 I'll begin at verse one. I'll read to verse five. And we're looking at what is called principles for giving. And you'll be seeing this as we go through this chapter. Second Corinthians, chapter nine, beginning at verse one, reading to verse five, Paul writes, now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. For I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that a Kaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority. Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect that, as I said, you may be ready, lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, should be ashamed of this confident boasting. Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time and to prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. So what we have here in chapter nine is Paul returning to his encouragement for the Corinthians to give their offering. He's basically saying it's time for you to demonstrate your love for them. It's time for you to demonstrate your sincere care for your family in Christ, because you see that's what the Bible teaches us as believers to do, to sincerely care for others. And we are to meet the needs of those who have genuine and urgent needs. When Paul was writing to a pastor by the name of Titus in chapter three, verse eight, Paul said, this is a faithful saying, and these things I will, that you affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. And so Christians are to be known to maintain the good works. And part of the good works that we maintain is care for those in need. Now they've openly stated that they were going to help. And so Paul is simply saying it's time for you to do so. And he's instructing the church, and that's what we find here in chapter nine, a continuation of that theme that we have already looked at in chapter eight. And so he begins in verse one of chapter nine by writing, now concerning, notice the ministry, the ministry to the saints. Now he's used this phrase, ministering before. He said that in chapter eight, verse four, notice how he had said, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. So he's already used that term, ministering to the saints. He's speaking of the ministry. Ministering is a Greek word that speaks of serving, supporting, or of relieving or bringing relief. So ministering to the saints is speaking of rendering financial aid to the church. The church was needy. And so that's what he's speaking about when he says that they're to be ministering to the saints. He's speaking of giving financial aid to those in need in the church. It was speaking of delivering a financial offering to the church in Jerusalem. Now often when we think of ministering to people, we think of praying for them or teaching them, encouraging, exhorting them. We think of having conversation with them, guiding them, counseling them. And those are all practical aspects of ministering. And that's generally what we think about. We think about praying for them. We think about teaching them. And of course, teaching them and praying for them, encouraging them, exhorting them, and counseling them. All of that is ministering. And we do that because we want to strengthen their spirits and we want to encourage them with hope. But we need to remember that ministry is not simply those things, it includes other things. And it includes the meeting of physical needs. Because meeting somebody's physical need is also ministering. In James chapter two, verses 15 through 17, James said, if a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what is a prophet? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. It's one thing for me to say, be warmed and filled, may God be with you. It's another thing to practically meet the need. And you see that in scripture, both old and new. And so in their giving of their physical needs to the church in need, ministry is occurring. And they're carrying in a practical way. It's one of the ways that God's love is revealed to his children. In Galatians chapter six, verse 10, Paul said to the church, churches of Galatians, we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. And so he's speaking concerning meeting the needs of those who were needing the church of Jerusalem. And as he's writing that, he says it again, verse one, concerning the ministry to the saints. He continues by saying this, it is superfluous for me to write to you. And when's the last time you use the word superfluous? Except for right now. It's not one of the words that we use very often. It's a word we can use. It simply means unnecessary. It's unnecessary for me to say this or to any further than I am. I don't have to. It's superfluous. It's unnecessary to say this more plainly. And so I'm trying to be as plain as I can, basically, is what he's saying, because he goes on in verse two to say, for I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians that Achaea was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority. So notice with me, he speaks of Macedonia. He speaks of Achaea. Again, if you were looking at a map of Greece, and you see that if you're looking at Greece, Greece actually has the southern section and the northern section. The southern section was called Achaea. And you would take the southern section, and you would go up to what is called an isthmus. And when you get to the isthmus, you go across, and then you go on up, and you're going to begin entering to the north. And to the north would be called Macedonia. And that's basically what he's speaking about. He's speaking about a geographic location. He's talking about northern Greece. He's talking about southern Greece. I spent a month in Greece when I was 25 years old. I actually celebrated my 25th anniversary in Thessalonica when I was in Greece. And so I've been there at this isthmus. I've seen the ruins of Corinth and gone into Athens and all the rest of that. And so he's speaking concerning that. He's speaking concerning how he was boasting of the Corinthians to the Macedonians. And he had said to them in verse 2, Achaea, which is a southern region, Achaea was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up the majority. So he said, I was boasting of how you were ready to minister a year ago. And their desire to help had touched Paul deeply. And he had spoken of that to the Macedonians. Now earlier, we had already seen that he had used the Macedonians as an example to them. But now he says that he has used them as an example to the Macedonians. He said in verse 2, Your zeal has stirred up the majority. You've had the effect on them of being a great example of faith and sacrifice. Your zeal has produced a response in them. As I mentioned to you once out of Hebrews 10, 24, how the writer said, let us consider one another in order to stir up love in good works. That's what you've done. Your example has provoked them. You've been a great example of love. You've been a good example of good works. And I can use you as an example. I can say, this church is great. These churches are doing wonderful things. I can say that because I use you as an example to stir up others to follow your example. And that's what he's saying. So in verse 3, he goes on to say, yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that as I said, you may be ready, lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, should be ashamed of this confident boasting. You see, zeal is one thing, but making good on your promise is another. I've already told you, prepare your gift and be ready, because he wanted them to have the money set apart and ready to be transported. So in the first letter, 1 Corinthians 16, he had said in verses 1 and 2 about the collection for the Lord's people, do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up so that when I come, no collection will have to be made. So he's already said this. He's already said, I want you to have your gift prepared, and I want you to follow through with the promises that you made almost a year ago. And I don't want to have you embarrassed in front of people that when they show up, as he said in verse 4, and find you unprepared, he said, you should be ashamed, and I'd be ashamed of this confident boasting, too. I don't want to be embarrassed by the fact that you haven't made good on your promises. And here I am speaking about how wonderful you are, so I don't want you to be embarrassed. And I certainly don't want to be embarrassed myself, because I've been speaking about you and bragging about you to other people. So Titus and the team are arriving before Paul is going to arrive, and he wants everything to be ready before he comes to Corinth. And so with this in mind, he's saying, it's good for you to complete what you began a year ago. You see, Macedonians may come with me, and what will they think if you're not ready? It would embarrass you. It will embarrass me. After all, I've been bragging about you to them. In verse 5, therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. Now, I want you to see something and just take a moment to point this out, but this is what you would call the administrative side of ministry. He's saying things need to be prepared and prepare those things in advance. If you were behind the scenes in any church service, you know, and you're not serving here, if you came as a visitor or a member of the church who isn't presently serving, you might get the idea that everything just happens on its own, but obviously it doesn't. Everything is prepared in advance. Everything is. You know, if you were here for a service and some of you sometimes come for a service, you'll know this already. Our worship team is already up here before services begin. They're already up here and they're practicing, they're preparing, they're going through their list of songs that we're going to be worshiping through that day. Everything. You'll have people out in the foyer area, you have people in the parking lot, you have people all around and they're preparing because the church doesn't just happen. It's not like that. The church is prepared and there needs to be preparation. And so he's simply saying that this is just principle. He's saying don't be in a rush to complete what you should have already had done. And as he's saying that in verse five, notice how he says, prepare your bountiful gift beforehand, which you had previously promised your bountiful gift, which you previously promised bountiful, your bountiful gift speaks of a generous gift. It's speaking of a benefit that's been bestowed upon someone. So it's now a matter of them keeping their word, a word that they voluntarily promised they voluntarily gave. Notice it's given as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation, not a grudging obligation. Generosity speaks of desire born out of love for God. It's spontaneous. Proverbs 22.9 says, he who has the generous eye will be blessed for he gives of his bread to the poor. But a grudging obligation speaks of a greedy desire to keep, to hold for yourself. You should rejoice, to care for others. You shouldn't be trying to find a way to keep things for yourself. This is important because giving reflects the knowledge of what God has done for us. It denotes honest maturity, it reveals faith, and it reveals godly priorities. And therefore the Lord would have us to be generous, because in a moment we're going to see why we should be. But the fact is Paul is explaining to them that they should have things prepared. It should be organized. I wrote to you and was expecting something to be done about a year ago, and now they're on their way to pick this up. And so have it ready. Be organized and administrative properly. And I want you to have it ready. And it should be generous. You've had a full year to prepare so that when they come, you won't be embarrassed because you were unprepared. And I won't be embarrassed because I've been bragging about you. And so this is what he's speaking about. And he's speaking of this, doing it as a matter of generosity, not in a grudging way. But verse six, this I say, he who's so sparingly will also reap sparingly. And he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So what I'm going to do here is I'm going to give us some principles of giving. Because Paul is teaching the Corinthians these principles. Notice in verse six how he says, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So to illustrate how a person gives and the attitude we should have, Paul uses a farming illustration. And it's a picture that's intended to illustrate faith filled dependence. The farmer knows a few things for sure. One, a farmer knows that he doesn't have control over the weather. But he also won't sow seed where it has no chance of producing a crop. He's not going to throw his seed on ground that will not produce. In my backyard at my home, I have a section planted on the side of my house that I have planted plants there that will not grow. Nothing grows there. Not even weeds. So that's a blessing in disguise when I think about it. But it doesn't, nothing, it's very, very few things can grow there. I have some trees that actually took root. But I put some ground cover on it and it all died. I put other kinds of plants and they died. It's just bad. And so, you know, I won't throw a seed. I won't put something in a portion of land that isn't going to produce. It would just be a waste. And so a farmer isn't going to sow seed where it has no chance of producing a crop. The farmer also knows that when he sows seed, he's doing his part. But as he sows that seed, he assumes that the seed is going to actually grow. So his sowing seed is an act of faith. It's an act of faith that it's going to grow, but it's also an act of faith that it's going to rain. Because he's going to rely on the weather. And he has no control over the weather. He can throw the seed, but it doesn't mean that the seed will germinate. And it doesn't mean that it's going to rain. And he knows that. And one of the things that the Jewish farmers knew is that they had to rely on the rain. Now, remember, all the way back in their history, the nation of Israel, God had told the nation that if they were faithful to him, he would provide rain for them. He would provide what is called the early rain, as well as the latter rain. He had said to them, you have been in captivity in Egypt. And in Egypt, there is the mighty Nile River. And all the irrigation needs and various other needs are met by that one mighty river. But he said, I'm going to take you to a land, a land that doesn't have a mighty river. Because the nation of Israel has the Jordan River. And the Jordan River is not a large river at all. So he says, I'm taking you from a place that has this immense river that provides all the water. I'm going to bring you to a land that has no river that can do that, the Jordan River. And so what you're going to do is you're going to learn to rely on me to provide for you. Because rain is going to be a symbol of my provision and my grace to you. In Deuteronomy 1114, God said to the nation, I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil. So they're going to be sowing their seed, but they're going to be dependent on God. They're going to be sowing their seed, and they're going to be praying that God will cause it to rain. Now after sowing the seed, there was little more for them to do than to simply wait on the rain. And this they were to do, and they did it with a certain attitude. They would, they would wait on the rain patiently and expectantly. In James chapter five, verse seven, it says, therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives their early and latter rain. And so when they would sow their seed, they would patiently and expectantly wait for the rain to come so that the seed would germinate, and they'd be able to harvest their crop. And so their seed was actually sown in faith. By throwing out the seed, they were actually acting out their faith. Now the practical application of this, because the context that Paul is using this is, related to finances, and he's saying that they need to be generous in their giving to help those in Jerusalem. So the context here is very basic. When you sow your financial seed, there's an element of faith that God will bring in fruit. And when the farmer throws the seed, it can appear that he's throwing it away. Those of you who've gone outside and you've taken seed, they can use those little, those little machines that spread the seed, the seed spreader. You can do it by hand, whatever you do. I've done both. I can kill seed by hand or with the machine just as easily. But when you do that, when you go out, you see it spreading. And if it's on the, on the ground before you put any topping or whatever, when you, when you spread the seed, it can see, it seems like you're throwing it away. It could appear that way. And that's the whole thing. And when you give your gifts to the Lord, it can appear that you're just giving it away or throwing it away. That's the whole point. You're sowing seed. And sometimes when you're sowing the seed, you may seem to think that, oh, where's this going? And what's it going to do? But when your, your seed is sowing in faith, and that's what he's telling the Corinthians, when the seed is sown in faith, the Lord produces a crop in Malachi three, verse 10, in the Old Testament, it says, bring all the tides into the storehouse that, that there may be food in my house and try me now in this at the Lord of hosts. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it in the Old Testament. This is the only place that I found in scripture that ever says to try God or test him. It's the only place. And it's related to them bringing their offering to him. And he's saying, bring your offering in faith to me and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and care for you. So it's an act of faith. It may seem like you're throwing your money away, but you're trusting the Lord to provide. And that's the lesson. That's the principle that Paul would be teaching us through the Corinthians. He also points out, and notice this, the second thing, he points out that it only makes sense to be generous in giving. Why? Because if a farmer only sows a few seeds, he reaps a very sparse crop. If you only throw a little out, you're only going to get a little in return is what it would be saying. Again, he so he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So it only makes sense to be generous. And again, he's already spoken about that in verse five, when he spoke of their generosity. He's already spoken to them and he's saying it simply makes sense to sow seeds, many seeds, so that you can reap many benefits that the Lord will bless you with. In Proverbs 11-24, there is one who scatters yet increases more. And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. So to give financially is sowing into the kingdom of God. It's a spiritual act of faith. And if you desire blessings from the Lord, Paul would say, do not withhold from the Lord. In Proverbs 3-9 and 10, honor the Lord with your possessions, with the first fruits of all your increase, so your barns will be filled with plenty, your vats will overflow with new wine. Now notice verse seven, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. So he encourages proportion to giving based on a decision of the heart. Over the years, I've had people approach me on this subject and they've asked me, and they've said to me, I want to give to the Lord, but I don't know what model to use. What model is there? Should I tithe? And I've said to them, as I'll say to us now in this study, that the principle of the tithe is an interesting principle because when you look under the law of Moses, people didn't simply give 10% because the word tithe speaks of a tenth. It speaks of a tenth in the way that people would give 10% to the Lord. But under the law, people didn't give only 10%. When you look in the Old Testament book of Numbers, for example, chapter 18, verses 21 through 24, those verses say that 10% is to go towards the support of ministry, the Levites. Then when you look in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 12, it says 10% goes towards the support of religious feasts, the festivals. Then you look at Deuteronomy 14, 28 and 29, and it says every third year, 10% is given as welfare for widows and orphans. So you're looking at 30% in every three years. Exodus 30 verses 11 through 16 speaks of a mandatory offering of a half shekel for the upkeep of the temple. And if you said, well, I really can't afford to give, so I'm going to keep some of it for myself. That was called borrowing the tithe. And Leviticus 2731 says, if a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one fifth to it. So if you borrowed from what you were to give to the Lord, you gave him a 20% interest on that. And so how do you give to the Lord? Well, it would seem here, notice verse 7, that each one is to give as he purposes in his heart. So each has the responsibility to decide how much they desire to give. Some have small resources, they give what would be considered relatively little. Others have great resources, and they give what would be considered great amounts. But it's been said, the heart of giving begins with the giving of the heart. We saw in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 verse 5 how the Macedonians first gave themselves to the Lord, and that's where true giving originates. When you read your Bible, there's a man we're all familiar with, his name was King David. And King David's a good example of someone who gave from a heart of love for God. David loved the Lord. He wanted to build a house for him. David lived in a home, but the Lord's ark was in a tent, and he didn't feel good about it. So in 1st Chronicles 22 verse 5, David said, Solomon, my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it. So David made abundant preparations before his death. Later, David revealed the amount of his personal contribution to the building of the temple, when he said in 1st Chronicles 29, 3 through 5, Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver. Then he gives us the amount, 3,000 talents of gold, which is equivalent to around $9 billion, 7,000 talents of refined silver, which is about $20 million to overlay the walls of the houses, the gold for things of gold, silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. So he gave a huge contribution because he loved the Lord, and Paul tells us in verse 7, that God loves a cheerful or a joyous giver, and that described David, because in 1st Chronicles 29, 17, David prayed, I know also, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure and uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart, I have willingly offered all these things, and now with joy, I have seen your people who are present here to offer willingly to you. You see the mature Christian finds giving to the Lord a joyful experience. It's a genuine pleasure. That takes time to learn. Let's see how I, how did I see this workout? Well, when my children were small, and it was Christmas, I wanted to teach them the lesson it's more blessed to give them to receive. And so as they were small, we would celebrate Easter, rather, I'm sorry, Christmas Eve, would celebrate with my kids and Marie and me. And each one of the children had one gift that they could open on Christmas Eve. And what we would do is I would read out of Luke chapter 2, the Christmas story, and I would share with them a devotion, and they would be seated there with their little gift that, because I let them choose which one they would want to open on that night. And they'd be sitting there almost shaking with anticipation, I want to open this up, and you can see it, they would be almost vibrating. And there's vibration. And I tell Marie, stop vibrating in front of the kids, they're going to get the wrong idea. But the kids would be, hold on, they would be holding on to the gift. I would read Luke, and then I would pray, and then I would say to them, we're not going to open these gifts at the same time. Each one of you will open your gift individually, and we would change it, maybe from the oldest to the youngest, and the next time the youngest to the oldest, and then we would switch it up. And I'd say, I want you to watch them open their gifts so that you can see the joy that they have as they receive it. And so we would do that. Of course, little kids, they're not, you know, they would say, oh, that's wonderful, but they're not interested. When I began to see the change in them was when they grew older. Then they got to the point where they actually had picked out the gift, they gave it to their sibling, and they watched the face as their sister or brother opened it up. And when they started having joy at seeing the other receive, then I began to think I was teaching them the proper way to have more joy in giving than in receiving. And that's something we learn over time. If we still are the person who thinks Christmas is our birthday, we've made a mistake in our theology, because it's a celebration of gift giving, of how God gave his gift to us. And when we learn that, when we get the joy of doing that, then that shows us as maturing. I can still remember when Marie and I were first married, I went to, excuse me, a flea market, you know? And we didn't have much money. And so I went to a flea market, and you get some good deals. It doesn't matter if one leg's a little longer than the other, as long as you kind of lead like that. But I bought all, I still remember, I bought bright red pants, bright green pants, bright yellow pants. And then I bought this big thing of perfume. I made a gallon for three bucks. What a deal. You know, so I'm thinking, you know, and I remember giving these gifts to Marie, and she didn't appreciate them. And so now my gift to her is to take her out so she can pick her own gifts out because she's a lot happier that way. But I started learning early in our relationship that the real joy was to see a joy in that person as you gave to them. And that's how it is in Christian giving. It is more blessed to give than to receive in Christian giving. And that's what Paul is speaking about. He's speaking about the joy of generosity to give bountifully to somebody else because you're doing something in the name of Christ and blessing them. And that's how it works. And that's what God would have us to know. God desires us to do that. He desires us to give in such a way that we're able to minister to the people. And God will also take care of us. Again, in verses eight and nine, God is able to make all grace abound toward you. That you always having all sufficiency and all things may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written, he has dispersed abroad. He's given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. So God promises to supply your material needs and will make it possible for you to continue giving. Somebody said, he will bless the increase of those who give cheerfully that they may have not an excess so they can live in selfish luxury, but the sufficiency with which all genuine believers ought to be content. Again, a generous man will prosper and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. He says now verse 10, may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you've sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. So God has supplied seed to the sower and God is the one who has blessed you in the first place. You're simply giving out of what he has first given to you. In first Chronicles 29 14, we read who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer so willingly as this for all things come from you and of your own we have given you. Again, when my children were learning to give as small kids, they didn't have jobs and so Marie would give them an allowance out of my pocket and then the children would give me a gift and they would say, Oh, I wish I could give you more daddy and I'd say, No, this is fine because I paid for it. So, No, this is fine. They didn't give me anything out of their own sweat and blood, toil work, creativity. They gave it to me out of mind and that's how it works. And that's the whole point. What do you have that you didn't first receive? And if you first receive that, then why do you glory Paul said as if you hadn't? If God is the one who owns all things that the cattle in a thousand hills belong to him and all of that, that the earth is the Lord's, then that who am I to say I'm giving to you out of my substance. In fact, what I am is a steward of his substance. And so what I gave to him is what was just said. I gave to him out of what already belonged to him. I gave to him what he gave to me and I gave it in return. So Paul prays that God will continue to give them finances that can be used for the Lord. It's interesting how he uses words like supply and multiply, increase, enrich, liberality, thanksgiving. May he keep blessing you that you may keep giving to others and his cause. Verse 12, for the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God. Well, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ and for your liberal generous sharing with them and all men. So he closes with the word concerning practical fruit of giving. It not only supplies the needs of the saints, it abounds in blessings to those who give. The result will be that they will glorify God for supplying their needs because of their faith and obedience. It's a tangible evidence of the unity of the church as the Gentiles are caring for the Jewish brethren. And he says in verse 14, by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. He's saying because of your gracious giving to them, prayers have been lifted up on your behalf. They're going to be blessed so much by your help that you will be lifted up in prayer and they will be grateful. And then he says this, and I'm going to spend a moment talking to you about this as we're about to close. Notice verse 15, how he says it. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift, indescribable. We all know what that word means, indescribable. Something that is indescribable, it's just we don't have the words to communicate. Now he's speaking about Jesus Christ. He's saying thank God for his indescribable gift, thank God for Jesus Christ. Thank God for what Jesus has done for you. Remember in chapter 8 verse 9 how it said, 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. Thank God for the indescribable love of Christ. Now here's the thing, and this is what I think that this study, I want to close with this illustration to try and help us understand something about giving. And I'm going to use a very, what's the word, a natural illustration to try and bring a spiritual meaning to this. Thank God for his indescribable gift. As a young man, I met a young woman. I was teaching a Bible study. My brother had gotten saved. He needed discipling. I lived in Norwalk. He lived in Ontario. He got saved August 4th, 1974. And I watched to see whether he would go to church and he wasn't going to church. So by September, the beginning of September, I was concerned for my older brother. He wasn't being discipled. So my sister Madeline and I began to drive from Norwalk to Ontario and he had a little apartment right off of Hold in San Antonio by the park. And so I started teaching Frank September, October. As I'm teaching him, he's inviting work friends, people he knew from the job. And one day a young woman walks in and she sits down and she listens to the Bible study a couple weeks later. She gives her heart to Christ. And as I had my first conversation with this woman, Marie, I like her immediately, but she doesn't know Christ. And so she comes to faith in Christ two weeks later through my sister Madeline, who brings her to faith in the Lord, begins to attend the Bible studies faithfully. We begin to date. Now I know her. I know her as a person. I know a little bit about her. She talks to me after Bible studies on Monday night. I know her a little bit, but I want to know her better. So I am attracted to her. I like her and I ask her out. As I ask her out, I get to know her a little bit better just by talking. Before you know it, we're going out on a weekly basis. Before you know it is an exclusive relationship. She doesn't date any other guys and I hadn't been dating any girls anyway. So it was a good thing for me. And so she's just going out with me, but we're talking and now we're spending hours. And before you know it, the relationship is growing. I'm learning things about her. I'm developing a relationship with her. I'm hearing the things of how she grew up. I'm learning things about her family. I'm learning things about her wants, the things that she likes, the things that she doesn't like, the things that are important to her, the things that aren't. Our very first date, our very first conversation as we're going on. I still remember as we're talking and she says, I need to let you know something. And I said, what is that? She says, my name is Marie. It's not Mary. It's not Maria. It's Marie. That's the first thing she told me. So what is my name for her today? Maria. And so she also says, if I get stung by a bee, get me to a hospital immediately because I'll go into shock. Those are the first two things I remember on our first date that she told me. My name is Marie and take me to the doctor. That was it. And so over time, we get to know each other. Over time, I hear what it was like for her as a little girl growing up here in Chino. I hear stories from her. I learned things about her. And guess what? Over time, I start seeing her differently. Over time, I began to ask myself, could you be with this girl? Over time, I hold her hand. Over time, I give her our first kiss. Over time, I ask her to marry me. And I'm learning all these things about her. And then we get married. And then a year goes by and I'm learning more. Five years go by. I'm learning more. 10 years go by. I'm learning more. 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 plus years go by. I'm learning more. I'm learning more. I'm learning more about this woman. And my love for her is growing and growing and growing. And guess what? That's what happens when you're walking with Christ. You get saved. At first, he's just your savior. You don't even know what's going to happen in time with him. But over time, he blesses you. Over time, he works in your life. Over time, you go through pain. You go through sorrow. You go through tears. You go through disappointment. You go through illnesses. You go through loss. You go through so much. And he's always there. And he never lets you down. And he always holds you up. And he loves you. And you learn that. You learn more about him and more about him. It's not the same as when you were quote, unquote, dating him. It is now a relationship that is deep. It's lasting. It's understanding. And you now have a love for him. And let me tell you something. What happens over time is his love for you and his grace towards you and his goodness to you and his provision for you and his being there for you. He never leaves you. He never forsakes you. He walks through the valley of the shadow of death with you. You fear no evil. He is with you. You can do the impossible for all things are possible with God. You learn that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You learn these things and he becomes indescribable. Indescribable. He gets to the point in your life where you can't put into words what he means to you. What Jesus means to you. What he's done for you. How he's loved you. How he's provided for you. How you have been on your face in your bedroom crying out, God, I don't have two nickels to rub together. I don't know how I'm going to pay these bills. And then you go to the mail as I have and you open up a letter that's unsigned. There's no return address and I open it up and there's a check there for $200 and I needed that so bad. And I put it in front of my wife and I said, my God shall supply. My God is able. I know he is. He is indescribable. Thank God for his indescribable gift, Jesus Christ. How can I out give him? How can I out give him? How can I grudgingly hold on to what I think is mine when in fact all that I have came from him? That's what Paul is teaching us in this passage. Corinthians, you only have because he gave. He doesn't want your grudging obligation. He wants your cheerful heart because he became poor, took upon himself human flesh, dwelt amongst man, died on a cross, was placed in a borrowed tomb. But he rose the third day and he gave you life and he poured his spirit into you and he's provided for you every step of the way. Thank God for his indescribable gift. Thank God for his son, Jesus. And so when you give to the Lord, you give with joy because he first gave to you. And those of us who hold back from him, perhaps you haven't been spending enough time with the one who loved you so much that he gave everything up for you. Perhaps you just haven't spent time with him to realize yet that you have all that you need in him and he will provide you with all that you need. As God come through in your life, he's come through in mine. He continues to do that because my God is faithful. That's a fact. That's a fact. My God shall supply all my need. He doesn't supply all my greed. He supplies all my need. And I have learned, so have you, many of you, contentment. It comes through spiritual things. It comes through relational things. Contentment doesn't come because I have a nice home. Thank God that I do. It doesn't come because I can drive a car, a nice car. Thank God I can. But those things have not given me satisfaction. They haven't. What gives me satisfaction is him. It's him. It's when I've been on my face many times crying out to God for my son, for my daughter, for my friends, for my mom, for my dad, for my brother, for my sisters, for my church, for my wife. God in Jesus' name. God in Jesus' name. He comes through and He delivers me. And I'm never alone. He's always with me. So I give to him because he first gave to me. And Paul is saying, Corinthians, you've had a year you could have and should have prepared. I expect you to be generous. When they show up, don't embarrass yourself and don't embarrass me because I've been bragging about you and I know God's working in you. So be generous because your brethren need generosity right now. They need your help. So help them. And don't forget, don't forget what God did for you because what God did for you is the basis of all that you do for others. Thank God for His indescribable gift, Jesus Christ. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.