Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  October 14, 2018

Can you name the richest American ever? Maybe the first name that came to mind was Bill Gates, but it’s not him. Without a doubt, the richest American ever was a man named J.D. Rockefeller. He lived around the turn of the 20th Century and founded the Standard Oil Company right as cars and gasoline and the need for oil was beginning. He amassed a personal fortune that in today’s money is estimated between 300 and 400 billion dollars. That’s at least four times the amount Bill Gates has today! One day, J.D. Rockefeller was asked, “How much money is enough?” With his hundreds of billions in the bank do you know what he said? “Just a little bit more.”

“Just a little bit more.” Does that describe your life? Whether you have hundreds of billions of dollars or a little less, doesn’t it always feel like we just need a little bit more? There aren’t enough hours in a day. There’s not enough time to finish projects at work. There’s not enough energy to finish projects at home. Not enough money to get what we really want. Not enough friendships to feel like we’re truly loved. We’re close, right? But we’re always just a little bit short. That’s our default, human condition, isn’t it? Never quite satisfied. “Just a little bit more.”

I’ll admit, I feel that way a lot. There just isn’t quite enough of just about anything to stretch as far as you’d like it to go. The perfect word for it is “scarcity.” We go through life with a scarcity mentality. If I just had a little more time…If I just had a little more energy…If I just had a little more money…If I just had a few more friends…But I’m always a little short. Scarcity.

There’s just one problem: That’s not true! In fact, it’s a bold-faced lie straight from the mouth of the Devil. Because if I don’t have enough, that can mean only one thing: God hasn’t given me enough. What a lie! If you want to see where that started, just go back to the Garden of Eden. Remember who that all went down? Adam and Eve were in the perfect Garden of Eden surrounded by everything they could have possibly desired, yet somehow the Devil convinced Adam and Eve that they didn’t have enough. “I need that one more fruit…the entire Garden of Eden God has given me isn’t quite enough…” Scarcity entered the world with devastating results.

Just think of the result of that mentality. We’re never content. In fact, contentment can even seem like a bad thing. Can you imagine a presidential candidate standing on the debate stage and saying, “I am content.” What would the reaction be? “What! He’s crazy! How can you be content? We’re short on…” We’re never content. And we’re always frazzled. Always running. Always struggling. Always searching for that one more thing. For just a little bit more. And here’s the worst part: God begins to seem like he demands more than he gives. Ever feel that way?

Here’s one more clear result of this scarcity lie: It hurts to give. Generosity has become painful. Giving has lost its joy. In fact, you could use that as a test for how hard you have fallen to the scarcity lie. How hard is it for you to give your money away? If it’s hard and painful to give your money away‒to anyone‒you’re living with an attitude of scarcity! How did talking about money become a forbidden subject‒especially in church? Because I think I always need just a little bit more. The Devil has convinced me that I’m always just a little bit short. Scarcity.

I’m so glad you’re here today, because God wants to completely change your mindset! He shares something amazing with us that will free you from this attitude of always being short. He starts by taking us out to a farm. “This is what I mean: The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. The one who sows generously will also reap generously.” Think of a farmer: If you don’t sow, you won’t reap. A farmer must give to receive. In fact, the more seed he gives up and plants in the ground, the greater his harvest will be. That takes tremendous trust, but it works! God says that it works the same with him. He who gives, receives. He who sows generously, reaps generously.

So, what it all comes down to is trust, right? Is God good for it? Can I count on him? Check out this promise: “God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work.” The Devil wants to fill you with this “just a little bit more” disease. In contrast, I want you to count how many times God says “all” or “every.” “God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work.” We don’t have a God of “just a little bit more.” We have a God of “all.” God is not a God of scarcity. He is a God of abundance.

It starts with this: “God is able to make all grace overflow to you,” Whenever you hear the word “grace,” I want you to think of Jesus. God’s grace is his undeserved love for us in Jesus. How much of that love is there? God describes it like a flood‒overflowing. “Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?” Graciously gives us all things! How do we get past the “I need a little more” thinking? Grace!

You don’t need a little bit more. You have it all! “You will be made rich in every way.” In the previous chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.” Everyone who goes through life thinking they don’t have enough is missing the big picture. Jesus died for you. Jesus has forgiven you. Jesus saved you. Jesus loves you. You are rich‒rich right now. We have a God of abundance!

Because being rich is not about a number. You could have all the money in the world, but still be poor. Being rich is an attitude. It is the gift of God’s grace. You have something that all the money in the world can’t buy. You have God’s peace in your heart. Your worth isn’t determined by your bank account. It’s determined by Jesus’ blood. Your freedom isn’t a result of your constant struggling. It’s the result of Jesus’ forgiveness. You are rich! You will leave church today without a single dollar more in your pocket. You’ll leave without a single hour more in your day. But you are not one bit short because you have what you need most. You are rich with the overflowing love of God!

Sometimes people talk about different perspectives in life. Are you a glass half-empty or glass half-full kind of person? I hope you are neither. Because neither is right. The glass is full!  “God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work.” The glass is full! Whenever this scarcity nonsense creeps back into your mind, tell yourself, “God is able… God is able… All… All… All… I am rich! I am rich! I am rich!” We don’t have a God of scarcity. We have a God of abundance. He has blessed you!

But God’s abundance isn’t meant to stop with you. Here’s how he puts it: “You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.” God has blessed you with all that you need for a purpose. God wants to make you the greatest possible blessing to others. You are not an end in and of  yourself. God’s blessings are not meant to come to you and stop. He’s got a much bigger purpose for you than that! Isn’t that what we want to hear? We want a purpose in our lives. God gives you one: You exist to be a blessing for others. God wants his abundance to flow through you.

Have you ever heard of “seed” money? It’s money that is used to start something that you want to be bigger. You might put some “seed” money into your child’s college account‒and hope it grows. You might invest “seed” money in a business and hope it pays dividends. God’s blessings to us aren’t ends in themselves. They are like “seed” money. The money and time and possessions and talents that God has given you are seed money to sow generously. He doesn’t want us to keep our blessings to ourselves any more than a farmer keeps his seeds to himself. He gives us blessings to plant them so that they grow and flourish and bless even more people with God’s abundance.

How do we do this? Listen to what Paul tells us today: “Each one should give as he has determined in his heart, not reluctantly or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Giving is connected to your heart. It’s a decision that reflects your faith in Jesus. That’s why we can’t ever tell anyone how much to give. But as you decide, ask yourself: “Do I have a God of abundance or scarcity? Do I have a God who leaves me a little short or gives me all?” This is God’s promise from the words of Jesus himself: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.” Isn’t that awesome? God gives like brown sugar. At least how I measured out brown sugar as a kid. I would fill the measuring cup full and then pack it down. Then fill it back up to the top and pack it down again. Then for good measure, heaps some on top and dump it all into the cookies. That’s how God gives. “A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” Trust in him‒our God of abundance! May the Lord bless our Joyful Generosity for Jesus’ sake. Amen