The Economics of God

The Economics of God” 2 Corinthians 8-9

I need to start this sermon with a confession. Nothing too shocking. Nothing that should lead you to fire me as your pastor, I hope. But a genuine confession, nonetheless.

So here it is: I'd rather not preach this sermon series. There are two reasons for my hesitation. First, It's about money & what we do with it. I'm well aware that this is not the most popular subject. Some years ago I saw a survey of people who had left churches. When asked why they left, one major reason was, "That church talked too much about money." So I go into this series with the awareness that you might not especially like it. (For your information I have asked the ushers to bolt the doors at this point so you can't escape.)

The second reason for my hesitation is more personal: I'd rather not have to think about this subject myself. I'm a fairly stingy person by nature. Well, okay, very stingy. So, if a part of you wishes you had skipped church today, I understand.

Here is the question: Do you think of yourself as a generous giving person? I have a quiz to help us rate ourselves. Take a moment to take the quiz.

How much do you tip servers in a restaurant? _____ One point per percentage point—e.g., 20% = 20 points)

How often do you praise friends, family & coworkers? _____ One point per praise per week)

What percentage of your income have you given to church or charity this year? ___ (One point per percentage point)

How many hours per week do you volunteer? ____ (One point per hour per week)

How many people did you pray for by name last week that are poor, sick or in serious trouble? ___(One point per person)

Let’s add up our scores and put a name to our numbers: Total______
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100+
Stingy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Generous

Now give your quiz to the person next to you to correct! Just kidding…

For three weekends we are going to learn how to shrink the Stingy & grow the Generous in each of us. Let’s start at the beginning with the Economics of God. If we understand how God thinks & acts we are off to a great start toward generosity. The Bible says a lot about money. 16 of Jesus' 38 parables were about how to handle money & possessions. One Bible-counter says there are less than 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith & more than 2,000 verses on money & possessions. The Bible talks so much about money it seems obvious that it is important to God. Rather than ramble through the whole Bible to explore the Economics of God we’re going to look at 2 Cor. 8 & 9.

These chapters were written by St. Paul to the church in Corinth. He was concerned about the suffering of the Christians in Jerusalem & was preparing to send money with his friend Titus to them. Paul was asking them to be generous givers.

2 Cor. 8:1-9 “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy & their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, & even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord & then to us in keeping with God’s will.

So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness & in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Three Principles in understanding the Economics of God.:

#1. God Owns Everything. This principle doesn’t come from 2 Cor., but from the general teaching of the whole bible. Ps. 24:1 “The world & all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth & all who live on it are his.” The #1 principle about the economics of God—God owns everything. He created the universe & everything in it. Everything belongs to God. A wealthy landowner once got angry at the preachers teaching that everything belongs to God. He invited the preacher for lunch, showed him his mansion, gardens & estate & then asked, “Are you trying to say that all this does not belong to me?” The pastor smiled & said, “Ask me the same question in a hundred years.”

Let me ask you, Do you believe that God owns everything? If you do your lives take on a new perspective. Think of what everything includes - land; houses; cars; fourwheelers; snowmobiles; all stock traded on exchanges; medicine; clothes; toys; contact lenses; pizzas; pencils; sell phones: iPods; HDTV’s; computers; insurance policies, etc. etc. etc.

Believing that God owns everything changes your worldview from a mentality of scarcity to abundance. God owns everything! (Say it with me.)

#2. God is Very Generous. God not only owns everything but he is very generous. He loves to share. He delights in giving. He gets a very high score on our Quiz. Look again at 2 Cor. 8 & the word “grace”.

It is the Greek word from which we get our English word “charity.” It means “gift.” 2 Cor. 8:1 “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.” 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though HE was rich, yet for YOUR sakes HE became POOR, (WHY?) so that YOU through HIS poverty might become RICH.”

God gives gifts to everyone. These include life, food, clothes, shelter, family, money, health, & much, much more. Some may argue that God is not generous enough. Oh really! We live in one of the richest countries in the world.

Gary Moore, a Christian financial advisor says: “According to the International Monetary Fund, the average American now enjoys $40,000. + of annual purchasing power. If you make the average American income, you’re in the top 1% of wage earners in history. There are more than one billion people on earth who live on less than a dollar a day. Because of aids, war, corrupt governments, & general poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, the average Ugandan today is 14 years old & lives on less than $300. a year.” That illustration is not intended to produce guilt; it’s intended to produce gratitude & therefore generosity. God has blessed us, lets not be afraid of blessing others. I need to ask you again – Do you believe God is generous & if so how does it affect your giving patterns?

#3. God Entrusts us with His Assets so that we will Give to Others.

We need tounderstand why God is so generous with us. It is not just to make us rich & comfortable. He certainly wants us to enjoy what he gives us but remember He give to us for a specific reason. 2 Cor 9:10-11“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer & then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide & increase your resources & then produce a great harvest of generosity^* in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.(NLT) God gives to us, so that we will be able to give to others.

God is generous with us so we will be generous with others. God forgives us so we will forgive others. God comforts us so we will comfort others. God reaches out to us so that we will reach out to others.

Here’s the point: God gives to us so that we will be generous with others. God blesses us so we can bless others. The more God gives to us, the more God blesses us, the more we have to give & to bless others.

I know that most of us have been affected by the economic problems our world is facing. But let me give you some perspective: The same week that the global wealth shrank by $7 trillion, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate hit a record 231 million %. In other words, if you had saved $1 million Zimbabwean dollars by Friday, on Monday it was worth $1.58. This sobering fact leads me to this: I need take my eyes off my own minor problems in order to look with compassion on the major problems of others.

God gives to us so that we can help feed God’s starving children. God gives to us so that we can sponsor children so they can go to school. God gives to us so that we can give to diapers to financially stretched mothers. God gives to us so that we can give to the food shelf & help financially struggling families. God gives to us so that we can give to missionaries so that people can hear about Jesus love for them, etc………..

2 Cor 9:11“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, & through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

God generously gives to us so that we can generously give to others, & the result is God receives thanksgiving.

Historians will look at 2008 as the year of the financial tsunami that left in is wake millions of foreclosed homes, bankruptcies, devastated retirement funds, & lost jobs. What a testimony it would be if, in 2009, Christians believing that God owns everything resolved to increased their giving, so that many many people would increase their thanksgiving to God!

I would love to hear from some of you about how you are going to respond to these Biblical principles: God owns everything, is extremely generous, & entrusts us with his assets.