Here's what he's saying. The reason these Macedonians become your example because you're thinking about giving is wrong. You don't have the right motivation for giving. They do. And so you need to have the Macedonian mindset.
You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us. As we continue to look at this theme of giving and stewardship. And today we're going to be in Second Corinthians chapter eight as we talk about the Macedonian mindset. And I think we need to begin right there, pastor. What is the Macedonian mindset?
The bottom line, Steve, is they had a heart for God and a heart for the people of God. Yeah. And so they're giving did not come out of their pocket, their wallet, their checkbook. Their giving came out of their heart. And so they were people who were compassionate, you know. You know my definition of compassion, your pain in my heart. And so these were individuals that had the right mindset. It wasn't about the money. It was about the master and about ministry. And they cared. And the old adage
is still true. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And they cared.
Yeah. Yeah, they they did. In fact, uh, you know, as you read Second Corinthians eight, we see that they pleaded with Paul for the opportunity to give and the Macedonian church, this was like a poor area.
Very.
Poor. These guys were broke, very poor. And they're saying, we want to give. Where does that.
Mindset got poor? They were po.
Po.
They couldn't afford the oh and the ah.
So Amen. When you can't afford the. Oh and the ah. And you still have this desire to give. Where does that come from? Because I think many of us, if we're poll, we have the tendency to say, I need not I want to give.
That's right. Well, you know what Paul said that Jesus said it's not recorded. But Paul said, Jesus said it. And Paul don't lie. Yeah, it's written down in the word and it's written in concrete. He says it's more blessed to give than to receive. And individuals who give. I heard you don't. You never heard this guy. His name is Andy Stanley. He said something so very profound. And I'm on a stewardship right now at Christ Bible Church. Yeah. And so I wrote it down and I said, I'm
going to give Andy Stanley credit for this. He says that you give so that you can have joy. I said, wow, you save so that you could have freedom And then you live so that you can enjoy. And I thought that was very powerful. I mean, just the mindset and the focus was on the giving that giving brings you joy. Yeah. You know, and that's why I think the Lord said
it's more blessed to give than to receive. You know, it's like, uh, there's a book called sheep, Goats and Wolves, and it talks about the three kinds of personalities in the church. I just preached this Sunday and he said, sheep, uh, go in very heavy, very slow, because they're loaded with wool. But then after they're sheared, they come out light and
giddy because they have joy in giving their wool. So I asked the church to, you know, in the African American venue, we say, you know, say to your neighbor, neighbor, uh, are you a sheep that loves to give your wool? And then tell your neighbor we'll see at offering time.
That's right. Well, right now we're going to open our Bibles to Second Corinthians chapter eight. Join us there as we begin a message called The Macedonian Mindset. Here's Pastor Ford.
Three pastors were complaining about the giving of their congregations. And so the one pastor said to the other pastor, well, how do you determine what you give to God? He said, well, what I do is I get my paycheck, I cash it, I come back to the church, put all the money in the offering plate. Then I come by where the steps are, and I throw it up in the air. And what lands on the even steps I keep it. What lands on the steps I give to God. Second pastor said, oh, I do something similar, I do, I
do almost the same thing. He said, I cash my check and then I bring the money, put it in the offering plate. I come to the church and I throw it up in the air and I just do it. The reverse of what you do, uh, what comes on, the odd steps I keep, what comes on, the even steps I give to God. Third pastor said, well, isn't it amazing that we all do a similar thing? He said, I do the same thing. I cash my paycheck, I come back to the church, I put it in the
offering plate. I throw it up in the air and I say, God, whatever you want. You better keep it while it's up there. Because whatever hit them steps, that belongs to me. Uh, now we laugh at that, pastor, but many of us, we give the same way to many of us give a widow's mite, but we don't make a widow's salary. You know, it's like when you talk about grace giving for grace living. There are too many of us. Dispensation of grace. People who think that
means we can make God Lord of the leftovers. We can just give him whatever it is that we want and everything is hunky dory. People say it all the time. I can't afford to give to God. Well, my Bible teaches me that you can't afford not to give to God. I didn't come to get amens today anyway. And so Adrian Rogers, that great preacher who's in the presence of the Lord, said this. A faith that hasn't reached your wallet probably hasn't reached your heart either. Mm. Yeah. Proverbs
three nine and ten. Remember what it says. Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of thy substance and thy increase, and so shall thy barns be running over. One guy said I had a horrible dream, a horrible dream. Well. Share it. What what what was so horrible about it? Well, I dreamed that God took out of the offering plate what I put in. Multiplied it by ten and said, now you live off of that for the rest of the week. Why was it such a horrible dream? Who
can live on $10 a week? Mhm. And so we need the Macedonian mindset Forgiving because in the text that we have in front of us today, the Macedonians had a mindset that was generating a spirit of generosity, that they were very generous in their giving. Let me give you the backdrop of what's going on in this background. What had happened was, uh, the church was born on the day of Pentecost. You remember that? And so people had come from all over the world, uh, to the
annual feast of Pentecost. Remember, every Jew had to go back to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feast days. So they're gathered there, they're coming from everywhere. And they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. So they started off in acts chapter one with 120 Christians. Uh, but by the time Peter preached his message and I timed it, uh, I preached Peter's message, and it only took eight minutes. Don't get hopeful. That's an exercise in futility.
If you want to know how long you're going to be here, I multiply that by at least ten. And so he preached that message. And then how many got saved? How many thousand? 3000. The opposite of what happened when the law was given. When the law was given, 3000 died. But when the Gospel of Jesus Christ was given, 3000 lived. Because he's the Lord of life. And he came that we might have life and that more abundantly. And so
when the gospel was preached, it brings life. And many of us ought to know that it brought us life. Because if you were like me, pushing drugs, carrying a pistol, robbing people, all that kind of stuff, sleeping with everybody was crazy enough to do it. But when I met Jesus Christ, he gave me real life. I was just existing. But now I'm really living. I'm experiencing the abundant life that's in Jesus Christ. You'll never believe what I do.
I get high and don't have any substances. And I wake up on on a Saturday morning and a Sunday morning, and I don't have to worry about if somebody's going to be looking for me with a gun because of what I did the night before. Amen. Amen. Not unless it's going to shoot me for praying. Oh, y'all ain't going to pray with me. Alright, let me go and preach this message. Get you up out of here. And so what was going on? They were coming from everywhere.
So when they got the message of the gospel, they decided not to go back home. They wanted to stay where the word was. So the disciples were teaching them because they didn't have a Bible like you and I. And so they were teaching them. And so what happened? The church a few days later went from 3120 men, women and children to 5000 men. So if you add the women and children, there may have been as many as 8 or 9000, maybe 10,000 or more. So now you've got your first mega church. Mhm. And so what
do you do with this mega church. How are you going to feed all these people? Now you add to that the fact that Christians were being persecuted now. And you add the fact that the Romans were overtaxing everyone. You add the fact that the Jews that had jobs gave it to the Jewish people, not to the Jewish Christians. Add to the fact that acts 11 said Agabus, the prophet said, there's going to be a famine that's going to hit Jerusalem. So put it all together. There's a
famine in Jerusalem. There are all these believers, and they're in the cribs or the houses of everybody that's a believer, and they've eaten them out of house and home. What are you going to do? Well, Paul said, look, we gotta help them because they are having a Harvey and an Irma, and they're our brothers and sisters and we have to do something. Now, remember, these folk didn't have any link cards. These folk didn't have the government helping them.
The government was taking. So what the Lord was giving, the government was taking. They didn't have FEMA. They didn't have a virus on her team to feed them in a food pantry. Nor did they have a Katrina Wilson and her team to give them a hot meal on a feeding ministry, or they didn't have a Ron Carter and his team to provide produce, uh, to everybody. Uh, so Paul says, look, the church ought to help. They
don't need comic relief. They need church relief. Uh, that the people of the church are to look out for the people of the church. So he said, I'm going to have a great day of giving, and I'm going to ask every believer to give over and above their regular giving. Mm. So now the Corinthians pledged to give, but if you read in the chapter, I'm not going to go through everything for you. Read some for yourself. Amen.
But if you read down to verses nine, ten and 11, you'll see that Paul, they promised Paul in first Corinthians, we're going to break you off a piece. But now Paul didn't get it. And Paul was saying, wait a minute, you made a pledge, you made a faith promise, but now you're not living up to it. Mm. Alright. So he says, here's what I want you to do. I'm going to give you an example of how you're supposed
to give. I'm going to use the Macedonian Donian mindset because the Macedonians, poor Christians gave a whole lot to the work of the Lord. So here he wants to motivate Christians to give based on a Christian example, the Macedonian mindset.
Here I think about giving. This is the first passage of scripture that comes to mind. So helpful as we think about how we ought to be giving our attitudes, our hearts. You're going to find this Macedonian mindset in Second Corinthians chapter eight, and we're going to get back to this teaching in just one moment. But speaking of giving, that is how this program actually makes it on the radio,
online and everywhere else it may go. We're able to produce this program, pay for airtime and all the things that happen behind the scenes because of your generosity. So if you've been giving to Treasure Truth and Moody Radio, I want to say thank you for your financial support. If you've never given a gift before, you can do so today by coming to Treasure Truth radio.org and click on the donate button. Again, that's Treasure Truth radio.org. Back to the message. Once again, here is Pastor Ford.
I was reading about Warren Buffett and the impact he had on millionaires and billionaires. Here's what he did. In 2010, Warren Buffett came out, put in the newspapers. I'm giving 90% of my wealth away. So he gave away $30 billion to charity non for profits and all of that. You know what happened after. Say what happened? Yeah. I gotta get you to say something. You're looking at me like, you know. And I know it's not popular because it's a, you know, it's a given message. So, you know, it's like.
It's like all these preachers want is my money. But this is only the second message on money in three years, so it can't be. All I want is your money if I only talk about it twice in three years. But I tell you what, you don't say that about anything else. You don't say all you want is my money. You don't say all the beauty supply I want is my money. You don't say. You don't say. All the beauty shop want is my money. You don't say all the car dealer want is my money. You want to
know why? Because you value what they give you. And you say whatever they're asking me for. I believe it is equitable value. So then when you put a dollar in church, or you're telling me, hey, I believe then that God is not even worth a dime out of a dollar? So, you know, I just thought I'd I and if you're visiting, what is it for the first time? Is it providence or accident that you would come on the on the only time in three years that I'm preaching about money. I know somebody saying I knew I
should have come next week. And so what happened since then? Let me tell you what happened. Since 114 billionaires have made a commitment and signed a giving pledge to give at least $1 billion a year to charity, to education, to non-for-profits. Since Warren Buffett became the second richest man in the world, there are all kinds of institutions that have come up. Uh, there were over 200 of them. I just wrote down a few of them. Oceans give
bridge builders collaboration. Ocean legacy, new profit. These are all organizations who looked and said, wait a minute. He's the second richest man in the world. But yet he gave $30 billion away because he said, I'm not going to be able to take it with me. My children have lived a luxurious life. I'm going to give them a little piece, and they don't have to make it on their own. When I die, I want most of my money to have gone to help people who can't help themselves.
That's powerful stuff. That's powerful stuff. And so then here's the thing. Here's the thing. Say, what's the theme? The theme is this your giving is not based on your money. Your giving is based on your mindset. That's the theme of chapter eight verses one through nine. Your giving. Let me play that back. Your giving is not based on your money, it's based on your mindset. That is the amount you give is based on the attitude that you have. Amen. Thank you for that. Amen. Praise the Lord. I ain't
believing I got one. Amen. And so here it is. It's all we going to do. I'm going to drop em. I'm not going to push em. Notice in the text he says, if you're going to have the Macedonian mindset, if you're going to generate a spirit of generosity, here's what you need. Three aspects to it. I'm going to drop them now. Push them. Number one verse one you have to have the right motivation. Come on, say it. Yeah, yeah. Here it is verses two through six. You have to
have the right method. Yeah I want you to say it. Yeah. And then seven through nine you have to have the right model. Yeah. Why do you need those. Because the right motivation that tells you why you give the right method, that tells you how to give, and the right model that tells you who you're supposed to emulate. And so when you look at this text, uh, let me look at it again. Here's what it says. I want to read it. Uh, all all of my King James folk.
You were rejoicing last night. You ain't going to like it this morning. Hey, here's what it says in the ESV version. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. And so King James says, moreover, brethren, we do you to wit, see who knows what that means of the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia. Here's what he's saying. The reason these Macedonians become your
example because your thinking about giving is wrong. They're thinking about giving is right. You don't have the right motivation for giving. They do. And so you need to have the Macedonian mindset. Now notice the preacher is talking about money. Now I submit to you I did you an injustice for the first 15 years that I was pastor here, because I never preached on money in the first 15 years of my pastoring. Here's the way I felt. You look at TV and what you have. You have profits
for profit. Every time they open their mouth, they try to separate you from your money. That's it. And they say things like, and I said this before, but I'll say it again. They say things like, you know, God. There's a tenfold blessing that's coming. So you send me $100 and God will send you a thousand. Here's the way I think. I don't need no money. You need the money. So you send me the 100. Let God send you the thousand. Does that make sense? I mean,
if you really believe that, then that's what you would do. Here, I'm giving you $100 because I'm looking for a thousand. But that's not the right motivation. And I did you a disservice early, because I would shrink back because I had the mistaken notion that because some people overdo it, I shouldn't do it at all. And then I begin to realize, uh, listen, listen, just because somebody puts too much salt on their food doesn't mean I can't season mine. Alright?
And so what happens here? It is, it is, it is, uh, you know, it doesn't stop me from seasoning mine just right. Here it is. Say, Pastor Ford, cut to the chase, man. You're making much ado about nothing. No I'm not. Because he says it's deeper than money. Now walk along with me. If you have your your smartphone or whatever it is, I want you to walk through the text. You say, how is it deeper? Because giving is not just about money. Verse one giving is about lordship. Verse two before it's
about stewardship. Verse three, it's it's partnership. And then verse four, it's fellowship. And then verse five, it's worship. Let me say it again. That he says, you don't understand it. Let me tell you. Giving is first about lordship. So he says, the grace of God that's in you, where you get the grace of God. It's a genitive of possession, which literally means it's grace that belongs to God. That means if you got it, you got it from God.
Since God gave it to you. It means then, that you are responding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, And that he can tell you what to give. Then stewardship. Verse two. And then partnership. Verse three. And then fellowship. Verse four. And then worship. Verse five. That's the mindset that they have. Let me say it this way. Verse one teaches us that giving is first and foremost about your attitude in giving, rather than your amount in giving.
Isn't that so good to know? The fact that God is not looking at the dollars and cents of our gift. He's looking at the condition of our hearts as we give. We're listening to a message called The Macedonian Mindset taken from Second Corinthians chapter eight. And we'll continue this teaching next time here on Treasure truth. If you want to make sure that you don't miss one of the broadcasts in the series, come to our website. It's treasure truth Radio.com.
There you can sign up to begin podcasting the program, or you can download the Moody Radio app. Now, the app is great because it's free and it's available for Apple and Android products, and it makes it really convenient for you to listen to Pastor Ford's teaching on the go. But not only Pastor Ford's teaching, but also other programs
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Treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.