WEBVTT 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:04.940 Okay, well, great to see you folks. We're actually looking at chapter 9 today, so great to be 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:10.540 reminded of chapter 8, but we're just going to read this together, chapter 9. So come with me 00:00:10.540 --> 00:00:16.140 to verse 1 of chapter 9. We just continue on exactly where chapter 8 finished. Paul writes 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:20.620 this, continuing on, he says, there's no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord's 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:25.900 people, for I know your eagerness to help, but I've been boasting about it to the Macedonians, 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:32.500 telling them that since last year, you and Achaia were ready to give, and your enthusiasm stirred 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:38.019 most of them to action, but I'm sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you 00:00:38.019 --> 00:00:44.799 in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready as I said you would be. For if 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:52.179 any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to say anything about you, would be ashamed 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:56.840 of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:03.980 advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a 00:01:03.980 --> 00:01:12.319 generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:19.099 and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:27.439 heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:33.679 abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 00:01:34.459 --> 00:01:40.679 As it is written, they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness endures forever. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:47.280 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed, 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:53.879 and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You can be generous on every occasion, and through us, 00:01:53.939 --> 00:02:00.599 your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:06.960 the needs of the Lord's people, but it is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:12.960 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:18.460 that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:24.520 them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you, their hearts will go out to you 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:33.560 because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:42.000 Amen. So here is the most awkward question that I think you can be asked today. See if you agree with me. 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:46.439 Okay, picture the scene, you're enjoying a nice evening with friends before someone turns to you and 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:54.240 says, you know, I've always wondered, I've always wondered how much you earn. How would you respond? 00:02:55.379 --> 00:03:01.340 I think we've got the perfect response for this in Scotland. If you've ever heard this one, you go, 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:08.360 jog on mate. So we respond, isn't it? While you're thinking about a polite way of saying that, 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:14.939 let me tell you one of my favorite things about Jesus. It's the things that he speaks most about. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:23.840 Top three things that Jesus speaks about, money, sex, and what happens after you die, in other words, 00:03:23.900 --> 00:03:30.860 heaven and hell. Now why that's interesting is because they are the three topics that are most taboo today. 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:41.840 in our world. Yeah? We shy away from them. Jesus, however, goes towards them. And out of the top three, 00:03:41.980 --> 00:03:52.039 top one is money. And it's worth asking ourselves, why is that the case? What does Jesus know about money 00:03:52.039 --> 00:04:02.280 that we don't? Now here's a thought for you. We often think that money or lack of it is the problem. 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:10.159 But according to Jesus, it's not the primary problem. Maybe think about it like this. I grew up 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:15.840 playing a lot of golf. And see when I or someone that I was playing with or someone that was in the 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:22.759 hole in front of us, hit what is known in Scotland as a duffer. So often what we do in our anger and 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:27.220 frustration is you would turn, you would hit the ball, and then you would look at the club 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:33.459 in anger and frustration. As if it was the club's fault for that duck hook off the tee. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:43.680 Complete the phrase, a bad workman blames his tools. Right? Because here's what Jesus realizes 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:49.860 that I think we so often don't when it comes to money. Money really is neutral when you think 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:59.379 about it. Money isn't the primary issue. What Jesus perceives is that our hearts are the primary issue. 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:04.460 Or here's how Tim Keller puts it, and I'm going to recommend a couple of books as we go through 00:05:04.460 --> 00:05:09.160 this today. This wonderful book called Counterfeit Gods, worth it for the chapter on money alone. 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:17.600 And here's what he says, the money God's modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart. 00:05:18.280 --> 00:05:24.200 In other words, Jesus perceives that we don't perceive that this is a problem. 00:05:25.340 --> 00:05:30.280 Now Jesus tells this parable in Luke chapter 12. He tells this parable about a farmer. 00:05:32.140 --> 00:05:37.920 A farmer who's doing really well for himself. A farmer who wants to expand his business. And so what 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:46.980 he decides to do is invest in building bigger barns for himself so that he can store all his grain. 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:53.920 What does he want? He wants to retire early and he wants to take it easy. So he is both a, 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:00.879 what we would call today, a saver and a spender. And we hear about this man and we hear about this man 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:09.959 and we think to ourselves living the dream. But Jesus tells this story and he says, behold the fool. 00:06:11.159 --> 00:06:15.399 And you think to yourself, what is wrong with what this man is doing? 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:25.759 Jesus perceives that this man in his plans and in his spending hasn't accounted for his death. 00:06:26.859 --> 00:06:33.339 And the moral of the story says Jesus is that this is how it will be for all those who store up things 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:38.859 for themselves but aren't rich towards God. 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:49.799 And that phrase, rich towards God, it woos us to come and see that Jesus offers his people 00:06:49.799 --> 00:06:55.219 a better way. Now this is primarily really what we're going to be thinking about today, 00:06:55.399 --> 00:07:01.059 is spoken to God's people. So if that's not you here today, if you wouldn't call yourself a disciple 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:05.839 of Jesus, just love that you're here. Just think about maybe your attitude to money and some of the 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:09.600 things going on. So we're not here looking for your money. We're going to think about that later on. 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.920 That's not the name of the game. But this is all about our discipleship as we follow Jesus and learn 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:21.740 the things that he's telling us. Jesus offers his people a better way, a way of handling and viewing 00:07:21.740 --> 00:07:30.819 money, which means faith instead of fear, which means contentment instead of comparison and 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:38.560 envy and means worshiping God instead of hoarding for ourselves. And here's the wonderfully freeing 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:46.259 thing about what Jesus says here. To be rich towards God can be done no matter how much or how little 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:55.139 we have in the bank. He's inviting his disciples, our generous king, inviting our disciples to embrace 00:07:55.139 --> 00:08:00.680 the way of generosity. And that's what Paul wants to see take hold of this church in Corinth, 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:06.439 a generosity revolution. Remember this place in Corinth? We thought about it last week. Corinth, 00:08:06.539 --> 00:08:13.919 because of where it is primarily on the map, this is a place of affluence and opportunity, 00:08:14.219 --> 00:08:18.519 simply because of where it is on the map. And I just think that's a really good thing to stop and 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:25.399 think about how geography plays a massive part in all of this. Because we exist in the West, 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:31.399 we exist and live our lives in one of the most affluent cities in the West. So often what we're 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.220 tricked into doing is we look at how other people in our world are living and we think to ourselves, 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:41.960 well, because I'm not living in mansion house roads, I consider myself really poor. But actually the rest 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:47.919 of the world would look at us and think you are in the top, top, top percentage of affluent people in the 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:54.579 world. So geography really matters, doesn't it? Where we're living, where we see ourselves. We've 00:08:54.579 --> 00:08:59.620 got to understand that's true. Verse one of chapter nine, do you see it? Paul talks about this service. 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:04.059 Just come with me there. Do you see it? He talks about this service. Now remember he's collecting 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:13.059 money from the churches in Macedonia, Achaia, which is where Corinth is, to meet the needs of the 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:19.979 Jewish Christian believers over in Judea who are really up against it in their lives. And notice what 00:09:19.979 --> 00:09:28.500 his motivation is here. His motivation is not guilt. So often how we're persuaded to give, isn't it, in our 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:36.159 world towards all sorts of causes. Comic relief showing videos of tragic situations in other parts of the 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:41.500 world. It's how they get us motivated to give. Now, of course, we care deeply about those things that are 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:48.019 happening all over our world, but it's striking that that's not the approach that Paul takes. Presumably 00:09:48.019 --> 00:09:53.419 he could have done that, but it's not the approach that he takes. He goes for something that's going to 00:09:53.419 --> 00:10:03.799 motivate and transform people for the long haul. It's not guilt. It's the gospel. This is the thing 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:08.200 that's going to motivate. It's coming to find life, and we thought about this last week, and Alice read it 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:13.000 again, it's so good to be reminded of it, coming to find life in the fact that the richest one in the 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:20.580 universe, Jesus Christ, became the poorest. It's in grasping the magnitude of the sacrifice of Jesus, 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:28.060 the Son of God, who became sin for us on the cross to redeem us from the penalty and eternal punishment 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:34.480 that was awaiting us because of our sin against a holy God. It changes everything to know that Paul 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:39.379 doesn't call it. Paul doesn't call it the practice of giving or even the discipline of giving. He calls 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:46.560 it the grace of giving. For have a look at that last phrase of chapter 9. 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:58.940 That grace of being able to give is only in light of God's indescribable gift to us, 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:05.360 which is the gift of his Son. So that's the indescribable gift that he's talking about. Praise 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:14.140 God for his indescribable gift. Now the Corinthians, if you read the first five verses of chapter 9, 00:11:14.180 --> 00:11:17.820 if you scan your eyes over it, they've clearly talked about giving to this collection, 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:23.620 but they just hadn't followed through with it yet. I expect many of us know that experience of saying 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:27.860 that we want to give to the Lord's work, having that desire to give to the Lord's work, 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:32.480 but for whatever reason, we just never get round to it. I think that's the kind of thing that's going 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:38.100 on here. Paul, do you see the language? He knows that they are eager and he's been relaying the fact 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:44.860 that they're eager to the Macedonians. Verse 2, and knowing that the Corinthians are hands-in on this 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:50.500 collection, knowing that they're game for it, has spurred them on to buy into it and give. And Paul is 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:59.019 saying, don't let me down now, guys. Don't let me down now. Verse 5, he says, don't do it 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:08.000 begrudgingly. It's interesting, isn't it? Life's full of those kind of bills. No one rejoices when 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:13.879 the posty delivers the yearly council tax bill, right? You can see that one coming a mile off when 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:17.980 it hits the floor when it comes to your door. Let me tell you, our car was due its MOT this week. 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:23.440 Let me tell you, there wasn't a smile on my face when I paid the garage. Life is full of begrudging 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:31.639 bills. And truth be told, how often we can see our giving to the church as just another bill to pay. 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:36.860 I think this is how this passage has really searched me this week, because in all honesty, 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:42.060 I can think of giving to the church as just another bill. Mortgage comes out, Eon Gas and Electric 00:12:42.060 --> 00:12:46.639 comes out, Edinburgh Leisure comes out for the kids' swimming lessons, and there is Brunsfield. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:54.059 So often it doesn't even register what we're doing. You know, I once knew a girl called Claire, 00:12:54.220 --> 00:13:00.100 who would deliberately go to the cash machine, physically take out the money that she was going 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:05.539 to give before giving it to the church office. And it was her way of reminding herself every 00:13:05.539 --> 00:13:11.639 month what she was doing. And if you're like me in this area, how desperately we need to see 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:20.340 Paul's invitation and his logic when it comes to giving. Because in aiming to inspire them towards 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:24.779 generosity, he lays out just two great principles for giving. And these are the two things we're going 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:30.960 to think about in our time remaining. Here's the first thing he says. He says, remember who's providing 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:38.740 for your sowing? And he taps into this everyday metaphor from the farm. Do you see him do it? 00:13:39.660 --> 00:13:47.320 Verse 6, sowing and reaping. Sowing and reaping. And this applies across the board, doesn't it? In every 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:53.519 single area of our lives, we know it's true. Not just when it comes to our money, but our time, 00:13:53.519 --> 00:14:04.299 our energy, our studies, our depth of friendships, that what we get out is really proportionate to 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:11.819 what we put in. And it's the same when it comes to what you give to the Lord. And verse 7, which is 00:14:11.819 --> 00:14:16.360 really the New Testament verse when it comes to giving, we're going to riff on this for just a 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:22.819 little bit. Verse 7 is how we should understand our giving today. For here's the question that Paul's 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:29.960 anticipating in the minds of his readers, how much should we give? Maybe that's a question you're 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.720 thinking about today. Maybe you're a real pragmatist. I don't know. How much should we give? 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:41.180 Well, the number that's batting around the Old Testament is 10%. It's what that word tithe means. 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:49.320 It's literally the 10th. And the giving of the 10th to God and to his work was prescribed in the Old 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:55.740 Testament law. It's how God's people gave to support the work of the Levites at the temple. It was 00:14:55.740 --> 00:15:01.660 connected with the festivals within Israel. But here's the way, the way more important question, 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:07.420 I think, to get our heads around. Why did God bother with that figure? Because in my head, it's either 00:15:07.420 --> 00:15:12.740 100% because everything is the Lord's. We give everything back to him or really it's nothing. 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:20.139 Why 10%? If it's all God's anyway, why tell his people to give 10%? 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:30.120 Two things for you. Number one, what is he doing? He's drawing out the hearts of his people. He's 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:39.600 inviting them to worship him. Just giving back to God what he's already given to them. It's an invitation 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:51.139 to worship. And secondly, he's teaching them to trust. Come back to that in a second. But if that 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:55.800 is how it worked in the Old Testament, I guess the question we've got to ask is how does it apply 00:15:55.800 --> 00:16:04.600 today as New Testament believers? Do we still need to tithe? I think the theological answer is no, 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:13.600 because we are not Old Testament Israel and the law that they were bound by. It doesn't apply to us in the 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:23.519 exact same way because of Jesus, what he's done for us on the cross. But because of Jesus, legal duty 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.660 has given way to joyful sacrifice. 00:16:28.659 --> 00:16:37.139 God presumably gave that 10% figure because it was a reasonable, it was a working amount for 00:16:37.139 --> 00:16:44.679 your everyday family who was there. And because of that, whilst it's not binding, 10% of what we earn, 00:16:45.819 --> 00:16:49.039 friends, can I suggest that that is a really good ballpark figure? 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:55.360 The reality of it, I imagine for many of us, is if our income was reduced by 10%, 00:16:55.360 --> 00:17:03.679 we really wouldn't notice it. But conversely, if each of us gave 10%, then the budgets of every 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:09.759 single church in this city and across the world would rise significantly. And I once heard of a guy 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.619 because of this who pegged the standard of living. He was earning a lot of money and actually he did what 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:21.259 was called a reverse tithe. So he gave 90% away to his local church and various things and he lived on 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:27.419 the 10%. I think this is what this does. You're not bound by the law, but your hearts are transformed 00:17:27.419 --> 00:17:32.159 that you want to worship the Lord with everything that you have. What is he giving you? How much 00:17:32.159 --> 00:17:36.139 should we give? Good question, says Paul, but you want to know the better question? This is where he gets 00:17:36.139 --> 00:17:41.099 into it in the text. Not how much should we give. The better question, the first question, 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:52.419 is how should we give? Answer, do you see it there? Verse 7, cheerfully. 00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:59.139 Verse 9, he goes on there to quote from Psalm 112. If you want to read something this afternoon, 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:05.019 Psalm 112 is a cracking psalm to read because it describes the heart of the person who fears God 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:13.000 and gives generously. So their trust is in the Lord and they don't fear bad news because their hope 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:17.599 is in the Lord. Paul's laying that psalm out and saying, do you know what, want to be that kind of 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:24.639 person? But what Paul's doing here in these verses, particularly from verse 10 downwards, is he's 00:18:24.639 --> 00:18:31.740 counteracting the fear that we so often experience when it comes to giving. Are you like me in this one? 00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:40.940 We're terrified that if we give, we won't have enough to meet our own needs. I think it's a genuine 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:45.920 fear, isn't it, amongst us? But what he's saying here is that when we align our lives with God and 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:54.440 his kingdom, our loving Father will provide us with everything that we need. To be a Christian is to go to 00:18:54.440 --> 00:19:01.339 bed every night and wake up every morning that the God of the universe was keeping it spinning while you 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:06.959 and I were asleep. And to go to bed and wake up every day knowing that we have a completely good 00:19:06.959 --> 00:19:14.619 promise of provision for every single one of our needs from the creator of the universe. We can trust 00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:20.519 them. And this is where we need to see the subtle yet important difference between what Paul is saying 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:26.539 here. And I guess what's known around the world is the prosperity gospel. Just wreaking havoc all over 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:33.619 the world. This way of thinking that says that if we give to God, then God is obliged to give back to 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:38.779 us in order to make us rich. If you hear that or if you see that, friends, can I encourage you to have 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:47.819 nothing to do with it and out it for what it is? What Paul is saying here is that we can give freely 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:55.619 and generously knowing that not only will God supply our own needs, but he does so so that we can keep 00:19:55.619 --> 00:20:05.240 on cheerfully investing in his kingdom. And on that note, let me tell you about my friend John Tellis. 00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:13.619 He told me recently how God has done just this for our good friends in the FIEC at Wallyford Community 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:18.139 Church. I just want you to hear the story and see exactly that this is what Paul is saying. 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:24.239 For years and years, they wanted to buy a building in their community. The building they want to buy 00:20:24.239 --> 00:20:28.500 was valued by the council. Get this, at half a million pounds, he was telling me this. 00:20:29.419 --> 00:20:34.239 Half a million pounds. There's a lot of money for a church a lot smaller in membership size to us. 00:20:34.659 --> 00:20:39.459 But they kept saying to people over the years, let's just keep on trusting God and giving 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:44.519 sacrificially, let's just keep paying into the pot and trust God that he's got this one. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:51.220 A few months ago, John's phone goes and it's the council and they say to him that they are now in 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:59.100 a position where they can offer it to them for 175,000 pounds. It's still a lot of money, okay? 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:04.860 So John comes off the phone, prays about it, tells the other elders, and then he looks at the church bank 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:08.919 account to see what that pot of money is up to. And just that month, do you know what figure it's 00:21:08.919 --> 00:21:18.479 gone over into? £178,000. Isn't that amazing? God's provision. God's provision. Moral of the story, 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:26.539 we can be generous for the gospel because the bedrock of all of this is our Father's perfect 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:35.359 provision and timing. In other words, we can trust him. We can trust him. I cannot think of a more 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:42.879 exciting investment to make in this world than to invest in the thing that God is doing in the world. 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:51.139 But certainly in light of what Paul says next, which this is the second thing, which is know what you're 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:57.400 giving is achieving, right? Know what's happening here. You've got to see this, friends. He's saying, 00:21:57.500 --> 00:22:03.880 take stock of the fact that because God is behind this, he's blessing it and he's using it to do so 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:11.840 much more than you naturally stop to think. And there's three ways, I think, accounted that he talks 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:19.360 about here. Number one, do you see them at verse 12? He says, your gift is supplying for the practical 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:24.419 needs of God's people over the other side of the world. I imagine that's one that they already get. 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:29.299 They understand what they're given is doing. It's just meeting a practical need. But the next two, 00:22:29.379 --> 00:22:33.719 they probably haven't even considered. Now, here's what I want you to see. Come with me and see them. 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:42.339 He's saying that what you give is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. Do you see 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:49.199 that? Verse 13, others are praising God because they're hearing about your obedience and how you 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:54.100 have this desire to meet the need. So, other Christians are hearing about this generosity 00:22:54.100 --> 00:23:00.200 and it's causing them to give thanks to God for the fact that there's a church in Corinth who are 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:05.039 willing to meet this need, right? So, this is reverberating praise that's going on here. 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:12.980 And number three, and this is brilliant. Come and see it. Verse 14, the recipients of this collection, 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:20.519 remember this is Gentiles giving to Jewish Christians. When these guys get the money, 00:23:20.620 --> 00:23:28.019 do you see how their hearts are going out to you? And what's happening is that a spiritual bond is being 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:34.279 created because a gospel partnership between people the other side of the world is being developed 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:43.079 between churches. These guys, their hearts are going out to you and they want to continue to partner 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:49.299 together. Now, can I just, just before we close, let me just, we're going to close in a minute, but let me 00:23:49.299 --> 00:23:53.200 tell you why I think this is playing out for us just now. And it's playing out for us just now in our 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:59.579 church partnership with Peebles. The best text I received this week was from Archie and it just said, 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:07.079 how can we pray for you as a church? How can Peebles pray for us? Now, that hasn't just come in 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:14.319 out of nowhere. That has been years and years and years of investing in him and investing in the 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:20.000 partnership between our churches, right? So, so many of you bought into what we were trying to do with 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:25.019 Archie and continue to be a church that trains and sends. Some of you gave money to support Archie, 00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:30.000 some of you gave it to the church too, so that we could employ Archie. And your investment there, 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:36.400 it probably seemed like nothing to you, but that investment in him has really overflowed in praise 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:43.319 and thanks and their hearts have gone out to us. Do you see how this works? And let me say that we're 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:51.960 continuing to do it with Craig. Is gospel partnership not a wonderful thing? The money that we give is just 00:24:51.960 --> 00:24:57.220 all God's anyway, we just give it back to him. But do you see how this is not just simply tip for tap 00:24:57.220 --> 00:25:03.779 when it comes to meeting a need? God is able to do way more than we ask or even imagine with what we do 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:10.700 with our giving. Let that encourage you today that this is happening. It's not just happening in the first 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:15.840 century, but because God is the same God and we have the same spirit, it is happening today. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:23.740 And just as we close, I realize I've made that rookie error of saying we're going to close twice, 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:28.319 but we are going to close this time. Let me tell you a joke that I heard 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:41.399 about a man who, like the proverbial genie in a bottle, he got to meet God and make of God three wishes. 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:46.300 Wish number one, he said, gosh, God, I wish to know, 00:25:48.360 --> 00:25:54.220 because you're so far above my understanding, what is a billion pounds like in your world? 00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:59.880 And God replies to him and he says, do you know what, a billion pounds, and it's like a penny to me. 00:26:00.600 --> 00:26:08.019 And I think it's wow. God, wish number two, God, I want to know what a billion years is like to you. 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:16.799 And God says, you know what, a billion years is like a second to me. And the man puts the two and 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:24.599 two together and he says, God, cheekily, here's my third wish. I wish for a billion pounds. 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:29.460 And God replies to the man and he says, sure, just give me a second. 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:40.180 But here's the serious point of the bad joke. The God who inhabits eternity and who owns the cattle on a thousand hill, 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.460 he doesn't operate according to our logic and our limits. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.559 Got to remember that, haven't we? But through the gospel, he invites us to rejoice in Christ 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:58.619 and to invest in his kingdom. Know, friends, that there is no sacrifice that we could possibly make 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:03.940 for him that in view of eternity, we will look back and end up regretting. 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:13.159 He is the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He is the God who's able to do way more than we ask 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:14.620 or even imagine. 00:27:14.620 --> 00:27:14.720 Thank you.