Excel in the Grace of Giving

Rev Ronald Ooi

It's good to bounce back after Chinese New Year. After all that eating and visiting. We are still in the midst of shifting. We have been in that house for the last 10 years, and when you first moved in to an empty house and after 10 years you wonder where all the things comes from. We try to give it away, clear it as we can't bring too many things with us to Penang.

I must thank the intercessors for praying because my grandson came with my daughter and son-in-law just for two days and when they landed in Penang airport my grandson got really sick. He has never been so sick before. He is normally a cheerful young boy but he was so sick they had to carry him out of the plane. His temperature was rising and we brought him to see our family doctor Dr. Sybil, our doctor for the last 30 over years. She used to see my children when they were 2 to 3 years old and now I'm bringing my grandson who is about 4 years old.

She checked and she thought there is something wrong with his stomach and suspected appendicitis and she said we better take him straight to the specialist. We took him straight to Island Hospital and we had to wait again because there were so many tourists from other countries lining up to see the doctor. My little grandson was so exhausted and was just sleeping. In the meantime I just WhatsApp Sis Felicia for the intercessors to pray for little Isaac.

And when the doctors checked him, the doctor said I can't find anything wrong with him. No appendicitis, no firmness and so no medicine. He said no need any medicine. And we took him out for lunch and after lunch, he said I'm ready to go for a swim. That was really quick. And you know what, I really thank God, ,that's why I believe so much in prayer. I really do. God has shown us again and again and again that prayer work.

Now I thank God for all the doctors in this world. Including my son who is a researcher. I thank God for all the doctors but there is a great physician. Amen?

A very happy Chinese New Year to all those who celebrates Chinese New Year. In Penang everyone celebrates Chinese New Year. And the island gets congested. I live to celebrate Chinese New Year because that's when our families come together. We are made to be a community so families are very important. We miss our families when we don't see them after a while.

Why do we miss them?  Is there a scientific explanation? It is because we are created to be a community. God created man and woman so that we become a community. Before governments came into being. Before politics came into being. Before the economy came into being, the family is the first Institution God has brought it into being so that we are connected with one another.

We receive Ang Pow at Chinese New Year when we are young. I am very young because I received an Ang Pow from the youth. We had a wonderful time with the youth and we are going to have the young adults come to our place. We are going to have a fun time with the young adults. Make me feel so young. When we are young we are dependent on others. More so when we grow up to become teenagers. My teenage son at one time became very nice to mom and dad. I know something is up with him. Very nice to us. So we ask him what he wants. He wants money because he is not working so he is dependent on us, the older ones, the mature ones, for his finances.

It is the same in the Christina world, in the church. We look to the elders and leaders when we first come to know the Lord for help and soon we too become independent and when we become independent, we begin to give. But it does not stop there. We think we can do what we want to after we become independent but it's not the end. We learn to be interdependent. We complement each other and find our strength in each other.

We miss the fullness of life when we live with only ourselves. As we do life together, I know it will be an exciting year. I'm bringing a preaching and teaching team to plan for the year. I'm forming a team to lead you so that we can grow, serve and be transformed together.

His plans and purposes is better than ours. His will is better than our will. I enjoyed sister Melinda and Bro Koay's sermon. I may not be here but I'm here.

God has a better way to live. Not only his plans but his purposes. A more meaningful way. Your life and my life will never be the same. One of the ways I want to talk about is the way of giving. A few weeks ago I talked about the YES key. Today I want to talk about the GRACE key. It will unlock the many blessings God has for us.

It is called "Excel in the Grace of Giving". It's to prepare us for the Harvest Mission we are collecting next week. I know we are a little late, supposed to be January but I am inviting Bro Terence who is a young man together with Debra and you will love them. They sat under our pre-marital counselling. And they have been to Cambodia to do missionary work there, then in Sabah, a brilliant young man willing to just let go everything together with their two children now to do mission work. I could have invited somebody older but I love to give the opportunity to the young missionaries to tell us what they're doing these days. You'll enjoy them and you'll enjoy the church camp. I've invited Pastor Eric Lau who is a bi-vocational pastor who will be here to minister together with his wife for the children's church. I consider him one of my sons in the faith. I'm looking forward to a new season, a new outpouring of God's spirit upon TOP.

Let's look at the passage of 2 Corinthians 8:1-6 as I want to set the tone for this month as we are collecting for Harvest Missions. And it is very close to my heart when it comes to missions.

2 Corinthians 8:1-2

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

Take note of the superlatives used here. Paul is trying to form a picture with his words. This was a church who was rich in their heart even though they were poor materially.

2 Corinthians 8:3-6

3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

Giving is an act of grace. Grace and giving is connected. Mission is the heartbeat of God. Giving is a character of God. We know this in John 3:16. That God so loved. But that word love is not that love in the air, the love that makes the world go round, you know we all hear songs about love. And the world is trying to figure out this word love in a sentimental soft manner. Nothing wrong with that. But the bible is so clear in bringing to us the understanding of what this love is all about. Because the bible says for God so loved the world, he gave. He gave. It is accompanied by giving.

I once invited a preacher to talk about faith promise and he said to the congregation, brothers and sisters, I will not be talking about giving and smiles came upon the faces of the people. Then he said, I'm not going to talk about giving, I'm going to talk about sacrifice. And when you look at what God did in John 3:16, that love is accompanied with a sacrifice.

He gave his only son. That we would not perish but have everlasting life. A sacrifice. When we say I love you, there's always a because. But when God gave his son, it was unconditional, he gave sacrificially. We are made like him, so we are to speak like him and we are to love like him and we are to give like him. He is our model.

Bob Pierce who founded World Vision, a big organisation saw for himself in South Korea war torn children. And he wrote these words in his Bible. Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God. After that the rest is history as World Vision impacted the world.

We can't make a law to make people love you. It is impossible to carry out a love relationship based on the law. It is a divine revelation that he loves us so much that he gave his son. That is his amazing love for us that can only be experienced. It comes and overwhelms you. And you will do for God because you want to and not because you have to.

It comes out from a heart that is responding to the grace of God.

When I went to Thailand I saw for myself first time in Thailand a refugee camp at the border of Laos. Several thousand refugees that had crossed over Mekong river and ran away from the communist troops. Their parents have been killed. And for the first time I saw what Bob Pierce had seen. War torn children with just pants and no shirts running about. I saw it. Mission is something you can't talk about. You got to go out there and see it for yourself. Go out there and see what the Orang Asli is like. The tribal villages of Sabah and Sarawak. You just have to go out there and see for yourselves.

I want to encourage you, every one of us, sometime in your Christian life, can you tithes 10% of your year to go out for missions. You need to go out there and see what God sees and feel what God feels and you will be changed. You will be able to align your life with the will of God. 10% of your year, that’s 36.5 days. If 10% is a bit hard then 5% la. In Malaysia we can negotiate. There's no negotiation between you and me. It's between you and God.

We get to apply the principles of love in mission giving. The Bible teaches us to give in love. We do not give out of pity. It is different from philanthropy. Not out of charity but because it is a biblical mandate. Go back to the scripture. We align with God's heart for humanity. It is God that is concerned for the poor and those in need.

It will make your life different. You will not only become rich in wealth but you will become rich in heart.

1.  Giving is an Act of Grace.

2 Corinthians 8:2-4

2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

As much as they are spiritually gifted, Paul is telling them to excel in the act of giving. Grace was mentioned 4 times. Jerusalem was like a mother church. There was a famine at that time and Paul is telling them it is their turn now to help their mother church and the churches in Jerusalem. Like we must not forget our parents and older folks and the young adults say?

Let's look at what the Macedonian church did. They became a biblical model. Poor as it may seem, they became a model for physical giving. Wow. God was not looking at the rich to be a model. God was looking at the poor as a model for giving.

The generous act of favour given to the church of Macedonia. I love this phrase, grace be upon you. When we learn to give lovingly, or when we give even when our needs are more than those that are in need, God's grace will be extended to you the giver. God's grace will be extended to you. Because you are giving wisely based on what the Holy Spirit tells you.

That's why it's called Faith Promise. It's not like going to the bank where you give a 10 dollars you expect God to give you 1000. Though there is a principle here in giving, I have moved away from that kind of thinking. It is God's grace that you will receive. Grace is unmerited favour. It is a very powerful principle.

They gave out of their most severe trials. I love the use of superlatives by Paul.  They were going through a difficult time. Not just severe drought but most severe drought. Extreme poverty. Not just poverty but extreme poverty. But when they gave they gave with overflowing joy. And they gave from a heart that is wanting to give. At the end of the day, it was not how much they gave but it was about their heart wanting to give. It's the heart. It demonstrated their sincerity and willingness to sacrifice.

Remember the story of the boy and the crowd following Jesus that was hungry. I can imagine when this boy told the mother he was going to see Jesus, the mother probably said to him to make sure he don't go hungry. Make sure you have enough food. And the mother gave him 5 loaves of bread. Ah, not five loaves of bread but five small loves of bread and 2 small fishes. We sometimes miss the word small.

The disciples said there is not enough food to feed the 5,000. And the disciple said there is this boy with 5 small loaves of bread and 2 small fishes. And Jesus probably said give me your small loaves and small fishes. And maybe we would have said but so small how to feed the people. Maybe only feed 3 or 4 persons. But Jesus  took them, prayed and multiplied it. Not only did Jesus multiplied them, when he went home, he went home with 12 basketful so I can imagine the mother asking him where did all that food, did he steal it from somebody? And the young man probably said, no mommy, Jesus did it. I gave him so much he gave me much more.

This is called the grace key and I've experienced it again and again and again.

When we got married, it was Saturday and the next day we must go to church. I think in the 70's, you have to go to church. No honeymoon yet. Before our wedding we didn't have much but after our wedding dinner, we suddenly became rich. Wow! Not bad huh. We can get rich just by getting married. We were smiling and we were so happy. My mind was thinking how I can make our home comfortable for my wife.

And that Sunday morning there was a call to give in church and we looked at each other and we just gave. We didn't even said a word. We gave almost all but we had enough to honeymoon at Gentings. No gambling though. And we forgot about it. And we came to Penang as a young couple. I was still driving a motorcycle and she was pregnant with our first child. But we carried on serving God.

And before we knew it, a missionary was leaving the country and he sold everything but his car he couldn't sell. And the day came he passed me the key. He said it was worth more than 22,000 but he couldn't sell it and the Lord told him to pass it to me. You can never out give God. There is that key of grace. I can share with you more, but the story didn't end there. After giving me the key to our first car, the Volvo 122, it's like a tank, he came and drove in another better Volvo, the Volvo 747 and he got it for 1US dollar. He gave us his Volvo, he got a better Volvo.

Your heart, even when you are in need don't just think about self. If Jesus  thought about self. He would have stayed in heaven and not shed a single drop of blood. If we live for self we will not find the real joy of living.

I love to give Ang Pows but now my wife does it and it gives me joy to see their smiling faces. And Jesus is God's biggest Ang Pow to us. If you didn't get any Ang Pows this year, never mind, Jesus is your biggest Ang Pow.

2. Giving is an Outflow of our Intimate Relationship with God.

2 Corinthians 8:5-9

5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

The Macedonians was giving because they first gave themselves first to the Lord.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". - Duane Hulse

So you have to make a choice. Do you want to make a living or do you wan tot make a life with the life that you have. Giving is not a one time thing but a lifestyle.

"It is now how many years we live, but what we do with them". - Evangeline Booth

What do you do with the years God gives you? You can choose a life of keeping or a life of giving. What do you chose? I'm giving away my books this morning. I wrote and printed 10,000 copies which cost me 10,000 ringgit. And when the bill came, it was FOC. And I said God, I'm not selling this book, I'm giving it away. I've given away 17,000 copies. I don't sell them and with my heart, though it's a small book, but with appreciation for what God has done for my son. For God's favour upon his life.

And I've given it to churches and there's no obligation to pay but the money that we got I gave it away to orphanages and children's homes. On my record, I've given away 19,000 ringgit for this one little book. And I've learnt that the more I give back the more I receive.

When it comes to giving to the kingdom of God, it will always come back to you more so let's give our best.

3. Giving is an Act of Excellence.

2 Corinthians 8:7

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

When we grow up, we are told to do well in your studies. Do well in your sports. In everything do well, do well, do well. When it comes to church, do we excel? When we do something for God we do it well. It's not a law, no pressure but when we are serving God, we do it well for his namesake. Let's excel for Jesus. No more just que sera sera, no we do well. We prepare well, we teach well, we preach well. We do well for God with a good heart.

"Missionaries are never beggars. They are ambassadors who give us an opportunity to become partners by giving our dollars while they give their lives". - Harry Ironside.

You have been supporting missions and we are going to support a lot of people in these next six months. And the next six months. Some of these I know them personally. Theresa Chye is one of them. You have been supporting her. When I came here I didn't realise her name is there. Guess what, I knew her when she was in Sunday School. And she went to Bangladesh. 8 years as a missionary. 8 years as a single lady. Some of us can't even survive one week there. I'll invite her to come sometime in October.

I want to encourage you that where your money go it will go a long way in the kingdom of God.

"Many of us cannot reach the mission fields on our feet but we can reach them on our knees". - TJ Bach.

We are partners and participate with them and we will go a long way. Your life will be different. Pray for those that are in the mission fields.

Prayer:

• Dear Lord, thank you for loving me.
• I love you too and I give myself first to you today.
• Thank you for your grace that is sufficient at all times as I learn to give to others.
• With the help of your Holy Spirit, I will excel and complete the act of giving for the work of your kingdom.
• I trust you will open the windows of heaven and flood my life with your blessings.
• In Jesus Name.