Let's open our Bibles together this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 9, 2 Corinthians chapter 9, where we will finish looking at the Apostle Paul's instructions on Christian giving. If you remember, he's covered two whole chapters on this one topic about Christian giving and really what Christian giving is all about from chapter 8 through chapter 9. And so we've also seen that Christian giving is not just about what you give. And I hope that has been the emphasis that we have seen through these messages and through these chapters. Christian giving is not just about what you give, but about why you give, how you give, and even to whom you give. You see, your giving is really a reflection of what's going on in your hearts. Every man should, according as he purport this in his heart, let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. God knows your heart when you give. God knows your heart as you serve. And that is the emphasis that Paul is placing on our responsibility as Christians to give. And so the focus is no different in the verses that we will come to this morning, beginning in verse 11 through the end of this chapter, verse 15. Paul continues, we being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. Verse 12, for the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. Whilst by the experiment, the proof of this ministration, they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution, your communication and communion unto them and unto all men. And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. These verses, tie your giving and your serving as a Christian to your gratitude to the Lord as well as, ultimately, your glorifying of the Lord. And Paul, after thinking about and writing about all the blessings that come with Christian giving, ends these two chapters with a spontaneous doxology, a spontaneous praise of his own. And so I want to begin in reverse order. I want to start with verse 15 and then find out really why he exclaims this to the Lord. Verse 15 says, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. thanks be unto God for his inexpressible gift. He's talking about a gift that even he could not fully explain, a gift that he could not fully describe. Peter even tells us that it's something the angels desire to look into. Now, what could this gift be? What could this gift possibly be that causes even the Apostle Paul to say, I can't even come close to describing it with my words, either in speech or in writing? I believe this gift can only be, as James Denny once described it, the great, the original, unsearchable gift. It is none other than the gift of the gospel. It's none other than the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. After all, isn't Christ alone the source of all our blessings? Isn't Christ alone the fountainhead of every good gift that God gives us according to his amazing grace? So after spending two whole chapters writing to us about giving, what would cause the Apostle Paul to break out at the very end of these two chapters in spontaneous praise and thanksgiving to God for his unspeakable gift of Christ? What would cause him to do that? I believe it's because Paul was completely overwhelmed. He was completely awestruck with what Jesus was able to accomplish with that simple love offering that he decided to start collecting for those poor saints in Jerusalem. something as mundane as passing the offering plate to all of those different churches in Macedonia, in Achaia, also in Asia Minor, and all of those different regions, passing that offering plate so that Christians could give in a generous way to help their brothers and sisters in Christ who they've never seen, perhaps never ever will meet until they reach heaven there in Jerusalem because of their need. And Paul was so amazed at what God could do through that simple, relatively mundane pastoring of the offering plate to work in the hearts and lives of all of God's people. It wasn't just about them in Israel, it was about all of God's people ultimately giving praise and glory and thanksgiving to God. And so with these words, in verse 15, Paul invites you and he invites me to praise and thank God as well as we think of all that Jesus Christ makes possible when we serve and when we give for Him. He's the one that makes it all possible. In verses 11 and 12, we find that only Jesus can make possible the growth of genuine Christian fruit. Only Jesus can do this. In verse 11, Paul reminds us, we saw this a little bit last week, that we are, as Christians, enriched in everything to all bountifulness. This means that you are, no matter what your bank account says about you, you are rich in Jesus Christ. You are rich where it counts. This means that God pours in so that you can pour out. God has enriched you so that you can give of your riches to others. But you also need to remember that as he pours in so that you pour out, when you pour out as a child of God, you will never run out. That's what this verse teaches. We are enriched in everything to all bountifulness, and he will never let that cup run dry if you're his child. We are rich. We are truly rich. But that's not the only result of God's pouring into your life. It will also yield, according to this verse, thanksgiving and praise to God. Paul writes, this causes through us thanksgiving to God. And so in the very next verse, in verse 12, he explains what he means. He says, the administration of this service, he's basically talking about the process that was going on to collect these funds to share their wealth with the poor saints in Jerusalem, the administration of the service. We have an administration of our offerings. What you have given today will be counted by witnesses to record what's been given, put into our church's bank account, and then distributed as the church as a whole has decided through our budget. And so this is the administration of that particular service. But what is it for? He says it's not only to supply the want of the saints, but even more, it's abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. What he means in verse 12 is that there is more to Christian giving than meets the eye. There's more to your giving to God than meets the eye. The gift that you put in the offering plate or the gift that you provide other people in your service is a gift that really does keep on giving over the last hundred years. There have been advertisements that have made that promise about whatever gift, whatever product they're trying to sell, it's the gift that keeps on giving. But you realize every gift that you give at some point or another is going to break down. There's really only one gift that keeps on giving. And that is the gift of Jesus Christ. And he makes it possible for the gifts that you provide as a Christian for his use, for his purposes, that too is a gift that also keeps on giving. When you give of yourself, when you give of your time, when you give of your offering, do you realize that it doesn't just stop with that service? It doesn't just stop with putting it in the plate. God uses that and expands that and multiplies that for his work and his kingdom. Only the gospel can do that. And so what we find is that this giving is an investment that really does yield spiritual and eternal returns. Some of you are familiar that years ago I was a stockbroker, and I enjoyed that. But I realized that there are investments that you can put your money in. And you think, well, if I want a greater reward, a greater yield, I might have to take a little bit of extra risk. Because if you just put your money in a bank account, you're only going to get, what, 1%? If that, any more today? So if you want 4%, you might have to take a little more risk and stick it in a bond. If you want a little bit better of a yield, maybe 10 or 12%, the potential for that, you're going to have to take a little more risk and stick it in the stock market, with all of its ups and downs. But do you realize that when you give as a Christian, when you give of your money, when you give of your service, when you give of your time, It is an investment that has no risk whatsoever, but it has a yield that is everlasting and is ongoing and it expands. As I was preparing for this message, I was thinking about our Good News Clubs that we have at Harrison Western Elementary Schools that we have done now for 11 years. 11 years! And sometimes I think about the investment of time, and the investment of love, and the investment of money from the church to be able to have these clubs for these children and share the gospel. And I wonder what happened to all those children as they're getting older. But do you realize that no investment given to the Lord, for the Lord, will ever come back dry. It will never come back without a yield. That's why he says in Galatians that we are to not be weary in well-doing. Why? Because we will reap if we faint not. We will reap. The investment that you give to the Lord carries no risk, but it carries everlasting reward. Now that does not mean that you may not suffer, because we do. You may not experience trials. But really, there's no risk there either, is there? Because we have the hope of eternal life in heaven. We have a hope that not anyone else in the world has. And so what will your giving and your serving reap? It will bring, according to verse 12, encouragement. It will bring encouragement to God's people. This is a valuable thing. It says that it will supply the want and the needs of the saints, God's people. You see, when you give to the Lord, God is using you to be a blessing and a source of His provision to His people in need. What an encouragement it is when God's people give to God's people. Now, yes, we need to give widely. We need to be able to share our resources and our gifts to other people that are not believers. But the primary purpose for our gifts, the primary purpose for our resources, are to minister to the needs of our family. to minister the needs of God's people. And what an encouragement it is to be able to minister to each other in this way. It's an encouragement when God's people give to God's people. As Paul proclaimed it in verse 15, thanks be unto God. But this is not all Christian giving is about. Do you realize that? It's not just to meet the everyday essential needs that go on. This is not all that Christian giving brings about. Because even more, your giving and your serving will bring exaltation. Exaltation in verse 12 and praise to God himself. He goes on and says, not only does your giving help other Christians, it is also abundant. That is, it increases, it abounds. It's an investment that has a great yield. How? By many thanksgivings unto God. This is really what it's all about. This is what you're giving is for. This is what you're serving is for. This is what your life is for. It is so that God would be glorified and receive the thanks. This is the exponential return of your investment whenever you give and serve the Lord and his people. Have you ever heard of the story where someone offered to someone either a penny that is doubled every day for 30 days or a million dollars, what would you take? Would you take the million dollars or would you start slow and take that penny doubled every day for 30 days? The truth is, if you took a penny and you doubled it and it continued to double, so one cent doubles to two cents, two cents doubles to four cents, four to eight, and it seems very small at the beginning, but by 30 days, it's beyond the million dollars that was offered to you. It's exponential. It grows in a way that it's hard to even fathom. And that is what Paul is saying about your giving and your serving to the Lord. It will grow exponentially because it's not just meeting the needs down here. It provides you the opportunity to glorify God up there. That's what our giving and serving is for. It causes everyone involved to thank and worship and glorify God in a greater way. And that is really the goal for everything we do as Christians. First Corinthians 1031 says, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, that includes giving, that includes serving, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. You know, a lot of good can come when you give and serve. We know this. It can be a real help and blessing to others. Some of you might remember the ice bucket challenge that took place a few years ago, where you would pour ice water on yourself if you did not give money to the ALS organization for people that have Lou Gehrig's disease. Well, people gave, and they still did the Ice Bucket Challenge, even though they did give. But so much money was given, and it helped many individuals and many families. It paid for research. It paid for medicine. It paid for special equipment for those who are suffering. Our dear friend Mark Judy, who passed away, also experienced this. He received the help from this Ice Bucket Challenge. So giving really does help and encourage others when they are in need, but Christian giving yields even more. It's an exponential growth. It's an investment that yields more. It brings praise and glory to God. And not just from your heart, but from the hearts of many others. Paul says it offers many thanksgivings unto God. And that is an investment worth investing in. giving and serving for the Lord. But even further, we find that your giving and serving, in verse 13, will bring evidence. It brings clear evidence of God's grace at work in your life. There in verse 13, Paul describes again this collection that he was taking up for those Christians in Jerusalem, this offering, if you will, this love offering. He describes this collection as, in the King James, the experiment of this ministration. The experiment of this ministration. Ministration simply means the collection. And the experiment, that word translated experiment, means something that is proven in a laboratory. Something that is proven when something's going on in your life. We need to remember that God gives us life labs at times. Life labs. Sometimes we experience the life lab of temptation. Or the life lab of trials. the life lab of opportunities to serve in different ways. And what is God doing in these laboratories? He's proving our faith. He's testing our faith. And as we cling to Him, as we trust in Him, we grow in our faith and we grow in our relationship with Him. And that is exactly what Paul is describing here. This love offering took on a greater sense. There's a greater reason for this love offering. It wasn't just to provide the need for the saints. It exalted God and glorified God, but it also became a laboratory. a life lab for the Christians in the churches all through those regions to show their faith. It wasn't just a matter of testifying. Oh, yeah, I believe in God and I love God's people. But now they could show that they love God and that they could show that they love God's people by offering and giving of their time and their energy and even their money. And so this eagerness to give by the Corinthians and their efforts in giving to this collection provided clear evidence of their true nature as Christians and as a church. And so we can say with the Apostle Paul in verse 15, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift, because only Jesus Christ can take something as seemingly mundane as giving in an offering plate and give it life. giving and serving for you as a christian is not just charity work it's not just volunteering for something like everybody wants a volunteer right for a five k this that or the other they want your money they want your time but no Giving and serving for Christians is a spiritual grace that yields spiritual fruit that will multiply and grow exponentially to help God's people, to encourage God's people, but ultimately to exalt God himself. even as Jesus took just a few loaves of bread and fish, miraculously multiplied them so he could feed thousands with plenty left over. That is what God does with your service. That is what God does with your giving. So Jesus will take what you give, cause it to take root, so that not only will it encourage others, it will bring glory to God himself. Thanks be unto God. We got to praise God for how he takes what is so small and meager and multiplies it in exponential ways, ultimately for his glory. Only Jesus Christ can make this kind of spiritual fruit possible when we serve and give to him. But we also find in verse 13 that Jesus can make possible also the growth of genuine Christian fellowship. Not just the fruit of our lives as Christians, but real Christian fellowship. This is another reason why this offering was taken up. Verse 13, while this experiment or this life lab of this ministration, this offering, they, he's actually talking now about the Christians in Jerusalem. They glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ and for your liberal distribution, your single-minded fellowship unto them and unto all men. In this verse, Paul tells us about the response of the Christians in Jerusalem concerning their gift. Now, as I was studying, I asked myself, how did Paul know that when the Christians in Jerusalem finally received that offering, that this would be their response. How did he know this? Well, perhaps Paul was so confident that God was at work that he describes their reaction as a reality, as if it's already going on. But then as I was reading through these verses, we have to remember this collection had been going on for a little time. It had been about a year since he started the collection in the city of Corinth, and he said, I'm going to be coming back, and hopefully you have it all collected and ready to go, because I'm going to send it to Jerusalem on their way. So in that period of a year, I wonder if the Christians in Jerusalem started hearing about this collection that was being taken up. by all of those Christians, and all of those new churches, and all of those other regions around the Roman Empire, and they started thinking, wow, they're doing that for us? Most of those churches were comprised of Gentiles. There were some Jews, but mostly Gentiles. It started out with the Jews, but then many Gentiles came to know the Lord, and those Jews in Jerusalem are thinking that those Gentiles are now giving to us. They couldn't believe it. And so here, it's possible that Paul is describing how these Christians in Jerusalem had already heard about their desire to give and contribute to them. And even though they have yet to receive the gift, they were enthralled with this Christian demonstration of love and sacrifice and generosity. And so the Christians in Jerusalem praised and glorified God, not just for the gift that was coming. They hadn't received it yet. But we see in verse 13 that they're thanking and glorifying God for them, for the Corinthians, and especially their genuine fellowship with Christ. Look at verse 13 again. These Jerusalem Christians are glorifying God for your, the Corinthians, professed subjection and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were so overjoyed that there was now a genuine Christian church in Corinth. They couldn't believe it. You see, the city of Corinth was known for its idolatry in ancient times. It was a city that was known for their wickedness as well, even in their forms of worship to these idols. Unspeakable fornication. And there were many different religions and many different professions in that city. In fact, when Paul first arrived in Corinth in Acts chapter 18, he was a little concerned and a little discouraged, a little fearful of his life, until God spoke to him in a dream and said, Paul, I have much people in this city. So yes, they were people with all kinds of different professions and confessions. They believed in all sorts of different idols. But God was gracious in that city and led many people to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And they became that church, that core church. And now, those Christians in Corinth literally lived under the shadow of the Temple of Aphrodite. If you ever see a picture of Corinth, ancient Corinth, there's this large mountain, this large rock that overshadows the entire city. And on top of that rock, they had a temple. The ruins are still there to that goddess Aphrodite. And so in a real literal sense, the Christians, wherever they lived, wherever they gathered there in the city of Corinth, they were under the shadow of that temple. And yet, now their profession had changed. Now imagine the shock of the people around them. Wait a second, you're not worshiping her. You're not worshiping the idols that your parents brought you up to worship. But now you have changed your profession. You have changed your devotion and allegiance. Their allegiance was now to Jesus Christ and to him alone. And now they enjoy genuine fellowship with the head of their church. And the Christians in Jerusalem said thanks be unto God. Give Him the glory. It's what God did through Christ in their hearts and lives that now they have one profession and one obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks be unto God. Can that be said of you this morning? Has your profession changed at some point in your life? Is your devotion and allegiance to the gospel of Jesus Christ today? You will never enjoy and you will never even understand the kind of fellowship that we see here in this verse until you first believe in and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Savior from sin. You will never enjoy and experience that fellowship that God promises. Jesus came into this world to die for you and break down the barrier between you and God. 1 Peter 3.18 says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. And when you repent from your sin and believe in who Jesus is and what Jesus did for you, you then can experience You then can enjoy genuine fellowship with Him. Has there been a time in your life where your allegiance has changed to Jesus Christ? If not, will you today turn to and trust in the Lord alone for salvation from your sin? You will never experience, you will never enjoy the fellowship that Paul is describing in this verse. But when you do, you then can experience along with the Christians in Corinth and along with the Christians of Jerusalem, along with the Christians here, genuine fellowship with each other, with Christians. So the believers in Jerusalem are praising and glorifying God in the rest of verse 13 for their liberal distribution unto them and unto all men. Now the words translated here, liberal distribution, in our version may refer to the generous contribution made by the Corinthians to this collection. It could be. But the words themselves mean a single-minded fellowship. Distribution here is the word koinonia, fellowship. And isn't that what giving really is? It's combining your gifts and combining your service and combining your love with the gifts and the service and the love of each other so that we can have fellowship in our service for God and fellowship and unity in our love and service for others. You see, Christian giving and Christian serving shows a single-minded devotion and fellowship with Christ and His church. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 6, 21, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. When you give to the church, that's where your heart will be. When you invest in a church, that's where you're going to want to be and participate in the life of that church. Why? Because you've invested there. Where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be. When you invest all of your time and effort and money in your house, that's where your treasure is, right? That's where your heart is gonna be, and you want it to be pristine, you want it to be perfect, and all of these things. But what we find here is that when we give for the Lord, it shows that that's where our heart is. Their gift to the Christians in Jerusalem became a manifestation of real Christian fellowship. And do you realize that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can do that? Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can take what the world sees as charity. And really, this is kind of what the government does, or at least they used to do. When you give to the church, you can claim it on your taxes. They consider it charitable giving. But Christian giving is so much more and so vastly different than just mere charitable giving. You see, the gospel of Christ takes what the world sees as charity and turns it into an opportunity for genuine fellowship. fellowship with Christ and fellowship with his church. And this is why we can say with the Apostle Paul, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Only Jesus Christ can make this kind of fellowship possible when you trust in him and serve him with all that you are and all that you have. And we see this bond of fellowship even further in verse 14. where third, Jesus makes possible the growth of genuine Christian feeling, a fellowship that grows to true feeling and affection and love for each other. Look at verse 14, and by their prayer for you, referring to the prayers of the Jerusalem Christians, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. You see, as the Jerusalem Christians praised God for the Corinthian Christians, they also prayed to God for them as well. They did this for God's good for them. There were many Christians in the Jerusalem church who were very, very poor according to the world's standards. They didn't have a whole lot. There was really no possible way for them to repay the gift and the kindness of the churches who gave to them. And unfortunately, that's the way we see giving a lot of times, right? Someone gives something to you and then you feel like I need to give something back to them. And it kind of takes away the whole desire to give sometimes. The truth is, it is better to give than to receive. And so it's a blessing for them to give. And here the Jerusalem church was in a position where they couldn't return even if they tried. But according to God's standard, they were rich. And such as they had, they gave. What did they have? Christ-like love. And so they gave their love. They gave their love through prayer. They earnestly prayed for them so that the richest blessings of God would be upon them. They prayed for God's blessing on them. You may not have a whole lot to give to someone that has given to you, but you can give your love and your prayers for them. That's a great gift. But they also did this by God's grace. The Jerusalem Christians, it says here, were longing after the Corinthian Christians. They were longing after them for the exceeding grace of God that rested upon them. That means that their hearts yearned for their new brothers and sisters in Christ. They yearned for them. And though they might never meet them in this world by God's grace, they were one with them. And that is one of the things that we see in the Christian church all the world over. When you do not meet someone or see someone, you can still long for them. And that is how our hearts ought to be for our brothers and sisters in Christ in North Korea or in China or in the Middle East or in South America or even across town. Why? Because even though we may never meet them or see them, yet our hearts yearn for them because we are one with them. That's that fellowship that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. By God's grace, they were one and their hearts were knit together in Christian love. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can make possible that kind of love amongst all of those people that comprise all of those churches all around the world. Only Christ can make that possible within the church. Only Jesus Christ could break down the middle wall of partition between the Jewish church and the Gentile churches and make us one. And as the Apostle Paul pondered all that God was doing in these verses, in these chapters, through that simple collection, that simple love offering that he was taking up for the Jerusalem Christians. He pondered what God was doing, the genuine growth of Christian fruit and Christian fellowship and Christian feeling and love. As he's thinking about all God has done through that offering, he could not contain his own praise any longer. And so once again, verse 15, where we started out of the overflow of his own heart, Paul exclaims, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift, the gift of Jesus Christ who makes all of this possible. Paul puts it another way in Romans 11.33 when he said, Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways are past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him, and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Paul knew Christ, and he knew that Christ was the only way that any and all of these blessings could be found. So the Apostle Paul could not and we should not ever get over God's unspeakable gift to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As John Tasker once wrote, Jesus is the divine gift which inspires all gifts. You know, it's October, and pretty soon, I think even now, there are Christmas things in the shelves. And I'm okay with that. I love Christmas. Michelle loves Christmas. We're Christmas people, all right? Christmas is awesome. And I love giving gifts. And I love getting gifts. I still have that kid inside of me. But once again, what inspired all of these gifts at Christmas time, that unspeakable gift that God first gave to us, Jesus Christ. We celebrate Christmas because we celebrate Christ. We give gifts at Christmastime because of the gift of Christ given to us. And so Christ alone can make all these things possible. Christ alone can take a single seed and give it life so that it can multiply itself and yield a bountiful harvest. Christ alone can take a few loaves of bread and some small fish and multiply them so that they can feed thousands, even to the point of being full. Christ alone can take a gift, even if it's just two small mites, and multiply it to not only supply the want and the needs of his people, but also to abound by many thanksgivings and praise and glory to God. Do not underestimate the power of God's grace and how it can overflow and grow in ways that you would never expect or anticipate. Do not underestimate the investment of time and the investment of service and the investment of gifts that you give to the Lord. I remember when Jesus was teaching about serving even and giving a cup of cold water in his name to a brother or sister in Christ. He even explained how when you do these things to the least of your brethren, you're doing them unto me. So we see how God multiplies even those small investments and increases them to an abundance of praise and thanksgiving and glory to God himself. Because only Christ can turn your giving and your service into an opportunity for greater fruit, greater fellowship, and greater feeling and love within his church. Let's say from our hearts together today, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable, indescribable gift. Let's close in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you for the truth that we have here in your word. And I thank you, Lord, for your great love that gave us the Lord Jesus Christ, the first gift, the foremost gift, the gift of your grace, an undeserved gift, an unearned gift, a gift, Lord, that we cannot live without. And we thank you for that unspeakable gift. We cannot fully describe all that happened, nor can we fully describe all that we owe to you. But Lord, as we think about how you have poured into us, into our hearts, into our spirits, into our church, Lord, so that we might pour out to others, so that we will never run out, I pray, Father, that we will recognize that you are the one who makes all this possible. Jesus Christ is the one who makes our giving expand and abound ultimately to glorify you. So our service is not just volunteerism. Our giving is not just charity work, but rather it's an investment in the very work that you are doing in this world through your people. And so, Father, I pray that we will live and serve and give with that truth in mind. And that, Father, glory and praise and thanks will abound to you. because of how we give and how we serve our precious Savior. And we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.