Introduction:

I read of a beautiful Hebrew legend of two brothers who lived side by side on adjoin­ing lands. One was the head of a large fami­ly, the other lived alone. One night the brother with the large family was lying awake and thought, "My brother lives alone, he has not the companionship of wife and children to cheer his heart as I have. While he sleeps, I will carry some of my sheaves into his field."

At the same hour, the other brother reasoned, "My brother has a large family, and his necessities are greater than mine. As he sleeps, I will put some of my sheaves on his side of the field." So the two brothers went out to give sheaves to the other and met where their property joined. There they embraced.

Years later, at the very place stood the Jerusalem temple, and on the very spot of their meeting stood the temple's altar.

Today we gather with our brothers and sisters in the family of God on this Sunday before Thanksgiving. It is an appropriate time for us to consider our loyalty within the family of God as we think of all God's bless­ings to us.

The Spirit of God has impressed three words upon my mind as I have studied these instructions about giving written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians at Corinth: Delight, Desire, and Design. I hope these words touch you as they did me.

I. Delight

Paul expressed great delight in sharing the wonderful news of what God in His grace has done for the churches in Macedonia. Is Paul delighted that the Macedonian churches have just been the recipients of large gifts. NO! That is not what happened. The delight is for what God in His grace has done for the churches in Macedonia who have given so that they could share in the joy of helping the Christians in Jerusa­lem. Did you catch that? The delight is for what has happened to the givers, not the receivers.

The mother church in Jerusalem was poor and Paul wanted the Gentile churches to do what they could to help the Jerusalem church as well as take care of their own local minis­tries.

However, the delight is not that a few wealthy people gave generous gifts. The Macedonian Christians were going through difficult times and were themselves poor.

Read II Corinthians 8:2-6

These Gentile Christians may have known that at the Jewish Feast of Purim there is a rule which says that however poor a man is, he must find someone poorer than himself and give him a gift. The most wealthy are not neces­sarily the most generous. Often, those who have the least are the most ready to give. There was an old saying, "It is the poor who help the poor" because they know what poverty is like.

Add to this then, the reality of being related, of being siblings within God's fami­ly, and demonstrating loyalty.

When he and his wife were married, John Bunyan said, "We were as poor as poor could be."

In his last will and testament Martin Luther wrote, "Lord God, I thank thee that thou hast been pleased to make me a poor and indigent man upon earth, with neither house, nor land, nor money to leave behind me."

Early in his ministry John Wesley discov­ered that he could live on 28 pounds per year when he was making only a few more pounds than that. He gave those few to the church. When his salary increased to 90 pounds per year he found he could still live on 28, so he gave away 62. Later as his salary was 120 he discovered he could still live on 28, so he was able to give away 92. It was his de­light.

II. Desire

Having expressed his great delight in the Macedonian Christians giving for the Jerusalem Christians, it is Paul's desire that the Christians in Corinth share this desire to give - not just for their own ministry, but for others, too.

Paul wrote: "You people there are leaders in so many ways - you have so much faith, so many good preachers, so much learning, so much enthusiasm, so much love for us." Now I want you to be leaders also in the spirit of cheer­ful giving. I am not giving you an order: I am not saying you must do it, but your broth­ers are eager for it. This is one way to prove your love is real, that it goes beyond mere words.

I think of the pastor who was getting ready to baptize a railway engineer. "Wait!" whispered the engineer. "I forgot something. I want to get my pocketbook and let you bap­tize it with me."

Could it be that we need more baptized pocketbooks? More Christians demonstrating their loyalty to Jesus Christ and to the family of God into which they were born spiri­tually.

This is God's own design to have men, women, youth, children, giving to carry on their local ministries along with minis­tries and missions beyond their local church.

III. Design

Paul told of God's design in the example of Jesus Christ. He was very rich, with the riches of heaven. Jesus consented to give up His glory in heaven to come to earth, to be born in a humble manger, to become poor, but through His poverty on earth we might obtain the riches of heaven. Jesus gave His very life on the cross so that each person who sincerely repents and asks Jesus to be his or her personal Savior will receive forgive­ness of sins and an eternal inheritance in heaven. What a marvelous design. The glorious Gospel is a story of giving - Jesus giving Himself for you and me. For those who receive Jesus as their Savior and become members of God's family, it is God's design that they desire to give of their lives and their possessions so that others may come to know Jesus Christ and grow in their faith. This will bring delight to our Lord and to others within God's family, too!

Conclusion

Frances Havergal wrote the famous hymn, "Take My Life," in 1874, but it was not until four years alter that the lines were put into print. When she read the second stanza:

"Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold."

She was suddenly convicted of her failure to do just that. She had an amazing collection of exquisite jewelry, most of which came by gift or inheritance. Immediately she packed the jewels, and sent them to her church mis­sionary society. Then, just to be sure, she included a check to cover the monetary value of the jewels she had chosen to keep! "I don't think I need to tell you I have never packed a box with such pleasure!" she ex­claimed.

What may it be that you are withholding from God?

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