans 3, 29, is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. And secondly, Gentiles should be thankful for what God did for them through Israel. In Romans 15, 27, Paul said it like this, if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them in their material blessings. Why should we care about the Jews? Because we receive the spiritual blessings from Israel through Messiah. And why should we care? Because there's only one church. You know, there are some people who find that offensive for me to say, but it's true. There's only one church. Guys, let's not forget that. Let's not forget that in the midst of all the pain we're going through right now, all the sorrow and the hurt that people are going through. There's only one church. I say this to you often because I believe it so deeply. There's neither Jew. There's no Gentile. There's no male. There's no female. There's no bond, no freak. There's one in Jesus Christ. We are the body of Christ. We need to keep that in mind. We need to keep that in mind. I'm going to tiptoe for a moment because I have to, because sensitivity is being as raw as they are. We need to remember that. There is one church. There is one church. And we need to act as if there's one church. And there's one message, the message of the gospel, the gospel that changes human hearts, that teaches us what forgiveness is, what grace is, what goodness is, what love is, the gospel that presents to us a Savior who died for the sin of the whole world, the gospel that takes enemies and can bring them together in reconciliation through Jesus Christ. It's the message that isn't cultural. It's a message that's spiritual. It's a message that reaches hearts. It's interesting, and I'll say this now. It's interesting how the Bible says there is in Ephesians 4 verses 4 through 6, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all. And this is where Paul shows himself to be from southern Tarsus, because he says, and in y'all, right there, you saw it, it's in Ephesians 4, 6, and in y'all. So I find it interesting that the first division of the church, the first division within the body of Christ was cultural. Did you know that? The first division in Scripture was cultural. Acts chapter 6 tells us that in verse 1, in those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The first division came over Greek and Jew, not getting along, because the Hebrew widows were cared for and the Greek culture Jews were not. Remember the book of Acts? Remember in chapter 2, when the day of Pentecost had fully arrived and the people had been baptized in the Spirit and they had come out of that upper room in all. Remember how it says in Acts 2, I read this to you last time we were together. It says, how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? And then all of these people groups were mentioned, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judeans, Kepidesians, from Pontus, Asia, Phrygian, Pamphylia, various, 16 different. They were Jews. These were Jews. These were Jews. They were hearing the words of God in their own language. There were cultural differences between the Hebrew Jews and the Grecianized Jews, strong cultural differences. When you look in the religious makeup of Israel, you had the Pharisees who were extremely conservative and they were in opposition to Sadducees. Why were they so upset with Sadducees? Well, in the Sadducee faith, and you see the Pharisees and Sadducees throughout the New Testament in the Gospels, why were they so upset with the Sadducees? Because the Sadducees had been infiltrated by Greek culture and thought. And in their theology, they had embraced Greek philosophy. And so the conservative Jew who was a Pharisee, a separated one, had opposition to the Grecianized belief system of the Sadducees. The Sadducees didn't believe in angels or spirits. They didn't believe in the resurrection. And that was against the pillars of Judaism. And so the social, cultural, Pharisee conservative had a problem with the liberal Sadducees. And so that was early on in the history of Israel prior to Jesus coming to the face of the earth and ministering. So when the Holy Spirit fell upon the people there, there were all of these people from language groups and culture groups that are being referred to. And the first division that took place in Acts chapter 6 verse 1 was a cultural division. The Jewish believers thought themselves to be superior to the Grecianized ones, and they caused a lot of problems. So much so, that's the first division that you find in the church. The Jewish believers who were culturally Greek were treated as second-class citizens, and it caused division. But in Acts 432, it had spoken of them as being of one heart and one soul, but now division threatened the church. How did the apostles deal with that? Well, the apostles said that their job was to pray, to give themselves over to the Word of God. And they said, select spirit-filled men to handle this problem. And that's exactly what they did. There was a practical problem that was handled in a spiritual way. Why is that important? Remember that if a house is divided, it cannot stand. And remember that Satan is trying to divide the house. He always has. It's his oldest tactic to get believers mad at each other, to get us arguing amongst ourselves, to get us trumpeting a cause that doesn't save a soul. And that's what happens, guys. Be very careful. Be very careful that you take your beliefs and wash them with the blood of Christ. Be very careful. Remember, there's no Jew. There's no Gentile. We're just one in Jesus Christ. Out of the two, he made the one new man, Paul says, the believer. That's what we are. You may love whatever culture you come from. I love mine. I love mine. Somebody said to me, just the other day, they said, Pastor David, if you had to give up spaghetti or tacos, which would it be? Duh. Is that a real question? You love what you love and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that, right? But would we divide over that? Would we divide over something that is my culture and not spiritual? Should we? But people do. They get angry over things like that. They get angry over things like that. And as we bicker amongst ourselves and argue amongst ourselves, as we divide ourselves, the lost continue parading to hell. Continue in their parade to hell. Well, the church is so busy arguing who's been hurt the most or who's been blessed the most. Guys, please be careful. I hope I'm not offending you. But as a man who loves you, a pastor who's willing to tell the truth, I'm telling you the truth. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ in this time. You have to because he's the only hope because he changes hearts. Don't forget that. Don't forget that. Don't forget that. Why should Corinthians care about Jewish believers? They should care because they're children of God and they are followers of Christ. They are part of the one body. So Paul is using this. This is your backdrop to why it's important to have this offering taken to the believers because they're impoverished. And that's what Paul is speaking about. And that's what Paul is speaking concerning. And he's returning to what he had commanded in 1 Corinthians. He's saying set aside money to send to the poor in Jerusalem. So verse one, again, that was your introduction beginning at verse one, looking at verse two, 2 Corinthians 8. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. These are Greek churches that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. So he begins by using the Gentile churches of Macedonia. Remember, he's speaking to a Corinthian church, a Greek church. He's speaking to them using the Gentile churches of Macedonia. And Greece was part of what today Macedonia would be north of what we know as Greece. And it goes all the way up into Yugoslavia and all. So this is an area that's general for both of them. The Corinthians would have been in the southern area. These are northern. And he's speaking of the Philippian church and the Berean church and the Thessalonican church. And that's what he's speaking related to. And he's using them as examples of caring and giving. Now, I want you to notice something. He's speaking of their generosity. Notice that. He's speaking of their generosity. Again, we make known to you by the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. He's using them as an example of generosity to provoke them. Now, he's not doing this to encourage competition. Some carnal response from them. He's utilizing their generosity as a godly motivation for them to emulate their faith. If you take notes, Hebrews 10 24 says, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Let us watch over. Let us see. Let us encourage one another. Let us consider one another. Why? That we might stir up love and good works because when I see you do something good, it provokes me to do the same. You're an example. You become an example of what it means to be loving and caring and generous and patient and all of that. So we're actually supposed to watch each other closely. Consider means that to watch each other closely because you become an example to me and I can be an example to you. And that's how your children, if you're a parent, that's how your children learned what they believe is right and wrong. They learned that by watching you. They considered you. You say you love mama, daddy. I'll watch how a man loves a woman. And if you love in her right, you're training them right. They're considering you. They're watching you. And he says the church is to consider one another that we might provoke one another, stir one another up to loving good works. So if I can use the church as an example of what a great church doing a great work is, that's what I should do. This is a great work. Look what they're doing for Christ. And we as believers, we see that. And as we see that, it provokes us. And we say, you know what? That's the way it ought to be. And that's what he's speaking about. Churches are to provoke one another to good works regularly. And in our own lives, we do serve as examples and we do encourage others. So the Macedonians were examples to the Corinthians of God's grace in action. So he points out some things. Notice what he does. He points out their generosity. He says their generosity originated in the grace of God. It wasn't their own goodness. It wasn't their own charity. It was God's grace prompting their hearts to give because God's grace is the foundation of giving to other people. There's a commentator named Matthew Henry. And Matthew Henry said, the grace of God must be owned as the root and the fountain of all good in us or done by us at any time. The grace of God. So we who have received from the Lord are careful to give to the Lord. Not with a fleshly motive to receive and return but out of love for him and those he loves. So God had bestowed his grace on the churches of Macedonia and in response they're giving. And this free grace bestowed on them produce a generous spirit within them. And as a result out of the love for God and others, they're carrying for those in need. So as God's grace flowed into my life, as God's grace flowed into yours, then that's the fountain of all generosity. And he's making it clear this grace is available to the church at Corinth. Verse two provides another insight into their giving and instructs present day believers. Notice verse two, that in a great trial of affliction, he says, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality, their generosity. Liberality speaks of generosity. They were under affliction and persecution and they barely had enough for themselves. And Paul points out that they were enduring a season of great affliction. Again, the Thessalonian church was an example for other churches. When Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, he said in chapter one, verses six and seven, in 1 Thessalonians, he said, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Ikea who believe. So Paul uses them as examples because they gave when it was difficult for them to do so. Their trial of affliction, their deep poverty resulted in sacrifice and joy as they gave. You see, giving under such conditions not only refined their faith, it also revealed it. Trials and affliction produced an abundance of joy and deep poverty produced riches of generosity. Under the fire of affliction and poverty, joy and generosity was refined. Here's something interesting to you as I was preparing this. The Philippian church was once again a northern church there, a Macedonian church. And one commentator mentioned that the church of Philippi has actually had a core, a core group of women. Acts chapter 16, verses 13 through 15 points out that the first converts in the church were women. Now, when these women came to faith in Christ, their husbands didn't necessarily support them. These were Jewish women who would meet to pray by a riverside. And as they were there praying, they received the gospel, came to faith in Christ. But that doesn't mean that their husbands came to faith either. And so the Philippian church very well may have been a church that didn't have much financial means. You see, the breadwinners who would have been the men would not give to the wife money to give in their gifts to the Lord. And so the women had very little to give. But in spite of this, they responded to difficult times with love and concern for others. And that's what happens so very often is people who have little actually learned to live on that little, not to say that's good or bad, but it's true. And many of those who are very generous are also those who have gone through much pain and much poverty. And they gave. In verse three, he says, I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, beyond their ability, they were freely willing. That means self motivated or spontaneous. In other words, they were not prompted. And this is an important point I'm going to make in a second. They didn't need to be prompted and nobody had to beg for them to give. They didn't have to be asked. He says of their own will they gave. So though they were poor, their giving was incredibly generous proportionately. That's because they exercised faith. They knew that God supplies their need. Remember in Luke 21, verses one through four, how's that speak in this way as he looked up as Jesus looked up. He saw the rich putting their gifts in the temple treasury. He saw poor widow put into very small copper coins. I tell you the truth, he said, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth. She out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. These people spontaneously gave without being begged because of their faith and their love for the Lord. And again in verse three, they were, he said, freely willing. They were, somebody said they were freely willing because they were free to be willing. Jesus had set them free from the normal self centered way they at one time had lived. They were no longer slaves to sin. They were no longer in bondage to selfish fears. They were now seeking God's kingdom and they believed that the love of money is a trap. Remember Ecclesiastes 510, whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. When the COVID virus, the COVID-19 hit, did you see the stock market tank? 30,000 points went down to like 19,000, 11,000 loss. They said that it was even greater than the time of the Great Depression. Such a loss, such a quick spiral. And those who were relying on the finances like that saw them drying up right before their eyes within a matter of just a few weeks. Economies began to crash and a depression was threatened. And when you put your trusted money, that's exactly what happens. That's what they're saying here. Whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. It can sprout wings and fly away. And that's what happens. They didn't have that attitude. What they did is they loved God. They gave because they loved God and they gave because they cared about people. In Acts 2035, Paul said, I've showed you all things, how that's so laboring, you want to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. In verse four, he says, employing us with much urgency that we should, we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministry and to the saints. And so they were urgent in their giving. They were motivated by love, motivated by concern. They insisted on giving. It reflects the knowledge of God that is mature. When you're generous, it shows that you understand grace and love. But here's what's happening. These poor people were giving. And with these poor people were giving to help the Jewish church, Paul had an accusation launched against him because Paul was receiving the offering to give to the poor. And so I've been sharing with you in 2 Corinthians that there's a whole list of accusations. If you take notes, some of you may have been. This is what is the 15th accusation that Paul addresses in this letter. And the accusation, Paul takes advantage of the poor. He uses guilt to secure their money and his power. That was the accusation against him. So Paul makes it clear this is not the case. He says they gave of their own free will and they gave out of love. It was they and not Paul who was who were doing the begging. They implored us to receive. He said we are not taking advantage of them. They're asking us to take this and to give. He says in verse 5 this they did not as we had hoped but first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. And that's the key to giving because when God has your heart he has all of you. They had what we call a heavenly mindset. It's been said that my wallet has a chain and the chain in my wallet is directly attached to my heart. And when God has my heart he's got my wallet. But when he doesn't have my heart he can't have my wallet. There are quite a number of people who feel that way. That little boy who went to church, your mother gave him a quarter and a dime and she said the dime is yours but the quarter is for the offering. So give your offering and he comes home and she's going through his pocket and she finds the quarter and she says to the boy she says I told you to give a quarter to the Lord and keep the dime for yourself but you kept the quarter. That means you gave the dime to the Lord. Why did you do that? He says you know I was going to give him the quarter but the preacher said God loves a cheerful giver and I was more cheerful giving him the dime. And that's kind of how people are sometimes. I'm more cheerful giving the little instead of the lot. Well in Matthew chapter 6 19 through 21 lay up lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust does corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust does corrupt where thieves do not break through nor steal or your treasure is there where your heart be also when something is when something is stolen from you how do you feel? That's what Jesus is saying. Where's your heart? Not saying that it's a good thing to steal. He's speaking about my heart. How do you feel? How do you respond to that? Now notice he says in verse 5 again he said gave first to the Lord and then to us. In first giving themselves to the Lord they were able to trust Paul. The few goods that they had were put at the disposal of the Lord and Paul. They trusted that Paul would dispose of it in a way that was honorable. They trusted him because they knew that he trusted the Lord and therefore they could give to God first and they trusted him to handle finances properly. So verse 6 we urge Titus that as he had begun so he would also complete this grace in you as well. So when Paul heard that they were faithful to God and loyalty him he sent Titus back to them. Paul knew that they would be faithful in their support of the church of Jerusalem and Titus is going to be in charge of carrying out the disposal of the gift. So he goes on in verse 7 but as you abound in everything in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us see that you abound in this grace also. You abound in the gifts of faith and speech which are the vocal gifts, tongues, prophecy and all words of knowledge and wisdom and you're diligent and you have a depth of Christian love but abound in this grace also. Beloving and generous to those who need. You abound in faith, exercise it, trust in the Lord, use it, provide. God will provide for you because without faith you cannot please God. When you have genuine faith you will abound in good works that are revealed by love. One of the things that I've discovered so have you in being generous or giving to somebody. I'm trusting the Lord. I'm trusting the Lord. I'm handing somebody something that was important for me and my family but I know my God will provide and I trust that he does and so when I give as I do and when I have I do with that attitude. I give like that. My God is able to supply all my need and a long time ago I learned that Paul didn't say God can supply all your greed. He said he supplies all your need and and he has and I learned a long time ago that I can live on less than I am living on almost at all times when my kids were small I wanted to teach them to be givers and so you'll see how small they were when we began this because we still had baby baby food jars and I would give them my older kids because Anna would have been just an infant at that time but I would give them an allowance and I gave them dimes because you could count the dimes and I had two jars two baby food jars I put them one next to the other and I said this jar here is yours this jar here is for Jesus that's how I did it with my kids as from the time they were very small and could see that you could buy things with coins and stuff and that's what I did and I said and I put 10 dimes in front of them because I wanted to do a basic thing it was easier to go with you know dimes so I put dimes there and I said this is where you begin and I took nine dimes and I did this every week and they did the same thing every week I took the nine dimes and I dropped it in their jar then I would take the dime one and I would put the last dime in the baby food jar I say and this one's for Jesus and they they would say no daddy that's not enough for him you need to give him more I say well you know one dimes no you need to give him more they they wanted to be generous to the Lord even as little kids no eventually they knew how much that dime was worth they'd say yeah that's good for him but when they were younger there was something inside of them that would respond visually and I learned and I taught my kids this lesson I can live just as well on nine dimes as I can on 10 that's what I taught my kids from the time they were small I can live just as well on nine dimes as I can with 10 and I said you need to learn that God will provide you need to learn that that was my job to model that and to teach that to my children because God comes first in our family right God comes first you first give yourself to God and then you said and you gave yourself to us and you trusted us to take that money that you gave so we could give to those in need you have faith you're abounding in it exercise trust the Lord and remember without faith you can't please him and it's an act of faith he's telling the Corinthians when you give because that which is visible you're giving to the one who is invisible it's one of the most tangible elements of your faith and be aware that when you have genuine faith you are going to be generous then finally he says I speak not by commandment I'm testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others forcing you to give reveals a lack of love on your part so why would I do that a willingness to remain cold to need reveals a lack of understanding of the love of God so I'm not going to force you to do that you see genuine Christian love isn't coerced it's generated from love and faith generosity springs from a heart touched by Jesus and God weighs the motives of the heart not the forced giving of guilt but an act of faith and finally he says in verse nine for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich he was God but he emptied himself and took upon himself human flesh he chose a life of the poor he revealed the depth of self-surrender and he gave everything for you and his point is will you not respond in kind to him his sacrifice and our response to it is what provokes us to be generous to others many years ago somebody sang this song it's an old song we don't sing it here but the words have remained with me he left the splendor of heaven knowing that his destiny was a lonely hill called Golgotha where he laid down his life for me if that isn't love and that's the way it is guys he left heaven and he died on a tree for me so why would these Corinthians support the Jewish believers because you you give in faith and you give out of love they're in need you meet the need you can be poor yourself but your faith has made you rich and don't forget Jesus gave up everything for you that's the point he's that's the point he's making you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ though he was rich yet for your sins he became poor that you through his poverty might be rich no not walking around with the money just falling out of your pockets but rich and spiritual blessings in the presence of God rich in the things that you can't buy at a store rich in joy rich in peace rich in the grace of God and rich in his love and you have been saved and because you've been saved you want others to be saved and because you're cared for you want others to be cared for that's what changes societies the love of Christ that reaches to those in need and helps them