Message by Chad Kelly
The Proof of Contentment
2 Corinthians 8:1-2
Glad giving expresses my contentment in Jesus!
2 Corinthians 8:1-2 (NLT)
1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus replied, “”˜You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”™ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ”˜Love your neighbor as yourself.”™ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Colossians 4:5-6
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (MSG)
17-19 Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage””to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.
Luke 6:24
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Proverbs 23:5
Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
Matthew 6:21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NLT)
6 Remember this””a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don”™t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving””the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.
13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. 14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. 15 Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!
Malachi 3:10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom (lap). For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NLT)
1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
Glad giving expresses my contentment in Jesus!