The 5^th Sunday After Trinity

SERMON

INI

Text: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9; 9:6-8

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

…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 grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

In Christ Jesus, the Lord of the Church, whom we serve, dear fellow-redeemed:

How are your investments? That is actually a dangerous question with which to begin a sermon. On the one hand, there is a percentage of you who have no investments, or very few. On the other hand, there are some of you who do have investments. Those who have none may think this question doesn’t apply to them. Those who have investments may be tempted to think of their portfolios.

I would like all of you to think much more broadly this morning. We all have investments and we continue to invest every single day. We invest in some way—whether owning a house or renting—in a place to live. The return of that investment is a place in which we are sheltered from the weather, a place to sleep, and place to live with our families. That investment, as we found out this past week, can be laid low and brought down.

Some may invest in the Stock Market. The return with these investments is profit and an increase in our financial resources. We know from history that the Stock Market can crash. These investments can be left rather empty and even now still struggle.

But all that we do and all that we have is an investment and we are looking for some kind of return. We invest in food every week whether it be at a restaurant or a grocery store. Are we getting a good return? Are we getting good food to keep our energy up and our bodies healthy. We invest money to buy clothing and all the other things we need for this life. Are we receiving a good return? Are we getting a good bargain or are we throwing money needlessly away?

We invest time in doing the things that are required of us to fulfill our responsibilities. Are we receiving a good return for time spent? All the gifts of every sort, large and small, are ours to invest—to use in this life while we have them. We may think of Jesus’ parable of the talents in which an owner gave varying amounts of money to his servants. The owner’s charge to each servant was to tend to the money until he returned. It is a parable that Jesus used to teach us about stewardship, about investing those gifts that God has given us.

In our text this morning, the apostle Paul used the Macedonian Christians as an example of Christians who had invested (in this case, money) for the needs of the saints in Jerusalem and Judah. Paul uses this example to encourage the Corinthians to examine their investments as well.

How are your investments? This morning we consider this question and encourage one another to CHECK YOUR INVESTMENTS. We will find that I. We are already invested in the love of Christ—completely; and the encouragement is to II. Keep on investing in the work of Christ as we go through this life.

I.

The Christians in Jerusalem and surrounding region were suffering. Famine had hit the land and there was much poverty. As the apostle Paul made his way through the outlying congregations, he also encouraged them to give of their abundance in order to help those in Judah who were poor and suffering. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he spoke of gathering a gift from the Corinthians even as he had done from the churches in Macedonia. This is not any different from when we hear of our congregations in India suffering hardship because of a cyclone, or poverty in some other foreign mission location, or needs even in sister congregations of the United States. We hear of need and then as we are able give of our abundance to help them. This is t what Paul was doing for the Christians in Jerusalem.

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul says, “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.”[vv.1-2] It is an amazing testimony to an investment in the needs of their fellow Christians that the Macedonian Christians, who themselves were in poverty, who themselves were experiencing affliction, were filled with such great joy and zeal and motivation that they took even what they really didn’t have and invested it for the needs of fellow Christians whom they had likely never met.

So struck was Paul by their joy and their desire to help that he said, “I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” [vv.3-4] They so wanted to be a part of that larger group that was helping the needs of fellow Christians in Jerusalem! Even though they had not much to give, they gave above and beyond their ability IMPLORING the apostles, "PLEASE take this gift! We WANT to be a part of this fellowship! We WANT to invest in the work of the Gospel and in the help of those whom we love through Christ Jesus!"

A little later in our text, Paul gives the reason why they felt so sincere about this effort. They felt this way because they were already invested completely in the love of Christ. “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.”[v.9]

Yes, Jesus as the Son of God, certainly owned all things. But it is not a richness of mere money and earthly things of which Paul speaks. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was rich beyond belief. Full glory, all honor, as the Son of God. The eternal Son of God with all things under His authority for your sakes became poor. He set that all aside, even setting aside His full use of his power for a time, so that he could be born a baby and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. He set aside those riches for what? For greater honor? No, not immediately. He set aside those riches, that honor, that glory so that He could be spit upon, so that He could be rejected and ridiculed, so that on the cross He would endure the punishment of Hell itself being forsaken by God completely. He set aside all that He had from eternity so that He could do this for YOU!! That is the love in which you are completely invested. You are completely invested in that love because God so loved you that He sent Jesus to be your Savior. You know the love and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who was rich but became poor so that you through that poverty, through that suffering, through that death, might become rich.

Count your riches. First of all, and above all else, your sins are completely washed away. So when all the passing things of this life do fade and disappear you have the confident hope of eternal life. You have that great satisfaction that money cannot buy. The hunger is satisfied which bread can not cure because it is the hunger for salvation, the hunger for peace with God. You have that. You have the certainty of a Savior guiding you and guarding you day by day in your life. You have the certainty that even when things look bleak, we KNOW that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God does not skimp on His blessings. When you were brought to faith in Christ—when any sinner is brought to faith in Christ—immediately you had the full range of blessings that your Savior can give. It is true, God gives earthly blessings in differing amounts, but the forgiveness of sins is complete and full for everyone who believes in Christ. This is the full salvation which Christ won for all people and which He gives to us through faith.

II.

You are already invested in this love of Christ and you are reaping the reward of that investment. So were the Corinthians, so were the Macedonians. Paul writes to the Corinthians, who were fully invested in Christ’s love, urging them to keep on investing their resources in the work of the ministry, “So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.” [vv.6-8]

Paul was not using the Macedonian example as a sledge hammer over the heads of the Corinthians threatening, "See what they did!? Now you do it too!!" Rather, he was using the Macedonian example as an illustration to help the Corinthians see one more way in which they could invest themselves and their lives in the work of the Gospel. Paul spoke of “abounding in everything.” They were already abounding in faith—they believed in the Gospel, they had salvation. They were abounding in speech—they were speaking of their Savior. They were abounding in knowledge. Through the study of Scripture and the working of the Holy Spirit, they understood what God was teaching them. They abounded in diligence—they were already using their resources for this work. They abounded in their love for the apostles—providing for their needs. Now, Paul is saying, because you are abounding in these things, because of that love for Christ, here is another example, here is another opportunity for you to invest yourselves, your lives into this very important work.

Then later, in chapter 9, Paul speaks of some of the principles of stewardship which answer the questions of how do we go about deciding what and how to invest ourselves. In verse 6 Paul says, “This I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” [v.6]

Right now, I want to pause for one moment and encourage you not to think of money. The use of our financial resources is a part of investing our lives for the work of the Gospel, it is a part of our stewardship, but it is only one part. This text, this sermon is not about money. This text, this sermon is about investing everything that God gives to us for His glory—checking ourselves to see, "are those investments giving us the return that we desire." Paul says, "if you sow sparingly, you are going to reap sparingly." If a farmer cuts corners and buys poor seed because he’ll save some money, if the farmer spreads that seed too thinly, because it will save money, when harvest time arrives he will not reap the full reward as if he had not cut those corners and had not sown so sparingly. Jesus tells us through Paul that if we sow sparingly in the investment of our lives in this work, we will also reap sparingly—but, sowing abundantly, we will reap abundantly.

In Malachi, God says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). As we go through our lives, financially and otherwise, and pour out all these resources and invest them into the ongoing work of the kingdom in whatever way that might be, God PROMISES—He doesn’t suggest, He PROMISES—that He will bless us with abundance. But if we are skimpy, if we are shallow in our sowing, then there will be very little to bless.

From this we would not be correct to conclude, "Well, then I’m going to give all this to the church so that God will give me even more!" That would be greed and is completely contrary to the whole purpose. As we go forth in faith, investing our time and our resources and everything God has given us for this work, to His glory, and to helping one another in the love of Christ, God promises rich, rich blessing and prosperity according to His will and the way He chooses.

Paul continues, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” [v. 7] Again, Paul is not holding a sledge hammer, saying "you have to do this or I’ll beat you up!" But, rather, that such giving be done out of love. Being fully invested in that love of Christ—having so much from Him because you’re rich through His poverty—now take those gifts and invest them back into the work of the kingdom, for yourselves and others. God loves a cheerful giver as the Holy Spirit moves the heart. As love for God moves you to give, give! Act on that love! Act on the impulse the Spirit creates! Because in that action there is blessing. In our working God is working.

Paul concludes, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” [v.8] It is not halfway. Paul encourages the Corinthians to know that God will abound in ALL grace. He will give you all things necessary to take advantage of EVERY opportunity that he gives you. God gives us SO many opportunities that at times we may feel, "Ah…I don’t think I can do it!" But where God gives opportunity, He will in some way enable us to take advantage of those opportunities and abound. He will give us that grace to invest in His work and to invest in the work of His Gospel.

God will provide. Investing is not fearful when we are investing in the work of the Lord. Think of today’s Gospel reading: If we invest in the Market or other earthly things, that can be fearful because those investments can disappear. But investments in Christ and His Word remain as sure as that Word.

With the Macedonian example, we check our investments…

Are you invested in the ministry of the Gospel? Yes, you are. By virtue of your faith, you are invested in that love of Christ. But do you feel that are you active in that investment? Are you actively investing and concerned with the ministry of the Gospel? I’m sure you are. We can all be invested through our prayers, and yet we all pray far less than we could. We are invested with our offerings of time and money and experience and gifts of every sort, but there is always room for more. There is a severe temptation in this life and it is one that is afflicting Christianity beyond belief, namely, that the work of the Gospel becomes just another opportunity in life among all the other opportunities. So we’ll weigh it and maybe we will and maybe we won’t be invested in that work. But it’s not just another opportunity in this life. You are invested in the love of Christ. That is your life now and everlastingly. You are invested and as an investor receiving the full reward and full benefits you have much! So, how are we using this and investing it in our lives?

The Gospel ministry is far broader than what we simply do here at Immanuel. However, as a group of Christians, our work in the ministry and our investment in that ministry really begins here with our congregation. Are you invested in what our congregation is doing? and saying? and preaching? Are you a partner in the work that we are doing? Certainly, not everybody can do everything. That is why we need all of you. That is why Jesus said to all of His disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). He didn’t look to just a few disciples, He gave the commission to all believers. In the work of the Gospel, as narrowly defined by a congregation and as broadly as the world, we need ALL people with their gifts to invest in that effort.

There are times when people in various situations feel like "THEY are doing this….THEY are doing that" in a Christian congregation. Such a person clearly does not feel part of the group nor is he investing his life into the group’s work when it is "they" and "they." The Church is the group of believers. Immanuel Lutheran Church is you. It’s not the building. It’s you the people. If we ever catch ourselves saying, "they" in regard to the ministry here at Immanuel, we need to check our investments because its not "they" its "me" …. you...each one of us.

If you are invested, and you are because Christ’s love is for you, then invest yourselves, your efforts, and your resources in the work Christ has given us to do and which is SO important! It is at times discouraging to many when there is a struggle to find people willing to serve in the leadership roles of the congregation—Council and Board members; or when attendance at voters’ meetings in which the work of the congregation is decided is slim and poor. Certainly, there are circumstances when attendance and service in these capacities cannot be done. But check your investments. We NEED the faith and the work of the workers. Those workers, those faithful, are you.

We need to check our investments as we go to worship on Sunday morning. Is worship optional? Certainly we do not get to heaven by how many church services we attend, but worshipping together is not just for us personally, but it is for everybody. As the writer to the Hebrews wrote: “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). We gather to worship God, but also for the benefit of each other! Maybe I don’t feel like I need to be here, but I will invest myself for the benefit of the whole as we look to invest ourselves together in the work. Furthermore, the truth is that we all individually need what joint worship offers.

It takes time to invest in anything. Financial advisors will tell you that if you are not willing to spend time in the Stock Market you better not even get into it. You need to watch the stocks, you need to know what’s going on so that you can invest properly and use your resources wisely. Further, if you’re not going to be in it for the long haul, you’re not going to realize the benefits and return. The same principles of investment apply here. If we’re just in it for the short term, or if we’re not interested enough to know what the work is and how to do it and where we can possibly serve, we’re not really investing ourselves as fully as we could or should. We will not receive those blessings without the investment, and you cannot invest unless you have knowledge of your investment.

In all of this investing in our lives, the return we seek is the glory of God and the salvation of souls. We need to check our investments in every aspect of our lives. Certainly, recreation and entertainment are things God gives us and ways we can use our resources. There is nothing sinful at all about spending resources for recreation. But check the investment. When I invest my resources in recreation, entertainment, etc. am I giving glory to God? Am I receiving a good return for my investment?

When I go shopping for clothing, am I getting a good return in my investment that will provide clothing for me, but modestly and in an appropriate fashion? Or am I being robbed and cheated by investing my resources in something just to live like the world and to unnecessarily keep up with the world’s fashions? Are we investing things in places and items that do not satisfy, rather than investing our resources in the true value of our Lord.

Perhaps one of the greatest resources in our lives that is in the least supply is time. "I’m too exhausted, I don’t know how I could add one more thing into my schedule." Check your investments. Where are you investing your time? There is a broad, broad range of issues in this life in which we must invest time and in which we do rightly invest that time. But if I’m feeling so exhausted and so worn out that I cannot find any time to invest in seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, I need to check all those investments and find out where my return isn’t coming. Because God who gives us the opportunities to serve will abound in all grace and likewise give us the ability to serve in those investments.

There is a reason why we must ask ourselves these questions. There is reason why we must always check our investments. That reason is because we are sinful. There are all the allures of our flesh and the world to pull us away. There are many things competing for our resources. There are many things in which we can invest our time and our effort.

We will not invest perfectly because we are sinners. We will fail. We can be pulled, but through an ongoing honest checking of our investments and evaluating of our lives, God will enlighten us to see whether we are getting a profitable return. God’s Word holds the light to show us where we can find forgiveness for our lack of return, and also how a better investment can be made.

The Corinthians did respond because they knew the love of Christ. We have such riches and are fully invested in that same love of Christ. The encouragement to every heart that has been forgiven and to every soul that rejoices in the salvation of God, is to keep on investing all those gifts that God gives you out of His grace. Invest them in His work and toward His glory. May He equip us to do exactly that. Amen.

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt