Well, this morning we're going to begin looking at a new chapter together in the book of 2 Corinthians. So please turn there with me in your Bible, 2 Corinthians chapter 8. 2 Corinthians chapter 8, where Paul, after dealing with a primary issue of his relationship with a Corinthian church from chapter 1 all the way through chapter 7, which we completed last Sunday, he looks at a whole new issue. It's a rather abrupt transition in this particular letter. And since that former issue was settled, resolved, because of their godly sorrow that God used to bring them to repentance and to have that reconciliation and restoration with Paul and, of course, with the Lord and with his church, now Paul can move on to another important topic. And that is the topic of giving, the topic of giving. For the next two chapters, Paul will encourage the Corinthians, as well as us, to give, even as we have been given. Beginning in verse 1 of chapter 8, Paul writes, Moreover, brethren, we do you to wits, or we want you to know about the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. Of course, remember, Paul was in Macedonia when he wrote this letter. There were fighting without fears within. He was concerned about the relationship with the Corinthian church, and so after hearing from Titus that that relationship was restored, Now, he is in Macedonia and he writes to them about the Macedonians. He goes, I want you to know about the grace of God, verse 1, bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches and the wealth of their liberality or their generosity. For to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power and ability, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministry and the service to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord. and unto us by the will of God, insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also." In these verses, and really in the entire chapter, chapter 8 and chapter 9, we find some very important lessons for Christian giving. for giving as believers and as a church. So the first thing that we find in these verses is that giving is a great example of God's grace. It's a great example of God's grace at work in the hearts and lives of His people. Giving. That's why when Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, he actually brings up the example of some other churches. The Macedonian churches, where he was, and of course this would include some of the cities that we're familiar with. The cities of Philippi, the cities of Thessalonica, The city of Berea, remember, where they searched the scriptures daily to see whether what Paul was saying was so. And these were some of the churches in that Roman province of Macedonia. And so again, in verses one and two, he says, brethren, there in Corinth, moreover, brethren, we do you to wit, we want you to know about the grace of God that was bestowed on these churches, the churches that I'm with right now, the churches in Macedonia, how in a great trial of affliction, that's the circumstances they were in, the abundance of their joy and deep poverty, their conditions, abounded into the riches of liberality or generosity. You know, verse one talks about something that is very near and dear and precious to our hearts as Christians, and that is the grace of God. He says, I want you to know about the grace of God. I want you to know about the grace of God, which of course describes the divine acts of undeserved favor from God to this world. You know, it's, there is a general grace that God extends to this world. In Sunday school, we talked about just the rain, right? the rain that falls on the just and the unjust. That is a display of God's grace. He doesn't have to do that. We certainly don't deserve it, but God in His grace pours out blessing upon this undeserving, sinful world. But there is also a very special grace that God grants to His people. And that's what Paul is describing here to the Macedonian churches. You see, when we understand what God's grace is, we realize that the very reason that a person is saved is because of the grace of God. Remember Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, for by grace you are saved through faith. It starts with God's grace, doesn't it? For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But even more, the reason that you as a Christian are sanctified and grow in God's grace is because of His grace. This means that anything that God is doing in your life, anything that is positive, anything that people can see, really depends on the grace of God. When Paul was writing to one of those churches in Macedonia, Philippians 2, verse 13, he wrote, it is God that works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. You see, your fruitfulness as a Christian all owes itself to the wonderful grace of Jesus. So any growth that you have and any good that you do comes directly from God and His grace, and that's something we never must forget. And that's why Paul is urging the Corinthians to look at the example of God's grace at work in these churches in Macedonia. Here, God poured out His special grace in a special way to the churches of Macedonia because He moved them and enabled them to give. He's talking about an offering. He's talking about a collection that the churches would come together with their money, with their resources, but this is one of the ways that God poured out His grace to His people. He enabled them to give. In fact, this is one of the ways that God reveals Himself and His act of work among His people. One of the ways that we can see whether God's at work in our lives is whether we have a generous spirit to give. A generous spirit to give to the Lord first, to His people second, even to the needy in the world around us, it's a desire to give. And that's something that we can see every week in our own church. In fact, on the back of your bulletins, there's a stewardship report. And it is an example to us every single week of God's grace among us and God's continuing work in us to enable us to have a desire to give. and to give in a generous way. This is something that in the 16 years that I've been here, I have seen over and over again and been overwhelmed by is how God uses his people to provide for this church. There have been times where we have had very, very little in our bank accounts here at the church. And yet God still continued to provide for our needs and through the church to provide for our family's needs. That is an evidence and an example of God's grace among us. But the Macedonian churches were a great example of giving and a great example of God's gift of grace. So what made them such a great example? Well, we see in verse 2 the circumstances of their giving. You see, this was not just any ordinary church. This was a church that was undergoing, verse 2, a great trial of affliction. A great trial of affliction. Now, we in our comfortable churches here in the United States may have no idea what Paul is talking about. But we have brothers and sisters in Christ and nations right now who do not even have a building to worship in that may be facing the same things that the Macedonian churches were facing. Great trials of affliction. Now, the Macedonian Christians in that time were living in a completely different world than the Corinthian Christians, even though there was just a little ways between them. You see, Corinth was known as a city of peace, a city of prosperity, and a city of great pleasure. And many of the Christians enjoyed the economy of the city of Corinth. They were living high off the hog, so to speak. They had seemingly no want in their personal lives or even in their church. But at this time, just down the road in the region of Macedonia, they were experiencing famine. They had the ongoing fallout of constant warfare because generally, when any army went to go anywhere to fight, whether it was the Romans or the Spartans or the Persians, guess where they went? Through Macedonia. through Macedonia. And so there are all sorts of fallout and consequences because of all the warfare and the fighting that took place in their own backyards. Not only that, there was economic hardship during this time. Corinth was a city of prosperity, and yet the Macedonians had hardly any money at all. And the Christians were not immune from these circumstances. They went through a great trial, a great testing of affliction. But the afflictions may not just have been the culture around them. We can add to this other pressures. Because there would have been believers in Christ that had to say goodbye to all that they knew and loved before they came to Christ. Maybe they had to say goodbye to their career. Maybe they had to say goodbye to certain family members. Perhaps they were experiencing persecution as well just because they had decided to follow Jesus. And so in great affliction, great trial of affliction, in spite of all those trials and even through those afflictions, what do we hear? That God was still active in his church and his grace to that church, to those churches was seen, how? In their giving. They had nothing, but God showed his grace to them and through them by their giving. We also see the condition of their giving, as verse 2 continues, how the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded. Now, here we have two seemingly contradictory conditions, right? Joy and poverty. Joy and poverty. The world often tries to convince us that the more you have, the happier you will be, right? Just think of all the commercials that you see on TV, or hear on the radio, or see on Facebook, or on the internet. Life would be so much better and happier if you just had fill in the blank, right? If you had a better car, you'd be happier. If you had new clothes, you'd be happier. If you had a new drug to help with those aches and pains, you might live a better life. Maybe that new vacation, whether it's in Jamaica or one of these resorts. You go on and on and on, and the world wants you to know or to think that the more you have, the happier you will be. And conversely, the less you have, the sadder you will be. So again, joy and poverty seem to contradict each other. But here, what do we have? Joy and poverty exist together in the Macedonian churches. Even though they were undergoing a great trial of affliction, yet what do we find in their hearts? Joy, even though they are in poverty. But again, according to this verse, they did not just have any joy and any poverty. Rather, they experienced an abundance of joy, even while they were undergoing deep poverty. You see, they had the height of joy, even in their depth of poverty. They were dirt poor, and yet gloriously rejoicing. This can only be because of the grace of God in a Christian's life. Joy in poverty. And in spite of this condition, God still showed himself active in these churches, and his grace to them was seen, once again, in their giving. But we also see in verse two, the charitableness, the generosity of their giving. So is by God's grace, their joy and their poverty yielded wealth. Now, when we think of wealth, we think of money. Think of gold, we think of silver. That's one of those other advertisements that you might see on TV where they want you to buy your gold and silver from all of these different companies and put them in your IRA. And it's a hedge against inflation and a hedge against the ups and downs of the stock market. And that may all be true, but the wealth that Paul is talking about here is not a physical material wealth of gold and silver. It's a wealth of a completely different sorts. It's a wealth of generosity. It's a Christian spiritual wealth and riches of generosity. Look again at verse two. It's the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches and the wealth of their liberality or their generosity. See, they may have been poor in physical and material things, which they were, but they were rich in spiritual things, in what really mattered and what would really last. In fact, if you remember what was said to the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2.9, I think it could have been said to these churches in Macedonia. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. Thou art rich. Now, when we look at the world around us, we as American Christians and we as an American church really aren't impoverished. Maybe if we look around ourselves, we think we're pretty poor, we may not have that much. But you know, we have much in physical things. We have much in material things. And again, those are God's gracious blessings to us that we don't deserve. But imagine and think about the spiritual blessing and the spiritual wealth that you have in Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ. That's the most important wealth that no money can buy. And the wealth that we have here is an inner wealth. It is a wealth of generosity. They were rich and wealthy in what would truly last And it showed that God was still active in His church. Again, His grace to them was seen in their generous giving to Paul and to the other churches. So what about us this morning? Paul is giving the Corinthians an example of God's grace through the Macedonian church and their willingness to give. But what about us? Are we an example of God's grace at work in the lives of His people? Is there an example in you, a living example of God's grace at work? God's grace can often be seen even in your giving and in your heart of generosity. Now, you might say, I don't have that much to give. There have been times where I've spoken to people here in our church, and they've told me that. They say, Pastor, I want to give, but I don't have a whole lot to give. The truth is, the Macedonians didn't have a whole lot to give either, did they? But in spite of those circumstances, and in spite of that condition, what did they do? They gave. And when you give, it may not appear to be a whole lot according to the world's standards, but when your heart is in what you give, like the old song goes, little is much when God is in it. Isn't that true? Little is much when God is in it. Usually what I would encourage them to do, I said, give. You don't have to give $100 or $1,000. If your heart is not in it, give $5 or give $10. Because when you give and your heart is in it, it shows that God is at work in his grace in your life. And we see this also in the gospels. Keep your finger here in 2 Corinthians 8 and go to Mark 12. Because isn't this what Jesus was teaching when he was talking about the widow and those two mites? Mark chapter 12 verse 41, Jesus sits over against the treasury there by the temple and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. They were bringing their offerings to the church at that time. And many that were rich cast in much. There's a lot of money, a lot of resources, a lot of gold, a lot of silver, a lot of coins. But there came a certain poor widow who clearly loved the Lord, who clearly came to worship the Lord. And she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Now, this was just two coins. They probably were just a couple of dollars in our parlance. And Jesus called unto his disciples after seeing this scene spread before him. And he saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasure. Read that again. This poor widow hath cast more in, wait a second, she only had two mites, a couple of dollars. And yet, Jesus said, she hath cast more in than all they which have passed into the treasure. He goes on, for all they did cast in of their abundance. But she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. So in spite of all her problems and in spite of her poverty, she gave. And it showed the grace of God in her life, a grace that yielded the fruit of a generous spirit to give her all to the Lord. So the truth is, even as Christians, in spite of our problems, in spite of our poverty, God's grace to us is both the means and the motivation for us to give. God grants us His grace to give. But I also think this demonstrates that God can, as we head back over to 2 Corinthians 8, God can and often does work and use small churches like our own, even with limited resources, when we have limitless joy in the Lord and in His salvation and in His grace. Remember, little is much when God is in it. Little is much when God is in it. So let your giving be an example of God's grace at work in your life and even in our church. But second, we see in verses 3 and 4 that giving is also a great evidence of God's grace. a great evidence. Paul continues in verse three again about the Macedonian churches for to their power or their ability. I bear record gay and beyond their power or ability. They were willing of themselves to get praying us, entreating us, begging us even with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship, this partnership of the ministering to the saints. Here, Paul describes for us the evidence of God's grace at work in the Macedonian churches and how the Macedonian churches gave. So what kind of giving does God's grace produce in the life of His church, in the lives of His people? Well, we see in verse 3 that it's a full giving. It's a full giving. He says, for to their power I bear record, and even beyond their power. Power here, in this sense, in this context, means ability. what they had, their resources, the money in their banks, if you will, or the lack of money in their banks. They gave what they could, and even more than it seemed like to Paul, than they should. They were emptying their pockets for this contribution. They loved God. They loved Paul. They loved God's people. And they just wanted to be a partner in the needs of the other Christians in Jerusalem especially. And so they emptied their pockets and Paul is looking at these impoverished Christians thinking, no more! You have enough needs of your own. We should be giving offerings to you rather than taking offerings from you. So it seems that when Paul arrived in Macedonia with all of the concerns in his own heart, he could see just how little they had. Perhaps you've been to a brother or sister in Christ home, whether it's here in the States or overseas, and you sat down at their table to eat a meal, and it looked like that was about all they had in the house, all they had in the covers. And they put on a spread for you. This has happened to me. And you think, why are they doing this? I mean, they're giving not just according to their ability, but it seems to me even beyond their ability. Why? Because it's an evidence of God's grace at work in their lives as Christians. It's an evidence of God's grace because they're giving in a full way. And even though Paul could see how little they had, yet they still wanted to participate. Again, God's grace and their generosity was so evident, and their contributions exceeded all expectations. In fact, Paul probably did not even want them to participate in this collection that he was taking up for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Their contributions exceeded all expectations, but that is what grace-filled giving will look like. That's what grace-filled living will look like. It doesn't necessarily have to be in the form of money, dollar bills, but rather generous with what you have, generous with your substance, generous with your home, generous with your food, generous even with your clothes, generous from your heart. It's being full of grace. It also is going to be a free giving. In verse 3, he continues that these believers in Macedonia, these impoverished, joyful believers were willing of themselves. You see, their offering was not something that Paul demanded. It was not even something he expected. Rather, it was given spontaneously and freely by their own personal choice, which, of course, was enabled by God's grace. They gave it freely. This is one of the reasons why we as a church are hesitant sometimes to encourage people to give in certain ways. Why? Because we want there to be a free giving. among God's people. We see this later in chapter nine, verse seven, where Paul says that every man, according as you purpose in your heart, that's that free choice, that free desire. Let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves. What kind of give cheerful, right? This is the kind of giving that we ought to have in our hearts. We are to give freely and cheerfully because that shows God's grace at work among us. But also it was a fervent giving. If you go on to verse four, it says that they were praying Paul when praying, but they were begging almost beseeching Paul with much entreating again because of their poverty. It seems that Paul was very reluctant to receive such a sacrificial offering from their hands. And of course, that shows his heart, doesn't it? He was not a greedy apostle. He didn't want to commit any harm to them. Paul always sought to be a good steward of the resources that God's people gave, which we all should be. But the Macedonian churches insisted. That's what those words mean. They insisted that Paul take up their offer. Paul said, no, no, you've given too much. No, no, you have so much need. And then they say, no, Paul, take up this offering. We know that there are brothers and sisters in Jerusalem that have greater needs than our own. And we want to help. We want to participate. We want to be a partner in this. You see, they knew that there was other suffering besides their own. Later, Paul would write to the Roman church in Romans 15, 26. that for it hath pleased them of Macedonia, referring to the churches of Philippi and Thessalonica, there and Berea, and Achaia, which is the city of Corinth, to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. So when Paul is writing the Corinthians, he's anticipating that they too will continue this collection for the poor in Jerusalem, and they eventually do. You see, we need to have what this kind of giving is all about. It is the opportunity to serve. Do you realize that? When you give to the Lord, when you give to His church, when you give to God's people, it is an opportunity to serve Christ and an opportunity to serve other Christians. And it is always a privilege to participate in this ministry, whether it's to Mike's or even beyond. When you give to this church, you participate in the ministry of this church, no matter how much you give. When you give to our missionaries, you support and participate in the ministry of those missionaries, no matter how much you give, and no matter where they serve. So let your giving be an example of God's grace at work in your life and in our church, and give freely, give fully, give fervently, and even more, give faithfully. Because that leads us to the next few verses where we see that giving is also a great effect of God's grace in your life. Because it's not just giving from your purse. It's not just giving from your wallet. It's not just writing a check and putting it in the offering plate. But first, and primarily, he's talking about the giving of yourself to the Lord. That's what God wants more than anything else. And this is exactly what took place in the Macedonian churches. Look at verse five. And this they did, they gave, but not as we hoped, not as we anticipated, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord. They gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us as God's representatives by the will of God. You see, the reason why the Macedonian Christians gave so much to Paul for this collection for the poor in Jerusalem was because God had so much of them. God had them. God had their heart. God had their souls. God had their very life. says they first gave their own selves to the Lord. Now, does this describe our church this morning? Even if we were to take up a collection, like at a church that I went to when I was in college, I was visiting to find a good church for a person that was about to be released from prison. And when I went into the service, I didn't realize that it was a charismatic church at the time. But one of the things that first struck me as I went into this church was they had a tackle box. You know, the thing that you'd put your fishing stuff in, right? If you'd like to fish. I don't really care to fish, but I know what it is. And it was stuffed full of cash. Stuffed full of cash. And that service, I only stayed about halfway, but in that service they took up at least three offerings. And there was more cash coming in. And more cash coming in to fill up those tackle boxes, right? But you know what? It's not about so much the cash that is brought in, but rather the hearts that are brought in to the Lord. Because what you give is just an evidence of what God has already in your life. They first gave their own selves, he writes to the Lord. And does that describe you this morning? This is where a truly generous heart begins. But what does it mean for God to have yourself? Well, to give yourself to the Lord means, first of all, that your first desire is for the Lord and His will. It's your number one desire. Just like our Lord Jesus Christ, when He was here in this world, pursued not after His own human will, but the divine will of His Father in Heaven. In Hebrews 10.9 it says, Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. Are those words that you can say from your own heart? That's why we ought to pray and say, Thy will be done. This is what it means to give yourself to the Lord. It's that the Lord's will is your first desire. To give yourself also means that your first delight is in the Lord and in His Word. Think about Job in Job 23 verse 12 where he said, I have esteemed the words of thy mouth more than my necessary food. You know, it's getting close to noon here, and I know most of us, our stomachs tell us what time it is, right? We don't need a watch, we don't need a phone. We have our stomachs, because we get hungry. Can you say with Job, I esteem the words of your mouth more than my necessary food? This is what it means to give yourself to the Lord. Your first delight is to Him and His Word. Your first devotion is to the Lord and His way. You want God's way to be your way. Psalm 8611 says, Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name. Is the Lord's way your number one devotion? This is what God wants from you. And then your giving will just be an expression of what God already has. when He has you. It also means that your first dedication to the Lord would be to Him and to His work. Proverbs 16.3 says, Commit thy works unto the Lord. All of these things were true in the hearts and lives of the Macedonian churches. And their giving was just the final expression of what they had first given to the Lord. And what was that? Their own selves. They gave their own selves. That is what the Lord wants most from you today. He wants you. He wants yourself. And really as a church, I think I can speak for the elders and the deacons and as the church body, that's really what we want most from you. Not so much what goes into the offering plate. God uses that and demonstrates His grace among us. But first and foremost, we want you. to be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, devoted to Him, dedicated to Him, desiring Him even more than your necessary food. And how does this start? It starts by responding to the grace of God in your life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loving Him who first loved you. When you give yourself to the Lord, then all that you have belongs to the Lord anyways, doesn't it? It belongs to Him. You know, there's a saying that's often used about the sacrifices that our soldiers and sailors make for their country. Perhaps you're familiar with it. All gave some, and some gave all. Well, when you remember that Jesus Christ gave His all for you and made the ultimate sacrifice for your eternal redemption, let that sink in. Then you will come to see that it is no great sacrifice, Give back to the Lord what already belongs to Him. If He has you, He has everything about you. He has your all. That's yourself. He even has your sum, which really is what we have in our bank accounts. Because He gave His all for you, it's no great sacrifice to give our sum back to Him. like the Macedonian churches, you will make an entire dedication of all that you have and all that you are to your divine master. That's the effect that God's grace has in His people's lives. Then we come to verse 6, and that's why Paul writes, in so much. And now he turns from the Macedonian churches where he is to the Corinthian church in so much that we desire Titus. Remember him? Titus is the one that he sent with this letter. And he wants Titus that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you that same grace also. See, in chapters one through seven, we learn that Paul sent Titus to the Corinthian church to see if they would respond to God's word through repentance and for reconciliation. But now we read that Paul is sending Titus so that the Corinthian church would now reveal God's continuing work of grace within them by giving. Titus, it seems, had gone to Corinth a previous time to start this collection, but for some reason the collection stopped. probably because of that strife and division that we read about in chapters one through seven. But now Titus can go and finish that collection, which is here described as that same grace. This was Paul's giving them a renewed opportunity to respond to God's grace at work in their lives and to reveal God's grace at work in their lives and to show whether or not they had given their own selves to the Lord. So the question I want to leave you with this morning is this. Does the Lord have you today? And does the Lord have all of you today? Does He have all of you? God often uses the example of His work of grace in the lives of others to enhance His work of grace in our lives. It's not comparing the two. He's not comparing and saying, well, because they did this, you need to do this. He's saying, no, look at what God has done in the Macedonian churches and look at what God can do in your church. So does God have us? Does God have our church? so that we are generous people, generous Christians, generous believers, and a generous body of Christ. One way to know of God's grace in your life and in our church is through giving. Giving is a prime opportunity for you to respond to and even reveal the active grace of God in your heart and in your life. So let us have a wealth of generosity in our church. and a wealth of generosity in our lives as Christians. And so in the words of verse 7 of chapter 9, every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giving. That kind of giving shows how much God has of you. Does God have all of you this morning? Let's close in prayer. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we're thankful again for the example of the Macedonian churches, these churches that were enduring a great trial of affliction. And even though they were impoverished to a depth that perhaps we have never experienced or perhaps we'll ever know, yet they had a joy unspeakable and full of glory in their hearts. because there was this evidence of you and your grace continuing to do its work in their hearts and lives. And so it gave them a generous spirit and a generous heart from which they gave. And so, Father, we see that giving, Christian giving, within a church is just that. It's an evidence and an expression of the effect of your work in our lives. And so, Lord, we can see from our hands and we can see from what is given, even, Lord, the desire that we have to give to you. So, Father, I pray that we will be known as a generous people and as a generous church. Certainly, Father, we need to give to the needy that are around us. We're thankful, Lord, for people and organizations through whom we can give. But Lord, we also see the importance of giving to brothers and sisters in Christ who are in poverty and deep need and recognize that we need to give to this household of faith, to the poor within our own church and the poor in the churches that might be elsewhere in this world. Because Father, we are together in this. We are unified in this. And it shows us that not only are we partners, but we have genuine fellowship in the Lord because we are giving. But Father, I pray that you'll help us to realize that this only will happen if we first give of ourselves to you. even as the Macedonians did and even as Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to do, to give themselves to you. And so, Father, I pray that first and foremost, you would do that work in our heart, that there would be the effect of your grace in each one of our lives, that we would give ourselves log, stock and barrel to you. Every part of us, our mind, our will, our heart, our emotions, our families, our homes, our clothes, our food, our life, Because, Lord, we know that there was one who truly gave all. Jesus Christ came and gave his all for us. And that is why it is no great sacrifice for us to even give our sum back to you. Lord, we know that perhaps there is some here who you do not have any part of because they have never repented of their sin and turned to and trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from their sin. Lord, we understand that that's where it must start. That is where it must begin. And so, Father, we pray that your grace will affect them and change them and secure them into the family of God by regenerating them and giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit who will bring them to new life and new faith in Jesus Christ. Oh, Father, we pray that you might awaken those who are dead. That, Father, you will bring them from darkness into light. And then, Father, as a part of this body of Christ, we all can then give ourselves completely to you. And then, Lord, I pray that we will, through that generous Spirit, give. And through giving, Lord, I pray that you will multiply your work here at Grace Baptist Church that you will multiply your work through our missionaries whom we support, that you will multiply the growth of your people in all places throughout this world as your people here give from generous hearts because of what Jesus gave for us. And we ask these things in Jesus' name.