You have heard me say from this pulpit - even as recently as last week, that greed is this generation's greatest sin - especially here in North America.  It is also pretty rampant in other parts of the world, but it seems to have a pretty tenacious hold on us here.  And the evidence for such a claim is reflected in our actions and choices and lifestyles.  Jesus said, Awhere your treasure is, there will your heart be also.@  He preceded that phrase with the words, Ado not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume, but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust consume.@  In other words, how we spend our time, where we spend our time, and how and where we spend our money reflects our true priorities.  A very simple observation of the behavior of most western Christians, makes it uncomfortably clear where our priorities lie and that our treasures more often than not lie in material possessions and our almost frantic need to accumulate to find some sense of security.

You may also have heard me say that except for the Kingdom of God, the issue of money occupied the greatest part of Jesus teachings.  Why?  Because it is the most significant block to ministry there is. I have been a pastor for 21 years, and I have learned that in a church, when a congregation seeks to initiate a new ministry, there are 4 words that can stop that ministry initiative in its tracks faster than anything else.  Those words are: Awe can't afford it.@  In my long years of ministry, I have been witness to the sight, more often than I would care to remember, of congregations being limited and squeezed and constricted in their ministry by those four little words.  Nothing works more effectively, because in the church, money drives ministry and in the church people are by and large more interested in keeping their money than investing it in ministry.  And when money is required for ministry, people tend to get nervous and prefer to talk about the church as an organization rather than an organism, as a business rather than a ministry.  That is when wise and experienced folk stand up at congregational meetings and talk about being responsible stewards of our financial resources, and how the church should not put too much of a strain on its members and that, like any good business, we should be prudent with our money.  What really bothers me about that approach is that it is dishonest and inconsistent. Dishonest, because in reality, people are afraid of new ministry ventures, but they can't admit it, because that sounds bad.  Dishonest, because it's not really a matter of Aaffording it@, it's a matter of not wanting to part with any more of their cash. And it is inconsistent because most of the people in the church already spend beyond their means, yet argue that the church shouldn't. In other words, there seem to be different rules for the church than for the individual.  So, in this part of the world, financial concerns, perhaps more than anything else, become the brakes that inhibit ministry from happening.

We see a very different picture here in 2^nd Corinthians. If we were to project our financial assumptions and practices on the Macedonians, we would conclude that they were acting irresponsibly when it came to money management.  They break the most basic of financial rules.  They appear, in fact, to be a little bit crazy!  They gave beyond their means when they were already poor!  Even Paul was  amazed by their actions. He wrote, AAs I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints.@  Obviously, they had lost whatever good sense they had!  It is one thing to give according to your means - that is, giving what you can afford.  But to give beyond your means is just not sensible at all.

Further, they were joyful about it.  No doubt we are dealing with a group of deluded fanatics here.  For these were churches experiencing severe affliction.  That is, they were subject to persecution for their faith in Christ - and in those days persecution often led to a person becoming the equivalent of Akiddles and bits@ for large kitty-cats with big teeth - all the better to eat you with!  Admitting that  you served Jesus Christ as Lord brought you into conflict with the power of Rome and you could easily lose your life and many Christ-followers did.  But though they were experiencing severe affliction, their community was characterized by an abundance of joy - which was reflected in their practice of generous giving.  For them, advancing the kingdom of God was more important than financial Aprudence@ or even the threat of personal danger.  They did not shrink from ministry - they embraced it joyfully and enthusiastically.

It is tempting to conclude that these folk were not quite right in the head.  After all, look at their behavior - they begged for the privilege of contributing to the ministry.  That is going a bit overboard isn't it?  But Paul gives us an important clue to explain their behavior.  He wrote, Aand this, (their generosity), was not merely as we expected - they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us.@  They Agave themselves to the Lord@, that is, they devoted themselves to prayer.  They diligently sought God's direction for this ministry opportunity in order to discern how they should respond.  And it seems clear that the direction they got was that they should generously support this ministry initiative.  In fact, they must have got a fairly strong sense that it was God's will, for they Abegged earnestly@ for the privilege of contributing.  What an astonishing thing!  Convinced that this was the will of God, some among them actually gave more than what they could afford, trusting that God would honor their generosity.

On the surface it seems as if they acted foolishly.  You'd have thought somebody would  have got up at some point in the process and said Awe can't afford it!@ and brought them to their senses!  But Paul makes it very clear that the Spirit of Christ was active among them.  This was not some spontaneous decision, made in the heat of the moment, with more emotion than good sense.  No, they took time and gave themselves to the Lord - seeking divine guidance and direction.  And when God confirmed that this ministry was a worthy one, they tripped over each other in their desire to be a part of it.

What a wonderful image for Christian ministry!  Wouldn't it be great to see that in every church in this country!  Wouldn't it be wonderful to present a ministry opportunity to a congregation and then have to duck before you got trampled by the response?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to present a need in the church and then receive so much money in response that we have to think up some new ministry to spend the excess on? Ok, so I'm a little delusional this morning. 

But it is inspiring to see their actions isn't it?  These churches demonstrated generosity and joy, connected to ministry and prayer.  And that is no accidental pattern. It's there to teach us something.  And that is that generosity and joy grow out of ministry and prayer.  When we seek the Lord's direction, ministries spring up.  And as we pursue those ministries and see God's hand at work, a holy joy is instilled in us.  And as we experience that joy and observe God's generosity in us and through us, we learn to be generous.  The nature of joy is that it bubbles up.  When you feel joyful and complete and excited about life and faith, it's hard to contain that.  It tends to spill out in random acts of kindness and generosity - generosity of spirit and even generosity of our material and financial resources.  You see, in those days, as today, money is only good for one thing - spending. It is used for the purpose of exchange.  For example, we can go to a store and exchange $850 for a pretty nice, only partly used wind-surfer and then in an inspired moment of Christian generosity, contribute it to someone you know who loves to windsurf!  The Macedonian churches wanted to exchange their money for ministry.  They were happy to trade it for opportunities to spread the gospel and to minster to the needs of others.  And they came to this conclusion in response to their prayer life as they sought God's will and direction for their lives and for the advance of the kingdom.

 Love of wealth and the desire to accumulate, distances us from God and God's purposes for us.  The gospel is about God's generosity.  In verse 9 of this chapter Paul writes, AFor you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.@  The assumption here is that we are to be generous with our wealth - and not just our material wealth, but the wealth of spiritual blessings that God has bestowed upon us. 

Me - I love to spend money.  I especially love to see money turned into ministry - ministry that touches other people's lives - whether they are people who are part of the church, or people outside the church.  I love to see people's generosity used to the glory of God.  The people of the Macedonian churches were committed to ministry.  It was the engine that drove them, it was the passion that inspired them.  They were so committed to doing ministry for Jesus that they Abegged earnestly@ for the opportunity to play a part in the ministry in Jerusalem.  And they recognized that this was what their money was for.  Instead of the leaders having to make an impassioned plea for funds, they were inundated with cash given joyfully, beyond their expectations.

Now, in that part of the world, as I have mentioned, doing ministry was a risky business.  They faced persecution for their efforts.  Supporting any Christian ministry put them in jeopardy.  But they did not allow threats to their own lives to hinder them.  Even though their lives must have been fraught with danger, they persevered for God with joy!  I doubt there were many among them who would have argued Awe can't afford it!@  It seems by their behavior that they had concluded that they couldn't afford not to serve God faithfully, joyfully contributing all their resources in kingdom ministry - time, talent and treasure.

And their generosity came from God, as they gave themselves to God.  We have heard and said that prayer changes things.  Prayer changes us.  Prayer changes our perspectives because we come to understand and know the heart of God.  And God has a heart for ministry - for reaching out to others with the gospel message.  Prayer is dangerous business.  But once we have prayed and have discerned God's calling and are ready to respond with ministry, the very last thing that should hold us back in this part of the world is a concern about money! For it is one thing we have in abundance.  We have more than we need.  In fact, most people already spend more than they have.  We are taken aback by those Macedonians who gave beyond their means.  But we actually know something about spending beyond our means.  And the question it raises is this: How can we spend beyond our means for the things of this world and then cry Apoor@ when it comes to the things of God?

Now I don't know anything about the financial affairs of this fellowship.  On one level I'm glad I don't - it frees me up to contemplate other things.  As I understand it, the money we contribute is used primarily for our radio ministry which is designed to reach out to others with the gospel through the preaching of Desmond Ford.  So, is that the limit of our ministry?  Is that all we can do with our resources?  Is that the best use of our time and talent and treasure?  I don't know and I'm not making any value judgements, because as I said, I don't know all of what happens with the money we contribute.  But perhaps we should follow the practices of the Macedonian Christians and give ourselves to the Lord and seek to discern if God's will might include other ministry thrusts that those we are presently pursuing.  Perhaps there is more that God wants us to do with our resources.

Let me be clear.  This is not a sermon asking for more money.  This is not a sermon designed to try to make anyone feel guilty.  Guilt is not an effective motivator.  Joy is.  It is our joy in the Lord, our absolute delight in what God has done in us and through us that should motivate us to build God's kingdom with a passion - begging earnestly for the privilege of serving in a hurting world.  Let us allow ourselves to be inspired by the example of the churches of Macedonia and commit ourselves to the Lord in new ways, God's will to discern.  And then let us be ready to respond with a holy generosity of spirit to the glory of God.