 Our sermon title this morning is giving from the riches of his grace, giving from the riches of his grace. This is part two. We began this text last week, 2 Corinthians chapter eight, verses one through six. I think it's fitting for several reasons right now, certainly providential in our church, that we come again this morning to the subject of Christian giving. This is in our ongoing verse by verse exposition of Paul's second canonical letter to the church at Corinth. So unless you think that somehow I planned at this particular time of the year to open up a text on giving, you know as well as I do. We've been working through this book for a long time. Okay. It just happens to be that at Christmas we're dealing with a subject. I know many churches with the churches that I grew up in or they would do stewardship months often in December or often in January where they're focused on giving. We work through verse by verse through books of the Bible as the Lord would have us do. And that's for the purpose of not avoiding tough subjects, but dealing with the text of scripture, talking about the things that need to be talked about. And in our study verse by verse through Paul's second canonical letter here to the church at Corinth, we come to two chapters in the Bible that deal specifically with the subject of Christian giving and Christian giving as a fruit of the grace of God in Christ at work in the heart of a genuine believer. And so as we began to unpack our text in part one last week, we first considered the context or the historical background of our text and we learned about the difficult circumstances that became a reality for many who are part of the church at Jerusalem. As a result of the circumstances there, there is a devastating need in the young church at Jerusalem. And Paul has begun a collection effort among the churches to meet the need. So by the time that our text is written, the collection in Corinth as we learned had begun the previous year in chapter 8 verse 10. But Paul then exhorts them to finish what they started in chapter 8 verse 11. And if everybody simply gives, if everybody simply gives lovingly, if everybody gives charitably according to chapter 8 verse 12 where Paul says that compares that giving or describes that giving as with a willing mind, according to what one has, not according to what he does not have, then it would suffice to say that the need in Jerusalem could be met. The brothers and sisters there would be cared for. The church would be unified. There'd be great love shown to those brothers and sisters in the church at Jerusalem. Now many of the churches that Paul has included in this collection are themselves very poor churches. The example that he first points us to in verse 1 are the poverty stricken churches of Macedonia that included Thessalonica, Philippi, and Berea. But Paul doesn't intend for this collection to be a burden on anyone. So he says in chapter 8 verse 13, he says, I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened. You understand what he's saying there, right? Not that we should ease the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem such that we ourselves are burdened through giving. He says in verse 14, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack and that their abundance also may supply your lack that there may be equality. As it is written, he who gathered much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack. Now Paul had left it there, right? If that was the sum total of Paul's instruction on Christian giving, it would have all sounded very utilitarian, wouldn't it? Right? Let's give so that they have no lack. And when they have more, they can give to others who have need. There's all inequality. Sounds very utilitarian. Sounds very social gospel-ish, doesn't it? Social justice-ish. And ultimately, if that was all that Christianity was about, then social gospel heretics would have a point, wouldn't they? But that's not where Paul leaves it. That's not the sum total of his teaching on Christian giving from 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9 because that's not ultimately what Christianity is all about. Christianity is not ultimately about feeding the poor. Christianity is not ultimately about clothing the naked. Christianity is not ultimately about saving the baby or speaking out for the oppressed or standing up for the disenfranchised or the marginalized. It's not ultimately about social justice. Christianity is not ultimately about equal rights. It's not ultimately about getting elected to office so that you can do some good in government. People give all the time. People do good works all the time. People who are made in the image of God, who are lost, you don't believe in Christ, do good works because they, in the image of God, have this innate compassion, if you will, for kindness toward those who are in need. Some do. But what distinguishes the basic human kindness or basic human compassion from those in the world, those who are lost, what distinguishes that giving from Christian giving? No Bible-believing Christian would ever argue that any of that kind of giving is bad or necessarily bad thing to do, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, saving the baby, speaking out for the oppressed. The Bible commands that, doesn't it? James says in chapter 1 verse 27 that such conduct, such behavior is appropriate to pure and undefiled religion before God. However, when those good works become ends unto themselves, when those good works become disconnected from the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, when they become disconnected from the gospel, when they become disconnected from the one who is the great giver, who has given us all things in Christ, when you believe that you're right with God because you do these things, or when your so-called Christianity becomes centered on, focused around saving the baby, giving the poor, visiting orphans and widows, rather than centered on the glory of God and the person and work of his son, then it's no Christianity at all. In other words, when we feed the poor and we don't preach the gospel to them, when you give to those in need only to leave them wallowing in spiritual bankruptcy before God, then we have a serious problem. And folks, that goes on all the time under the guise of so-called Christianity. That is no Christianity at all. The Christian mission is not preach the gospel and if necessary, use words. That's not the Christian mission. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Our actions authenticate the gospel that we preach, or else our actions don't authenticate the gospel that we preach. When we don't ground our giving, sound our charity in the giving of God himself, in our love for the Lord, we have a problem. And in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 through 6, Paul doesn't leave off Christian giving in that kind of shallow and empty and temporal condition. Our giving, our heart attitude about it, our willingness in it, our zeal for it and our action behind it, goes far beyond some mere utilitarian purpose, far beyond. It should speak to the very heart of what God has done for us in Christ. Your faithfulness to give when you give says something profound about the gospel, doesn't it? It says something about what you and I profess to believe, who we profess to believe in, who we proclaim to trust. It's an evidence that we believe what we profess to believe. My treasure is in heaven, right? When you give faithfully, when you give sacrificially, you're saying with the saints, my treasure is not laid up here on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. My treasure is in heaven. You're saying when you faithfully give by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're saying, I own the treasure hidden in the field. I have the pearl of great price and our giving flows out of gratitude and is a testimony of the grace of God. When we see it that way, right? When we look at giving that way, then our giving becomes far more about him than it does about the one who gives or the one who receives. And we give then from the riches of his grace. We give from the riches of his grace. Now Paul draws us in to consider these truths in our text, 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 1 through 6. And first he does this by drawing attention to the display of that grace in verses 1 and 2. Point 1 on your notes, the display of his grace. Follow along with me in verse 1. Moreover brethren, we make known to you or we declare to you, we draw your attention to the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. Now the subject of our text here beginning in verse 1 is the grace of God. That's the subject. We could say that ultimately the subject here is the grace of God. This shows up, the grace of God shows up in how they give this example of the Macedonians. But the subject of our text is the grace of God. And then Paul points us to the example of that grace poured out on the churches of Macedonia. He essentially says to us, I want you to see the grace of God on display. I want you to see the grace of God on display. This was no man-centered, man-generated act of basic human giving. This was no man-focused, man-sourced, man-originating, and man-permanating act of human compassion or human kindness. This wasn't bare human philanthropy, simple charity. This wasn't everyday human generosity. This was a work of divine grace. And I want you to see the difference in that. But in considering the display of God's grace in these opening verses, the illustration that I thought of was the illustration of a wedding ring. I thought about the wedding ring that I bought from my wife. When I planned to ask my wife to marry me, I put a lot of thought into the ring. Ring's pretty important guys, okay? So I doesn't mean it has to be a big ring or an expensive ring because the ring that I got was not, but it needs to be special, right? It's coming from your heart. It needs to be special. So I wanted to give her something really special, and I thought about the ring a lot. And of course, in the ring, that diamond is the centerpiece, right? It's the focus. So I remember looking at various cuts, spending a lot of time doing research, and this was before I had really any access to any kind of internet. I was trying to do this on my own by ages and dates me severely. But looking at various cuts, I finally decided on the one I thought was the most beautiful diamond, right? That particular cut. The most brilliant. It wasn't big, but it was stunning. I was stunning. When they brought it out, went to the store, they brought it out, put it on the case, you know, they laid out the black velvet so it would shine nice and bright. The lady reaches over and she grabs the lamp, pulls it over and, you know, so it's shining really nice. Brought off a, brought off a magnifying glass. But as beautiful as that diamond was, I really wanted it to be set well. The diamond special, but the setting, the setting had to be beautiful too. I wanted something custom made, if you will, or tailored to that diamond. Really wanted it to be set well. So I had a bit of difficulty finding a setting, finding a ring or a band for it, finding one that I really liked. So when I finally found a band that I liked, they said, well, this band is not made for this diamond. It's not made to have a diamond on it like that. And so they custom made it for me. I really liked the band, really liked the diamond. They put the two together and custom made. They fashioned for me what I thought was the best setting on which that diamond could be displayed. And the result is a ring that I was really happy with and was like overjoyed to give to my future wife. Well, in verses one and two, in verses one and two, in our text, we see the perfect, priceless diamond of God's grace beautifully, matchlessly set in just such a way as to magnify the brilliance and the glory of that diamond. Right? And we looked at the diamond of his grace, the diamond of his great, the bit last week. Paul says in verse one, we make known to you the grace of God poured out on the Lord's churches. Now, I may have been on a budget when I bought that ring, but God is on no budget when it comes to his grace. Right? He has given everything to redeem his people, not withholding his own son to redeem them. God has given everything to redeem his people. And Paul asks, how will he not then also with him freely give us all things? God is on no budget when it comes to his grace. He lavishes it upon us. So Paul doesn't start then with the giving of the Macedonians. Right? The Macedonians, their giving was a fruit of this work of grace where Paul starts is with the giving of Almighty God. That's the diamond. Right? That's the diamond. That's where Christian giving, faithful, sacrificial, loving, compassionate giving always begins. It begins with the giving of God. It begins with the great giver. And it's on this basis, on the basis of God's grace in Christ, that we have one of the most blessed promises in all the Bible. In response to Christian giving, Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, verse 19, and my God then shall supply all your need according to what? His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. When we think about giving this way, listen, be anxious for nothing, brother. Don't be anxious. Don't worry, sister. Your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him. And you magnify. When you give faithfully, when you give sacrificially, you magnify the grace of God in Christ. When you trust him with that promise, God will supply your need according to a budget. No, immeasurable infinite poured out full measure grace. And we can trust him for that, right? Now when we speak of magnifying the grace of God, we're speaking of the setting for that beautiful diamond. We're speaking of the setting, aren't we? The priceless diamond of his grace, beautifully set in just such a way as to magnify it, right? In just such a way as to reveal the fullness of its glory, of its beauty. Now how does the Lord then display the diamond of his grace in our passage? Look at verse one. Moreover, brethren, we draw your attention to the grace of God poured out 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. It's interesting, isn't it? And we certainly see the fruits of his grace in verse two, the fruits of his grace. God's grace at work in them to produce the abundance of their joy, abundance, an abundance of joy and the riches or the wealth of their liberality. And the Macedonian churches were materially poor, very poor. We talked about that last week. But notice the adjectives used here in verse two to describe their spiritual riches, to describe the riches that have been given to them by the grace of God in Christ. Notice first, they had not just joy, not just joy, but an abundance of joy. The word literally means a surplus. They were full of joy beyond measure to the point of overflowing, overflowing the riches of their liberality. They had an abundance of joy and notice the riches of their liberality. If you have an ESV, it says a wealth of generosity. It's a little better. The NASB says the wealth of their liberality. In other words, their wealth, their riches, so to speak, weren't exemplified in the size of the gift that they gave, or wasn't in the amount that they gave. Their wealth was their generosity. Their riches consisted of their generosity. And that generosity produced in the heart by the grace of God, an amazing generosity, and a generosity only, only explainable by grace. When you encounter someone who's giving like this, that giving for the glory of God, displaying the glory of God in Christ, right, produced for the sake of the gospel, only explainable by the grace of God. Now what a great testimony of the grace of God, amen. These churches in Macedonia gave, and they gave from an abundantly joyful heart, and from a grace fueled wealth of generosity. That's the grace of God. But notice the setting for this diamond. Notice the setting, verse two. In a great trial of affliction, we see the abundance of their joy. In their deep poverty, we see the wealth of their generosity. So we have that which is on display, right, that which is on display, the grace of God evidenced in or bearing fruits of abundant joy and a wealth of generosity. And then we have the setting in which that grace is displayed, a great trial of affliction and deep poverty. I think it's important to make note of the fact in the beginning that the grace of God shown to them didn't remove them from experiencing that great trial, didn't take them out of the trial. They went through that great trial of affliction. The grace of God shown to them didn't spare them the experience of deep poverty. They were poor. In fact, right, that's the setting in which his grace is displayed. It's the setting in which God purposed to magnify the glory of his grace, to lift it up. Do you see? That's amazing, isn't it? He stopped to meditate on that fact. God's grace in the life of a Christian will certainly produce joy. God's grace will produce joy. A fruit of the spirit is joy, but it will produce such triumphant, conquering, steadfast, persevering, indomitable joy that it will persevere in the midst of great trials and affliction. It's joy of such character that it exists, perseveres, abounds in the midst of great trials of affliction. God's grace in the life of a Christian will certainly produce generosity. If you're indwelt by the Spirit of God, if you know the Lord, if God's grace that works in your heart, then you will be generous. Generosity is a fruit of the Spirit of God. But God's grace will produce such wealth of gratitude, such riches of generosity, such a faith in God, such a confident hope that that generosity will overflow even in the midst of here, deep poverty. You're going to be deeply generous, even in the midst of deep poverty. That's exactly what verse two says. Their abundant joy and their deep poverty, what did it do? It abounded or it overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Interesting. This is paradoxical, isn't it? Their abundant joy and their deep poverty abounded, it overflowed in a wealth of generosity. So we see this contrast being set up by Paul, don't we? This contrast that's going on here. Doesn't that contrast magnify the grace of God in Christ? It is the setting in which the diamond is displayed. How so? How does that contrast? How does that apparent paradox display the grace of God? Well, ordinarily, ordinarily, we'd expect those circumstances in the life of a person to produce the opposite effect. We'd expect those circumstances to produce exactly the opposite. Adversity, trial, difficulty, doesn't naturally produce joy. Naturally, I use that word intentionally, right? Adversity doesn't naturally produce joy. The natural man's response to affliction is sadness, mixed often with bitterness and anger, resentment, self-pity, complaining, discouragement, despair. In the natural man, affliction produces that fruit. And their trial, the trial of the Macedonians here, that word means test, right? Their test was great, Paul is great. They were being put through the test, put through the fire, so to speak, the crucible of affliction. In Revelation chapter three, Revelation chapter three, the spiritually poor Laodiceans were counseled by the Lord in verse 18 to buy from him gold refined by fire so that they may be rich. That thought, that things are purified, things are refined by fire. The gold there in Revelation three is spiritual riches. You can't acquire spiritual riches with money. Simon and Magus tried to do it, I don't recommend it. What he's referring to there are true spiritual riches given by the grace of God, or given by the grace of God, and they are refined, they are purified in fire, matured in the furnace of affliction. In other words, so that that draw, all those impurities can rise to the top and you can scrape off that draw, leaving behind something that is pure. Peter talks about our faith that way, doesn't he? Being refined in fire, being much more precious than gold. The Macedonians here, in their great test, didn't give out of a sense of obligation. They weren't manipulated, they weren't coerced, they weren't merely willing. Verse three says that they were freely willing. Verse four, they begged for the opportunity to give for the privilege of participating in this grace. They took joy in giving, and they took joy in giving even in the midst of their affliction their joy, you could say, transcended their circumstances. It transcended their circumstances, undiminished by difficulty, their joy, undiminished by affliction. Can you see how that unconquerable joy, joy inexpressible, that persists through that kind of affliction magnifies the grace of God? We testify of the grace of God in Christ when we persist in joy through affliction, that we trust the one who holds us through affliction, right, that we have hope of the future, that we know we are graven, engraven on the palm of his hand, that magnifies the grace of God. Also though adversity doesn't naturally produce joy, but poverty, poverty, and specifically here loss, doesn't naturally produce generosity. There's a contrast at work. There's an apparent paradox here. Poverty doesn't naturally produce generosity. The word for deep in verse two refers to the extremity of their circumstances. Their circumstances were extreme at the limit. The Macedonians were at rock bottom. The word for poverty in verse two doesn't merely express the fact that they were poor. If Paul wanted to say merely that they were poor, there's another Greek word that he would have used. This word is used to describe someone who must beg in order to survive. They're at the extreme end of poor. They have little or no money to speak of, little or no possessions whatsoever, basically the clothes on their back, and in order for them to survive, they're begging. This word is used to describe Lazarus in Luke 16, the poor beggar that full of sores laid at the rich man's gate, desiring to be fed from the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. And these are the people who are described as possessing a wealth of generosity. You see the contrast being set up? Temporal material wealth in contrast with true eternal riches in Christ. So the Macedonians didn't say to themselves, listen, things are really tight right now. Not sure when to make ends meet this month. Besides, it's Christmas. We've lost virtually everything. They didn't say that. We've been persecuted. Our goods have been plundered. They didn't succumb to worry. They didn't devolve into complaining or doubt or faithlessness or unbelief. In fact, the Macedonians took joy in giving up what little they did have, knowing that their treasure is in heaven. They're just holding it with liberality and open hand. They took joy in giving, knowing that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Knowing, Philippians chapter four, that their God is able to supply all their need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You could say in effect, the Macedonians were so poor that all they really owned was a promise. And it had been given to them freely by God. What a beautiful diamond, right? That magnifies the grace of God in Christ. But there's a significant implication from this example that Paul gives regarding the working of God's grace. Our understanding, their understanding certainly was an our understanding of giving must be separated from the thought of how much or how little we have. It's not about that. It's not about how much or how little here. Giving is a matter of faith. Giving is a matter of heart. Giving is produced in the heart of a believer by the grace of God in the life of that believer. People tend to think that the wealthy should give. That's all over our country right now, right? The wealthy should give. The wealthy should give more and more and more. Or they think, I'll give more when I have more. I'll give more when I have more. And they wait on God then to give them more so that they can then turn around and give more. So they think that's opposite. That's the opposite of the example given by Paul. Giving is not a function of material wealth. Our giving is a function of spiritual wealth. Our giving is a function of grace. David said, didn't he? I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord, my God, with that which cost me nothing. Our giving is to be a sacrifice. It is to be sacrificial. Giving is not dependent upon how much material wealth you have. It's not contingent or based upon material comfort. Christian giving is a matter of the heart. Christian giving is a matter of faith. Generosity is a fruit of a transformed heart. Generosity is a fruit of a renewed mind. Giving is a matter of the heart. Now Paul says that it's within this setting, this setting, right? This beautiful setting, affliction and poverty. Paul says that it's within this setting that the Macedonians then abounded in the riches of their generosity. They abounded in it. This is only explained by the presence of grace. The Macedonians have experienced the work of God's grace in the heart. And that's a work, if you think with me, that's a work that begins at conversion. It begins at conversion and it continues as God works in and through a believer to do and to will according to his good pleasure. It's a work that then shapes a believer and transforms the heart and renews the mind and conforms the thinking to Christ's thinking, conforms the person to Christ's image to work of grace beginning at conversion but continuing through sanctification. A second significant implication is this. We can see, can't we, how our giving, when we give, it's certainly a way in which we demonstrate our love for our brother whom we can see. But far more importantly, preeminently, our faithful giving demonstrates a love for and a devotion to God whom we cannot see. It ultimately is about him. Now that doesn't mean that the Macedonians here in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 curry favor with God by giving. They're not earning anything from God by giving. The Macedonians give as a result or motivated by or prompted by grace. Giving then becomes a mark of the work of grace in your heart. It becomes an evidence of conversion, a mark of conversion. Giving is an evidence of the work of grace in the heart by God. And it's on that basis. It's on that basis that the Corinthians and the Cornerstonians are exhorted to give. Look at verse 9 again. It bears repeating. Verse 9, you know Corinthians, you know, Cornerstonians, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your stakes became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. When we see things truly as they are, right, riches in Christ are true riches. Riches of this world are temporary. Paul says to Timothy, can't take anything out with you. With food and clothing, with these, we shall be content. Came into this world with nothing. Be sure you're going to leave with nothing but riches in heaven if you're in Christ. Chapter 4 verse 17, our momentary and light affliction is producing for us a weight of glory. He's worth it all, isn't he? Paul says in Philippians chapter 3, Philippians chapter 3. Listen to this in verse 7. Paul says, what things were gained to me? These I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. If by any means I may attain to spiritual riches, the resurrection from the dead, the way that these things are connected is in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the grace and mercy of God shown in the giving of his only begotten Son when a sinner comes to faith in Christ. Those circumstances may vary. The details of those circumstances may vary, but there are certain truths that are consistent from person to person to person in the working of God by his spirit in the converting of a sinner. When a person comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, that person must repent, turn from their sin, and put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turning from sin, that person must see the grievous offense that their sin is against God. That person must see the spiritual bankruptcy that they exist in, their naked miserable poor blind state that they're in, they must see that as hopeless and destitute before God. They visibly understand, they grasp the destitute nature of their own condition before him. If you don't experience that destitute understanding, you don't see the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy of your own spiritual condition before God, you can't be saved. To come any other way is to presume upon your own righteousness, which it is but filthy rags. It's to imagine that you're not that bad and God's not that mad. It's to imagine that you have something about which you can boast, something about which you can earn favor with God. Part and parcel with genuine repentance is an understanding of our spiritual bankruptcy. In turning from sin then, part and parcel with genuine saving faith is seeing the treasure that is Christ, the forgiveness of sin, the price that was paid for our redemption that is an impossibly and immeasurably high cost. God gave of his only begotten son and he hung there on the cross bearing the wrath of God that you deserve for your sin. You stand there spiritually bankrupt while he gives the riches of his grace to redeem you. So when we see the bankruptcy of our spiritual condition before God and the riches of his grace and the crucifixion of his own son that we come through the gates, if you will, of paradise and we with an overflowing gratitude praise the Lord for the forgiveness of sins that came at such a price. Praise the Lord for the blessings that have lavished upon us, purchased at the cross. And we see the true value of those riches, do we not? So that when Paul brings up then the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse nine, it's in that context in which we are to understand the riches that we have. When the believer comes to understand those riches, our treasure in heaven, then the things of this earth grow strangely dim. Our minds fixed upon heaven, our minds fixed upon him that we don't grip the things of this world in the same way any longer. Our citizenship is not here. We look for an enduring city, one that is to come, one that is promised to us. And the things of this earth fade into insignificance apart from the gospel, apart from the grace of God in Christ. And our giving, our giving is a testimony of that reality, our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, our faith in God for those promises. It becomes an expression of that grace, an expression of that mercy. So you can see, can't you, how foolish it is for us not to trust him in that. I've heard it multiple times. Generally speaking, generally speaking, the person who comes and says, I don't believe in New Testament tithing. I don't believe in the tithe. I don't believe the Bible teaches that. Generally has been in my experience, the person who is justifying their lack of giving through a bad theology and concern or worry, anxiety over what we have or what's been given to us. And again, all of that coming by the grace of God becomes the fertile soil in which faithless disobedience abounds. Trust the Lord. He is able to supply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Trust the Lord. When we do that, when we see things that way, then we gladly give, we joyfully give, we like Paul count all things as a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord. This quote from a missionary just comes to mind that he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. When we follow the Lord's example and express our faith in trusting him through our giving, then we give expression to the work of grace in our heart. We give expression to our faith. It's the heart attitude, isn't it? It's the understanding, the heart attitude that produces the action. And Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five, the Lord instructs those listening there on the hillside. If someone wants to take your tunic, what are you to do? Give him your cloak also. What produces that kind of heart, that kind of attitude, that kind of disposition, the work of grace in the heart. It's a work of God's grace renewing our minds and understanding of true spiritual riches in heaven with him. If he compels you to go one mile, the Lord says, walk with him too. Can you see how this setting beautifully magnifies the grace of God, that diamond? So how is it that we do that? If we consider the grace of God in Christ, how is it that we glorify him in that? Well, verse six, we'll get there soon. You take opportunity in your circumstances to pursue that grace also. Paul says down in verse six, so then we urge Titus that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. As Titus had begun this work by exhorting the Corinthian church to give, in light of the example of the Macedonian churches giving in such a sacrificial way, Paul is urging Titus that as he had begun, he would also complete this grace in the church at Corinth as well. Take opportunity in our circumstances to give. God's grace is sufficient, isn't it? Can we say to yourself today, well, what if I'm not poor like the Macedonians? We are rich by comparison, wealthy beyond our understanding. And if you remember the Lord's teaching in the Old Testament, that was often a warning to the nation of Israel. Beware, let somehow this wealth that I have given you causes you or gives you opportunity to forget the Lord your God. It's a warning to us. So what if I'm not poor? What if I'm not poor? Are you truly grateful and cultivate a heart of gratefulness of the Lord? Don't complain. Don't complain. Don't worry. Trust the Lord. Joyfully accept when your goods are plundered. You may plunder them yourself in giving, charitably. Are you truly grateful? Are you exercising faith? Trust the Lord in your giving. He is able. Do you believe it? If you believe it, then give like you believe it. Are you joyful, cultivate a joy in the riches that we have in Christ? Are you generous? Would you characterize your giving as generous? And do you see that apart from the Lord Jesus Christ referencing Revelation chapter three, do you see your poverty apart from him? Do you see your bankruptcy? Do you see your misery, your nakedness? Do you see your need? And do you see how in Christ he has gloriously fulfilled all your need with that heart that we are to give? And our giving then magnifies the grace of God in Christ. It's not normal, normal, is it? It's because it's a fruit of grace. And it's the way that God magnifies his grace in us. Let's be faithful, charitable, loving, willing, joyful givers. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Ask the Lord for his help in this. Ask the Lord for help in seeing where you fall short of this example. And let's pray the Lord for an outpouring of his grace to help us be faithful in this respect. When you're done praying, you are dismissed.