 Okay. So we're looking at chapter eight and we saw how the, you know, the Macedonian believers, the people in that area, the fact that they were financially poor but yet they gave all that they, you know, to the Lord and for to help these saints. So they did that. So they were very, very generous in their giving. We also see in verse five that the way in the manner in which they gave, right, they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to this particular cause for the believers who were poor in Jerusalem, for the saints in Jerusalem. So, so there we see a pattern about giving for the work of ministry that it's not in a very detached manner to say, okay, I've done my bit. Now I've given the money, but it's also, you know, giving of oneself to the Lord and surrendering of oneself to the Lord. And so that your heart is engaged with God all the time, even as you give, right? And it was the grace of God which enabled the believers to give. We see that as well, right? They saying that you, verse six, he says that, that you complete this grace in you as well. That as he had begun, that you would also complete this grace in you as well. Okay. And verse seven also, see that you abound in this grace also. So this is again by the grace of God, you abound, you increase in it, you abound in it. Okay. Let's go on to verse eight, chapter eight, verse eight says, I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, see became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. And in this, I give advice, it is to your advantage only, it is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and we're desiring to do a year ago, but now you also must complete the doing of it. That as there was a readiness to desire it. So there also may be a completion out of what you have. For if there is first a willing mind, then it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what one does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance may also supply your lack, that they may be equality. As it is written, he who has gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. So Paul starts by saying, I speak not by commandment, but I'm testing the sincerity of your love. So he's saying, this is not a commandment, but I'm just, it's an exhortation and just to test the sincerity of your love for other saints. So he's reminding them again. So he draws their attention to two things. Like one, he says that they did not give, have much. They were not rich, they were poor. But out of that, they gave, they have all. Okay. So he reminds them about this condition in which they gave. So sometimes you might think that maybe they were already rich people, so they were able to give them to the work of ministry and then they gave, they were able to give liberally. So Paul is saying, no, no. This is what their condition was, and this is how they gave. And then secondly, he also points to the fact of how the Lord Jesus gave himself. How the Lord Jesus gave himself, gave his life for the sake of others, right? Which is verse nine. 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. You see in Philippians chapter two verses five to eight, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taken the form of a born servant, coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So what is it? He's saying, this is the manner in which the Lord Jesus, he emptied himself. He being God, he made himself of no reputation. He being second person of the Trinity, he came taking the form of a born servant in the likeness of man. And he humbled himself to the point of death for our sakes. So he became poor in that sense. And why did he do that? So that we might be reconciled to God, so that our condition might change that. So he says here that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, verse nine, that through his poverty you might become rich. So through this act, what is it that he's changing in us that he is changing our poverty, our state in order to become rich? We see, when we learned about financial stewardship, we see that. Well, everything belongs to him, like the cattle on a thousand hills, everything, the gold is mine, the silver is mine says the Lord and souls of the cattle on a thousand hills. He's not against riches. He gave everything for our sakes. He wants the believer to enjoy the good things in life, yet without putting our trust in uncertain riches. That is what we read in the Paul's Epistle to Timothy. So the same thing that he said, we see that the Lord gave himself and he gave himself sacrificially. So that for your sake you might become rich. So he's drawing the attention to these. The believers did this. The believers in the Macedonian churches, this is how they gave. And this is how our Lord himself gave. So we have two, we have a human example in the Macedonian church believers. We have an example of the Lord himself doing this. Therefore, he's saying, don't hesitate. Verse 10, and in this I give advice, it is to your advantage, not only to be doing what you began and we are deciding to do a year ago, but now you must also complete the doing of it. That as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. So it's good that you have a desire, but you need to complete it. It is to your advantage. It is to your benefit. So what has happened is that a year ago, they had started, they said, okay, they were all excited. They were all, they had that desire to give and they started doing it, but they're not completed it. It was not, it was not completed yet. It was not given yet. So saying, yes, it's good to have a desire. So not only that you started it, but then you completed verse 11, you must complete the doing of it. That as there was a readiness to desire it, no, that I saw that there was a readiness, you desire to do it, let there also be a completion of it. So is reminding them that the willingness to give, you have that desire to give, which is good. That's a good step. But what do you need to also complete that? The second step is to complete. If you see the second part of verse 12, so verse 12 itself, no, let's just read that says, for if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. So that's the thing. So what is acceptable to God is what you have and what you don't, it's not what you do not have. You give out of what you have and who have a willing mind, you have a desire to give, that is good. That's the first step. So it's not comparing ourselves to others and saying, okay, this is less, no, God doesn't look at that. He looks at what you give out of what you have. That's it. Now that's a comfort. So it's not like you need to borrow in order to give. It's not like you need to do other things in order to give. It is out of what you have that you give. Verses 13 to 15, for I do not mean that others should be east and you burdened, but by an equality. But now at this time, your abundance may supply their lack and their abundance also may supply your lack, that there may be equality. As it is written, he who has gathered much has nothing left over and he who has gathered little has no lack. So he's quoting from Exodus chapter 16 there. So what is the thing here is saying, is reminding them that you are the body of Christ, you are members of one another. So my intention is not that you should be burdened, you should be financially burdened and the other should be free. It's not the intention at all in my coming to you and asking. So the thing is what you lack, they will supply and what they lack. Even as you supply, what they lack. So Ephesians 4 talks about that, speaking the truth and love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together, but by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which each by which every part does its share causing growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. So this is what happens. This causes the growth of the body and that is edification and we are the body of Christ. So you supply what others do not have, you supply their lack and others supply what you lack. So therefore it causes edification of the body and Exodus 16 talking about how he was gathered much as nothing left over in the sense. He's got the field he has gathered, but he's also given to those who do not have. So it's not like he's storing up a lot, but he's gathered and he's given, he's comfortable, others are comfortable. And he who gathered little, he has still has no lack, but because the one who gathered much has given. So this is what we see here. Verse 16, now thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus, for he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord and we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. So he's saying, thanks be to God, now he's talking about Titus, Titus has come, Titus also cares for you and he came to you of his own accord. That's what happened. He met them and then he came to meet with Paul and he brought this good news, what is happening in the church and so on. So he says here that we have sent with him, along with Titus, there is another person who's accompanying Titus, this brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. So he's a good reputation, everybody seems to be talking well about him. So he's known for his integrity, for his character. And so he is also accompanying Titus and going there to Corinth in order to take this and then travel with the team, go to Jerusalem and give this gift. But Paul also says, whomever you approve, you can send him so that there's no confusion, so that you know that it's in safe hands, etc. So that's verse 18 and verse, yeah, not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord himself and to show your ready mind. Okay, avoiding this verse 20 that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift, which is administered by us, providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often proved diligent in many things, now much more diligent, but now much more diligent because of the great confidence, which we have in you. If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you, or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ, therefore show to them and before the churches the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf. So Paul is doing all this so that in the sight of men and in the sight of God, there is nothing, there's no deficiency, providing honorable things in the sight of God and in the sight of men. There should be no doubt, there should be no blame, there should be no pointing of finger, like total accountability, transparency, and everyone can see for themselves, okay, this person is going, he's trusted, he's taking, because they're all, you know, all these questions would come up, right, when it comes to money. So we have this lesson for us as ministers that, yes, you know, we can't say, you know, I'm right before God and therefore I will do what I want, okay, so we know that there are people also who have given, so they have, we need to be accountable to them as well, okay, not to be manipulated by people or not to be, you know, controlled by people, it's not that, but to be accountable, it's different, right, it's accountable, you're being transparent, you're saying, okay, I realize that you have given this for this purpose, you've given financially for this purpose and therefore we want to use the money for that same purpose, you don't want to misuse that, it will be, it's in safe hands and we will make sure that it reaches there safely, so that's the accountability and that's the transparency, right, so the ministry is not, so people are not blamed, people are not accused and the ministry is not blamed, right, so he does that, so that heart or that mindset, it's good that if we as contemporary ministers also have the same thing, if we also have the same thing, knowing that, okay, people have given, they've given their heart and money and therefore I'm not going to, you know, they have a right to know that these are the processes and in doing so their heart is also at rest, yes, they could, you know, they could say that they trust all, but then when there are others also, there is more than one person, then there is accountability, right, so that we have two people, then there is actually a team, there are three people and then, you know, whoever the leaders approve, whoever the people approve, they are part of the team, so there is safety, there is accountability and Paul intentionally does that, so that no one can accuse and say, hey Paul cheated us, he used it for his own benefit, this money, or he took it and went, no one can say that and he does not want people to even accuse and blame, right, so we see that in chapter 8, okay, so chapter 8, some of the things that are highlighted, some of the takeaway here is about the liberality, the generosity of the Macedonian church believers, how they gave and we also see how the Lord Jesus gave himself and there's an important lesson for us that when we give, we do so generously, we do so sacrificially, right, when we desire to give in the will of the Lord, so there is no compulsion, there is no, you know, there's no, like I should give, only then I will be approved, right, I'll be approved by God, accepted by God, nothing like that, no, so it is completely free, completely voluntarily, completely voluntary, but you do so in the will of God, as God wills, as God puts in your heart, you do that and then you give, right, so another thing that Paul says is it's not good to, well in the context of giving, but also I'm sure that we can apply it in other areas, it's not good to just have good intentions, right, or saying, you know, I'd like to do this, or I'd like to serve in this manner, or I'd like to give whatever this amount of money for the sake of ministry, or to support this work, it's not good to have, I mean, it's not good just to have good intentions, but there should also be a completion of it, there should also be action to follow through and carry out, only then does it benefit anyone, right, it's not good to just have, you know, I want to do it and it just remains a desire, it remains a good intention, but it is never translated into action, like it never becomes something that is lived out, it just stays in the realm of desire or good intention, right, so Paul, that is also something that we, that is highlighted here, and also Paul's recommendation of Titus and Paul's recommendation of the other brother, that also is something that is highlighted that we see there, and another thing even before that is Paul writing, quoting from Exodus 16 and he's saying, you know, how when one gathers more and then one gives, then the one who gathers little is also benefited, and how we are the body of Christ, right, so you remember in 1 Corinthians in the book that he talks about the people of God being a field, people of God being a building, and so on, and in 1 Corinthians again people of God being referred to as the body, the body of Christ, and then again different members are there in the body, so here again he's referring to that and saying that, the members are edified, members are built up, one lacks something, then the lack is supplied, met with by the other, okay, right, so let's look at chapter 9 which is also a continuity of chapter 8, right, he's not talking about something else, he's also continuing to talk about giving, okay, let's read chapter 9, chapter 9 verse 1, now concerning the ministering 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 Akhaya 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 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, okay, so Paul had informed the Corinthians about the collection a year back, a year ago and now he's reminding them and he had been you know talking about the Corinthian believers to the other churches as well that you know they are, because obviously they were excited and very very interested in giving for this particular need but they never got around to finishing it or doing it right, so he's been, Paul has been talking about that to the Macedonian churches also, so how the Corinth you know which is part of that region of Akhaya Akhaya is ready to minister to the saints in Jerusalem, so he's talked about their zeal, he's talked about their readiness and excitement to help etc, so he's saying you know I'm sending these people, titers and the others ahead of time so that when I come lest my boasting is found to be false, you know I wanted to be true, that you are interested and I don't want you, want to come and find you unprepared too, so he's giving some special or specific instructions, you know the first day of the week when you gather you put some money away so that you know you don't have to, last minute you don't have to run around and collect and all that, so you put it away and so when I come it is easier and so it doesn't want them to be unprepared and unnecessarily cost embarrassment for themselves and for the team. From verse six he talks about what should be the heart of the giver, how should what should be the motive, what should be the attitude of the giver and you know many times we share this you know churches would share this during the offertory time, how you should give etc and it's very appropriate because it addresses the heart of the giver, how should I give, let's look at verse six onwards, six but this I say he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not drudgingly or of necessity, for God loves the cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace abound towards you that you always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work as it is written he is dispersed abroad he is given to the poor his righteousness endures forever now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness while you are enriched in everything for all liberality which causes thanksgiving through us to God for the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God while through the proof of this ministry they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ and for your liberal sharing with them and all men and by their prayer for you who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you thanks be to God for his indescribable gift so let's look at the verse verse six for this I say he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly so it's a it's a typical rule in agriculture that you be you know if you're sowing something you need to sow it you're sowing one seed you will reap of that one seed but whereas if you're sowing many then you will reap you know when during harvest time you know there will be there will be abundance right so he's saying you know this is what it is if you're sowing sparingly you will also reap sparingly whereas if you sow bountifully you will reap since that is a principle when it comes to farming when it comes to agriculture he says so let each one give as he purposes in his heart you know you understand this you keep this in mind when I sow when I when I give but you know abundantly I will also receive in an abundant manner so have this in mind but he says let each one purpose in his heart this is a guiding principle but you decide you purpose in your heart and that this decision should not be in a grudging manner grudging meaning you know hesitant and you he's putting pressure on me you know I should give no not grudging nor of necessity you know there is no force there is no there is no compulsion you know it's like oh you know I need I I should I need to give no necessity why because God loves a cheerful giver okay one who is giving cheerfully one who is giving voluntarily and not because somebody said you know you there is a need please give off you know so not drudgingly not out of necessity but God loves a cheerful giver so cheerfully you give and the fact is this that God is able to make all grace abound towards us he is able to make his grace abound towards us and even this giving is also because by the grace of God so he's able to make all his grace abound towards us for what purpose was it that you having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work so God is able to you know make his grace or you know make his grace available to you and abound towards you okay right that you having all sufficiency in all things right so that you are that you have enough for your needs in other words for all your needs right having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work now this is the grace of God towards you which means that God desires you to to prosper so that you might be even more generous for the cause of the kingdom and for the cause of you know as according to his will and purpose so so this is it so he's able to make grace abound towards you that you having all sufficiency in all things that your needs are met all your needs are met and he's able to make all grace abound towards you so that you might have an abundance for every good work as it is written as it is written he has dispersed abroad he has given to the poor his righteousness and yours forever okay so that's that's verse nine okay so let's yeah that's he's quoting again from from the Old Testament from Psalms right verse 10 now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food okay so look at that verse now he who okay we looked at this right how much to give how to give how not to give right verse 10 now may he supply seed to the sower and bread for food so who provides it's God okay he's so again he's using this whole thing of agriculture and farming he's the one who supplies a seed to the sower so seed what do you do you sow the seed okay bread what is it used for it is used for my needs so he's saying that God gives you so like just like how he supplies he makes all grace abound towards you so that you might have an abundance for every good work right you have all sufficiency for all things and an abundance for every good work so your needs are met and others needs are met right so here he says in verse 10 now may he who supplies seed to the sower now the seed is actually sown the seed is not stored seed is sown so he supplies the seed so that you might sow okay and he gives bread that you might partake of it that you might eat of it that you are satisfied right he supplies a seed which is to be sown and also the finished product which is the bread for your need okay now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness okay may he supply may he multiply what has been done what you have sown there is so there is an increase in the harvest okay so he he actually prays this blessing he declares this blessing may he who supplies seed to the sower bless multiply supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruit of your righteousness and in verse 11 says well for while you are enriched in everything for all liberality which causes thanksgiving through us to God so you know this is what happens you are enriched in all liberality in all things now that results in thanksgiving okay so people notice it people see it and that results in thanksgiving to God okay abounding through thanks which causes thanksgiving to us through us to God for the administration of the service not only supplies the needs of the saints but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God it takes care of the needs of the saints and that results in many giving thanks to God for this service for the administration of this service right while was 13 while through the proof of this ministry they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ and for your liberal sharing with them and all men and by their prayer for you who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you thanks be to God for his indescribable gift okay so so this generosity on the part of the Corinthian believers will result in a few things people glorifying God for the obedience of other believers to the gospel and so that is what he says you know that they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel so people are glorifying God why they're saying God I thank you that these people are obedient to your voice to your leading and to your gospel and they are doing this okay secondly people are glorifying God for the generosity of other believers okay so they're saying God this person is given so liberally given so sacrificially given so generously and they glorifying God and also the third thing is that verse 14 right but they pray for you who long for you because of your exceeding grace of because of the exceeding grace of God in you so they're saying you know they are remembering you affectionately fondly and they are praying for you right and verse 15 thanks be to God for his indescribable gift so he now brings that tension back to how God gave like John 316 right God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so he's saying thanks be to God all this is nothing in comparison to the generosity of God the giving of God thanks be to God for his indescribable gift which now that means that I'm unable to put in two words I'm unable to describe the nature of this gift right our nature of his giving I'm unable to nature of his gift for a thanks be to God for his for his indescribable I'm unable to put in words unable to speak about it in human words thanks be to God for his indescribable gift okay so that's chapter chapter nine right so chapter nine so the specifics of giving you know like and also some specifics of preparing the people to give we see that and then we see that he has already put in a process of people going ahead in order to prepare to ensure that people are not taken unawares and we see all that happening right then then he talks about the giver how giver should be cheerful not to give grudgingly because somebody asked not to give you know out of necessity necessity meaning you know I need to give this you know some kind of obligation right oh it could be even you know that that's the thing you know that's the tradition that's the custom I need to give or it's none of that so saying when we give it's not grudgingly not out of necessity but we give because God loves and God loves one who gives the way he gave right so God loves the person who gives the way he he himself gave so you're just giving like God and you're giving in a cheerful manner right in many ways that we are we are to be Christ like we are to be you know be like him we are to imitate God that imitate Christ be Paul says be imitators of God so this is one way we imitate God when we give cheerfully right I'm not sure if you know if we had seen it that way if we had seen our giving that way we actually imitate God in our giving because he gave of himself he gave so generously so sacrificially so we actually imitate or be like God or follow his example when we give generously so so this is what says about how giving and also we learn something about how God supplies the seed God supplies the bread so he's providing like God is providing and what is he providing us with whenever we you know financially when we receive we need to ask God oh Lord is this seed or is it bread you know how much of is this seed how much of it is bread because seed is what you use for sewing right seed is what you use for sewing and bread is what you you yourself partake and of course you can share of the bread this is something for your sustenance for for your strength for your sustenance to be used for you right so it's good to ask the Lord practical application is you know to ask a lot Lord how much of this is seed and is this seed or bread that's a good question to ask and when we sew you know we are enriched for more liberality we are enriched for generosity um and that our act of generosity are giving impacts is impactful right it's it it brings glory to God and it brings the glory to God because people are giving glory to God for you know specifically in this context he says that they glorify God because you've been obedient they glorify God because you you've been generous and they also glorify God thinking of you fondly affectionately for your generosity and they pray to God for you right um and finally how uh how God gave you know this is a second time he's again coming back to that right um um in in chapter 8 we see that chapter 8 and verse 9 about Christ how he gave though he was rich for your sake he became poor so that's how he gave of himself and here we see the gift of God thanks be to God for us indescribable I cannot begin to even speak about it in words it's it's beyond description like I can't describe and thanks be to God for his indescribable gift okay so anything that you that caught your attention what is it that you know that you noticed that you feel was hey this is this is something that I noticed in this or this is something that God is you know reiterating or showing me anything that you noticed you could share chapter 9 anyone what is it that that spoke to you right what is it that was highlighted to you um from chapter 9 you can put it in the chat you can share what is it that you noticed what is it that you um was highlighted to you in all these verses anyone Thomas Kiran Kannon Prince Sid Nailam yeah Prince that's so true you know um um what we see in verse sorry chapter 8 right how they gave um so that's that's really amazing right so the fact that they first of all they gave themselves to the Lord and then they gave right that is chapter 8 and verse verse 5 right they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God so that's true that should be the order in our giving okay so Kiran comfort yeah you give joyfully yeah there is no pressure and when we do that we are actually giving as our heavenly Father would give right he has set an example and we are giving just like how a heavenly Father would give so I mean that's that's the greatest thing that's uh we are literally walking in his footsteps right yes anything else um see one thing I notice is in chapter 9 and versus 10 and 11 that see this is God's plan this is God's desire okay that um that that he would supply the seed right that he's the provider he's a supplier that he would supply the seed and and he would also supply the bread um and he would enrich us in everything right he would enrich us in anything everything for all liberality and he's actually you know enriching us to be generous okay so we should never forget that he enriches us for all liberality and that causes people to give thanksgiving to God that God is glorified right um so our responsibility is really you know when when God blesses us when God enriches us our responsibility is to steward that well right and the whole of financial stewardship is about that that that we would steward that well that we would use that well that we would oversee it well you know sometimes we think okay I don't have much if I had you know if I had more than I would steward it well I would manage it well I would oversee it well no he doesn't say anything about um the amount of money right the amount um so it's just that uh he supplies and he enriches right he's the one it's that's his department that's his responsibility but our responsibility is to steward it well which causes thanksgiving to God through others right so um so we recognize that okay there's a responsibility uh in response to blessing okay we of course we respond in thanksgiving to God and say God thank you for blessing me but there is a responsibility that we have to you know to enrich others to bless others right that is something that we see here okay so we'll uh we'll stop here and we'll continue next week from chapter 10 so we have 10 11 towards four more chapters to go and these are and these are quite you know interesting chapters where Paul talks a little more about himself about how others are in ministry others who are traveling and ministering etc so he kind of talks about that as well and talks about his own spiritual experiences and etc and then you know he he closes that um in chapter 13 with some instructions so yeah so it's it's good it's interesting we're just going to the last four chapters of Corinthians right okay so thank you have a great weekend God bless you guys we'll meet again next week bye bye thank you sir all right see you bye