Money & The Mission of God

Title: Money & The Mission of God
Text: Exodus 35-36, 2 Corinthians 8-9

One great privilege of preaching through the Old Testament is that we have the New Testament.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus talked about a scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of the house, bringing out of his treasure both what is old and what is new. (Matthew 13:51-53)

That’s what we’ve been doing throughout Exodus. We’ve been taking hold of a text there and then running around the rest of the scripture, pulling out other things that go with it. Today, we have two main texts:

Firstly, Exodus 35-36
Secondly 2 Corinthians 8-9

Both having to do with generosity.

Exodus 35-36
The context: building the tabernacle and really the entire physical infrastructure of their worship.

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution… (35:4-5)

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. (35:20-22)

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. (36:2-7)

Now 2 Corinthians 8-9
The context: Paul spent a considerable amount of his ministry raising funds for the saints in Jerusalem who were undergoing a famine and also extreme persecution.

Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. (9:1-5)

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (9:6-14)

Some fundamental truths about generosity that shine through both texts:

1. Money makes a difference in the mission of God.

God has chosen to advance his mission through expressions of financial faith.

Illustration: Josephs in the Bible

I was thinking about some of the Josephs in the Bible.
OT Joseph
Joseph the father of Jesus
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph in Acts — which was Barnabas’ given name

How each of them were essential to particular moments in God’s unfolding mission.

1. The emphasis is always on voluntary, heart-based, cheerful giving

In both covenants, the emphasis is mainly on voluntary generosity. Of course, the tithe was written into law in the OT. But even in the OT, the vibes lean much more toward volition and non-compulsion. We see that in this particular text.

35:5,21,22,29 & 36:2 – willing heart, free will offering

35:5 - Generous heart
35:21 — Everyone who’s heart stirred him, everyone who’s spirit moved him
35:22 — All those of a willing heart
35:29 — All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.
36:2 — And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning…

Even in other passages dealing with the tithe, there is a clear sense of God honoring human reason and will.

Take Malachi 3:8-10. God says, Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Now how does he speak to them about obedience? Look at the way he talks to them. This is reasoning, enticing, not simply “because I said so.” Look at vs. 10, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

When we turn to the New Testament passage, we see the same emphasis on freewill generosity…

1-2 — Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.

5 — So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.

7 — Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

1. Generosity is not an expression of elite Christianity.

Both of our subjects are infamous for their immaturity. For their suspicion toward leadership, their carnality, etc… In one sense, it is safe to say that the majority of people in this room are more spiritually mature than both the Hebrews and the Corinthians.

It is not a sign of vigorous spiritual health. Rather, generosity is a basic vital sign that proves you are spiritually alive.

Nowhere in the bible do we see any kind of pattern that suggests people grow into generosity. What we do see is a pattern that suggests generosity is just an early sign of life — like the first gasp of a newborn baby.

In Luke 19:9, Jesus says of Zacchaeus — “Today salvation has come to this house…”

What prompted this declaration? Luke 19:8 — “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

In Acts 16, the first European convert, a merchant named Lydia… the first work of her faith was generosity.

In Acts 2, Barnabas moves from conversion to costly generosity in a single verse.

Generosity is more like a basic vital sign — more like a pulse — than a feat of strength

It simply shows that you understand the nature of the story that you’re in.

Illustration: Signs

And what is the story we’re in?

There’s a latin phrase that will prove helpful.

Sui-Generis

Which means one of a kind, totally unique, completely unclassifiable.

A generous Christian is aware that he is the eternal beneficiary of the Sui-Generous gift of God.

2 Corinthians 9:13

By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

Their generosity comes from their confession of the gospel of Christ.

That gospel being described quite succinctly in 2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Generosity is sign that you understand the Sui Generous grace of God.

Luke 7:41-47

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

1. Generosity does not leave you poorer

Why? Because what Jim Elliot said was true. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” Friends, generosity does not leave you poorer. At the very worst, it stores up treasure for you in eternity. ETERNITY! And that’s the worst case scenario. It is more than likely that in this life, God will bless you in various ways so that when all is said and done, you will be able to see that what Paul says in 9:6-11

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Friends, I take my responsibility to care for you and build you up very seriously. I would not tell you this unless I was sure — generosity will not leave you poorer — not according to any meaningful measurement.

1. Generosity is not usually spontaneous

Because of point 3 — that generosity needs to be non-compulsory, I probably tend to lean more toward under emphasizing it than over emphasizing it. But another thing we can see from these two texts is that some leadership in this area is necessary. In the Exodus, God repeatedly tells Moses things like:

25:1 — The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.

And in 2 Corinthians, we see Paul dedicating a decent portion of his letter toward leading this offering. Look at 9:1

Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.

1. Generosity is usually contagious

9:1 - “and your zeal has stirred up most of them…”

It isn’t explicit in the Exodus story but I think we have good reason to believe a similar dynamic is at play.

1. Generosity should be stewarded with transparency and integrity

People ought to have reasonable confidence that what they’re giving is going to be used for the purpose their giving toward.

In the Exodus story, that was pretty simple. I gave ya’ll some acacia wood… yup — there it is in the table. But notice the integrity on behalf of the workmen…

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. — Exodus 36:3-7

The Corinthian situation is more complicated. There’s distance involved. And we’re not dealing with commodities anymore. This is just currency — which is easier to subvert.

And the same kind of thing is at work in the Corinthian text:

Look at 2 Corinthians 8:16-21

But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.

1. Leaders should be above reproach

Both Moses and Paul were, by the manner of their own actions and life choices, above reproach on this issue. Look at Hebrews 11:26, “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”

And Acts 20:33-35

I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Communion:

“Do you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” – 2 Corinthians 8:9