Being a Cheerful Giver. (First Sermon

Seniors at is my highschool give sermons at evening chapel. this is mine. it is on 2nd Corinthians 9: 6-11

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; “Remember this!” What do those words mean to you? Remember this! Chances are if somebody is talking to you and they say “Remember this!” they either just have or are about to say something very important. Paul starts out our portion of scripture with these words. Remember this. By saying this, Paul is saying that what he is about to tell the Corinthians, and us, is very important. And they would do well to remember it. 2nd Corinthians chapter nine verse six: “ Remember this; Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Paul uses the two adverbs here, the words sparingly, and generously. Instead of saying whoever sows a little, he says “whoever sows sparingly.” He uses the adverb to put more emphasis on the means of which somebody sows, and not so much on the amount. The NIV translates sparingly, but it could just as easily translate into reluctantly or hesitantly.
Now when a farmer sows his seed, he does not consider this seed to be thrown away or wasted, rather he sees this seed as an investment, something that will come back to him. We should look at our offerings in a similar light. We should not consider our offerings as wasted, or thrown away. But rather as investments that will gain us a profit. Now to our human ears, this sounds like “lets give some so that we can get some back,” or as the Romans would say, ”Quid Pro Quo.” But this is not at all what Paul is stressing. Just as we should not be giving hesitantly, or reluctantly, we should also not be giving in hopes of reward. The attitude that we should have is that, we give our gifts out of full love to God, expecting no return. And it is through this attitude that we receive blessings from God. Just as Paul says “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” again not necessarily emphasizing the amount that we receive but the means that which God gives us our blessings, generously.
Paul again emphasizes the importance of attitude in verse 7 when he says: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” This again puts the emphasis upon “How” and not upon “How Much”. Now, as believers we should encourage ourselves and others to give all we can, but in the end the right decision can only be made between a believer and his Lord. God made the heavens and the earth. He does not need our offerings, which is why we give them out of love, rather then out of hope to get something back. We should not look upon our offerings as supporting God, and thusly he owes us. But rather showing God our love and thanks.
Now let us look back at the farmer. When a farmer casts his seed, is he sad that the seed is gone? By no means! He rejoices in the fact that he has seed to sow. so also should we rejoice in the fact that God has blessed us. And if we give our gifts in grief and dwell on the loss, then our gifts are tainted, and they mean nothing. In the same way let us not be pressured by ourselves or others to give. If we try to give more so that we feel better about ourselves, then we do not dwell on the meaning of the gift, but rather the earthly value, and again the gift is tainted and means nothing. And it would be as if we had not given at all. We should appreciate the grace of God which enables us to give.
Verses 10 and 11 say: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Paul here describes a cycle. First, God blesses us, and in love we give our gifts to God. In return God blesses us even more, so that we may be generous to God and to others, and through our generosity others give thanks to God. So when we give our gifts to God, Remember this. We are not throwing them away. And we are not giving them in hopes of reward. But we give our gifts as testaments to our love and thanks to God, who grants us blessings each and every day. We read 2nd Corinthians chapter Nine verses 6-11.*Bible*
Brothers and Sisters, go in peace, Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness. The Lord bless you and keep you. May The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord look upon with his favor, and give you his peace.