SPEAKER A00:00:01 - 00:01:10
Hello, I'm Clive Nash. Welcome to Let God Speak. Giving and receiving constitutes a healthy balance in life. The Dead Sea in Israel has water that flows into it, but it does not have any river flowing out of it. This is why it is called the Dead Sea. It is very salty and unfavourable to most forms of life. Giving is the heartbeat of heaven. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Today our panel will talk about the balance between stewardship and mission. Well, on our panel today we have Rosemary Malkiewycz and Daniel Vokurka. Good to have you with us, Daniel and Rosemary.
SPEAKER B00:01:10 - 00:01:10
Thank you.
SPEAKER C00:01:10 - 00:01:10
Thank you.
SPEAKER A00:01:10 - 00:01:45
I always look forward to our times together and our discussion. I'm sure today is going to be very beneficial for each of us and for those who are watching. But before we begin, let's take time to pray. Our wonderful Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible, We thank you for the Holy Spirit that gives us an understanding of it. That same Spirit that inspired the writings is also to give us the spirit of inspiration and interpretation. And so we pray that as we study together today, that you'll bless us and bless all those who are watching or listening. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER B00:01:45 - 00:01:46
Amen.
SPEAKER A00:01:46 - 00:02:27
Well, Rosemary and Daniel, I'd like to begin with 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2. 1 Corinthians 4 and the first 2 verses. And Rosemary, I'm going to direct a question to you in a moment, but let's have a look at what Paul says here to the church at Corinth. This is in his first letter. Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found Faithful. So he's got this idea of stewards mentioned a couple of times here. What does, what does it mean by a steward?
SPEAKER B00:02:27 - 00:04:02
Okay. Paul said that he was a steward of the mysteries of God, that he had been given an understanding of spiritual truths. And because of that, he had a responsibility as a steward to share that good news to other people. And a steward is the— has the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. So that means you have to look after it and you have to preserve it, but you share it as well. And Jesus is our greatest example of that because he combined stewardship with ministry. And let's look at 2 Corinthians, verse— 2 Corinthians 8:9. It says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. So stewardship here is talking about what Jesus did in coming to this earth for us. And it is, and it enables the church to fulfill its mission of spreading the gospel and bringing salvation to people through adequate resources. And that includes people and finances. They're both the resources.
SPEAKER A00:04:02 - 00:04:03
Not just finances, you're saying.
SPEAKER B00:04:03 - 00:04:04
No, it's people as well.
SPEAKER A00:04:04 - 00:04:18
Yeah, people resources. And we're going to focus today on On this chapter, chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians, and also chapter 9. And Daniel, can you give us a bit of a context here for these 2 chapters?
SPEAKER C00:04:18 - 00:06:29
Sure. So basically the church in Corinth had previously begun collecting money to help the believers in Judea, and we can actually see this in 2 Corinthians 8:10. And it says the following: And in this I give advice. It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago. So we see here that they already began to do this. And what is this that they began to do? Well, we can go to 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 2. And we read that on the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. So Paul turns his attention to completing the task, the task that they started, the task of grace. And we can read that again if we go back to 2 Corinthians And 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, and it says the following. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. And so liberality and grace are here linked. And again, if we read in 2 Corinthians 8:6, so just a few verses later, Paul says, so we urge Titus that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. And so completing a charitable Work was a work of grace.
SPEAKER A00:06:29 - 00:06:53
So it's interesting that this is connected with the idea of grace, isn't it? And that other passage you read in 1 Corinthians 16 mentions specifically bearing the gift to Jerusalem. So they were going to be the beneficiaries of this. Rosemary, when you think about the example of Jesus, in what way was he rich?
SPEAKER B00:06:55 - 00:08:33
Okay. If we go to John 17:5, Jesus said, and this is His, you know, the last time He was with His disciples just before they went to the Garden of Gethsemane. And now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was. So Jesus had that glory and the riches in Heaven before He came to this earth. He gave up all of this and became poor for our sakes. But His riches were in Heaven, not on this earth. And if we go to also Luke 9:58, this shows how far Jesus went from having those riches. to become a human being. Luke 9:58, Jesus says, And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. So during his earthly ministry, Jesus had no fixed address. He was roaming from one place to another, spreading the gospel, and he didn't have a home of his own to go to. And this shows that His ministry was out of love, not wanting earthly gain and riches and glory on this earth because He had that in Heaven. He knew He was going to have it again. But the motive of His life was the love for humanity.
SPEAKER C00:08:33 - 00:08:33
Hmm.
SPEAKER B00:08:33 - 00:08:40
So, He stepped down from His riches and became a place, a person here with no place to Yeah.
SPEAKER A00:08:41 - 00:08:51
Daniel, can you, can you just kind of grasp this enormity of the contrast, you know, between his heavenly life and coming down to this earth? What was it like for him?
SPEAKER C00:08:51 - 00:09:20
Not a chance. I mean, to be able to grasp something like that is beyond human understanding. And like, we will over time understand it more and more, but I think the motivation, I think this is what we need to focus on, and Paul writes this in Philippians chapter 2 and 5 to 8.
SPEAKER A00:09:20 - 00:09:23
Okay, one of my favorite passages, this one.
SPEAKER C00:09:23 - 00:10:11
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So Paul here is saying, have this mind, the same mind, the same motivation that Jesus had. Jesus did it out of love. And so Paul is saying, have this mind. You know, Jesus is our example, as Paul is saying, and Paul is saying, follow this example.
SPEAKER A00:10:11 - 00:10:39
Okay, so let's just think about this. You mentioned the word motivation there, Daniel. I want to read 2 Corinthians 9:7. And this verse says, so let each one give as he purposes, in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. So what makes it possible to give cheerfully, Rosemary?
SPEAKER B00:10:39 - 00:11:47
Love. Love is the motivation to give anything willingly, cheerfully. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 8:7, and it says, but as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. The grace of giving is what Paul is talking about there. But giving, give, etc., words of that kind are strewn throughout 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. And we have to remember that when Jesus came from heaven to earth, God gave, gave us everything in the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And, and that was the motivation for God to do that was love. But He gave Jesus to us. Let's just have a look at 2 Corinthians 9:15.
SPEAKER A00:11:47 - 00:11:47
Okay.
SPEAKER B00:11:50 - 00:11:55
It says, thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
SPEAKER C00:11:55 - 00:11:56
Hmm.
SPEAKER B00:11:56 - 00:12:23
So God gave us everything He could give. And we need to read these chapters of 8 and 9 with the idea of giving that, that overall, beneficence of God and what God wants us to do because He did it. And that's how we should remember those chapters as we read them.
SPEAKER A00:12:23 - 00:12:28
Daniel, when you were reading these 2 chapters, did you find some reasons for giving?
SPEAKER C00:12:28 - 00:12:56
Oh, absolutely. Gratitude is one word that comes to mind. And if we look at again in chapter 8 and verse 1, Paul says here, moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. And so the grace here that has been given, you know, you are just thankful, you're full of gratitude.
SPEAKER B00:12:56 - 00:12:58
Um.
SPEAKER C00:12:58 - 00:13:23
And so God has bestowed His grace on us just like He bestowed His grace on the churches of Macedonia so long ago. the churches in Thessalonica, in Philippi, and Berea. And also, if we read again, go back to— we have referred to this verse so many times, you know, quite a few times already, and for good reason, because it's a wonderful verse to refer to.
SPEAKER B00:13:23 - 00:13:23
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER C00:13:23 - 00:13:51
In verse 9 of chapter 8, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. You know, Jesus gave up everything, and again, we cannot comprehend how much He gave up, but it just fills us with gratitude, and it's a love response. And so of course you want to then do something.
SPEAKER A00:13:51 - 00:13:55
Did you find any other reasons, Rosemary, in these chapters?
SPEAKER B00:13:55 - 00:14:11
Yes, let's, as we go through this thing, these verses, we've got to remember that the message throughout the New Testament, for a start, is the message of follow what Jesus says.
SPEAKER A00:14:11 - 00:14:11
Um-hmm.
SPEAKER B00:14:11 - 00:15:04
He is our example in all things. And when we think about that, He gave everything for us. He was, though He was rich in heaven, He became a peasant on earth to fulfill the plan of salvation for us because God loves us and He wants us to learn from His unselfishness. His self-centered love is not, I mean, that is not part of Him. His is other-centered love. Ours is self-centered and He wants us to let go of that and to do what we have to do selflessly. Just the way he did. We have to follow Jesus' example, and that motivates me to want to give because he is my example.
SPEAKER A00:15:05 - 00:15:08
And Daniel, love is a big factor here, isn't it?
SPEAKER C00:15:08 - 00:15:25
Absolutely, yes. And we can read that also in verse eight. So chapter eight, verse eight. Paul says, "I speak not by commandment." but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. Love cannot be commanded.
SPEAKER A00:15:25 - 00:15:26
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER C00:15:26 - 00:16:26
And so, you know, he was not giving an order. He was encouraging them. So, you know, some people, they will give in order to impress. Some might give to gain a tax advantage. And some to get in the news or to get their name somewhere. But these are all selfish reasons. So if we go to again just the next little part here in verse 24, also of chapter 8, Paul says, therefore show to them and before the churches the proof of your love. and of our boasting on your behalf. So again, it's a love response. It's to do with love. The motivation is because they love.
SPEAKER A00:16:26 - 00:16:38
Yeah, and in 2 Corinthians 9:7 it says, let each one of you give as he purposes in his heart. Rosemary, there's an element of purpose and planning here, isn't there?
SPEAKER B00:16:38 - 00:17:07
There definitely is. The Greek word for purpose actually tells us because it says, As you purpose in your heart. Purpose is a compound word. The first part of it is the word pro, which means beforehand. So that's planning. And not only that, the second part comes from the word aereo, if that's how you pronounce it. But that means to decide. So beforehand—
SPEAKER A00:17:07 - 00:17:07
Decide beforehand.
SPEAKER B00:17:07 - 00:18:19
You make a decision. The Disciples' Literal New Translation Testament in New Testament in, in that it makes this verse, 2 Corinthians 9:7, it translates it this way. Each should give just as he has chosen beforehand in his heart. So Paul is advocating here planned giving. And God is like that. He didn't decide to do something about sin because sin occurred. He had already had the plan from the beginning. And if we read Revelation 13:8, this is what it tells us. All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So even those who have not accepted Jesus will one day worship Him because of what He has done. And it says there that He was slain from the foundation of the world. That's when the plan was laid, laid down.
SPEAKER A00:18:19 - 00:18:39
Yeah. Yeah, the Andrew's Study Bible, by the way, comments on the phrase, let each one, as follows. It says, 1, according to their means, and 2, According to their measure of faith. So Daniel, does God expect the same amount of giving from everyone?
SPEAKER C00:18:39 - 00:19:40
No, He doesn't. And we can see this in the way that Jesus commended the widow who gave 2 mites. And we can read that in Mark 12:41-44. Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So he called his disciples to himself and said to them, assuredly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury. For they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood. And so Jesus here looks at the motivation behind the giving and the heart that this widow had. I think that speaks quite a lot to all of us.
SPEAKER A00:19:40 - 00:19:52
Now Rosemary, the Macedonian believers that Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians, they gave according to their means. And how does Paul bring this idea out?
SPEAKER B00:19:52 - 00:20:24
Okay, let's look at 2 Corinthians Corinthians 8:3-4. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering of the saints. So the Macedonian believers gave not only willingly, but they gave beyond their ability. They, they gave super abundance.
SPEAKER A00:20:24 - 00:20:24
Hmm.
SPEAKER B00:20:24 - 00:20:50
And they were, it says here, imploring them to take urgently this money which was being given for the saints in Jerusalem who were going through hardship. And so, that is a wonderful spirit from the, from the Holy Spirit. They listened to Him. They prepared beforehand what they were going to give. And they gave super abundantly.
SPEAKER A00:20:50 - 00:21:03
Now Daniel, I've met your parents, I know them a little, and I'm trying to imagine that when you were a child, did they ever ask you to do something and you said, oh, I suppose I have to do it?
SPEAKER C00:21:03 - 00:21:05
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER A00:21:05 - 00:21:10
This idea of compulsion or having to do things just doesn't fit, doesn't it, with God?
SPEAKER C00:21:10 - 00:21:57
No, it doesn't. And You know, we can see here that Paul is commending the believers here in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2. Again, we read, moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. So, they gave with joy. As we read earlier in 2 Corinthians 9:7, it says that God loves a cheerful giver. And that word cheerful is— and forgive me if I pronounce this wrong— hilaron. Is that right?
SPEAKER A00:21:57 - 00:21:58
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER C00:21:58 - 00:22:29
And the English word hilarious comes from this root. And I guess I kind of think of a child. When, you know, when they do something, they usually have this, you know, squeal, you know, as they give and, or as they do something. I think that's the kind of attitude that God would like us to have when we give. We should be very, very happy and cheerful.
SPEAKER A00:22:29 - 00:22:35
Yeah. Rosemary, did you find any other principles of giving in In chapter 8?
SPEAKER B00:22:35 - 00:22:45
Definitely. There's 2 things in verse 3 that I, I read before. They gave in their ability to give.
SPEAKER A00:22:45 - 00:22:46
Okay.
SPEAKER B00:22:46 - 00:23:20
But they also gave willingly. And so that's according to their ability, they freely gave. And so it's not a spirit of compulsion. It's not because someone talks you into it when you can't afford it, but they gave freely. And if we look at 2 Corinthians 8:17, it says, this is talking about Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.
SPEAKER C00:23:20 - 00:23:21
Hmm.
SPEAKER B00:23:21 - 00:23:33
So Titus in this way was giving of himself and willingly chose. So this shows the special and important principle of willingness.
SPEAKER A00:23:33 - 00:23:36
Yeah, so 2 things there as you're pointing out.
SPEAKER B00:23:36 - 00:23:38
Ability and willingness.
SPEAKER A00:23:38 - 00:23:53
Ability and willingness. Capable but also willing. And Daniel, according to Paul, what greater gift or impulse lay behind the actual monetary donation?
SPEAKER C00:23:55 - 00:24:07
Yes, so I think you might be referring to 2 Corinthians 8:5, and it says the following: And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord.
SPEAKER B00:24:07 - 00:24:10
Gave themselves.
SPEAKER C00:24:10 - 00:25:10
And then to us. And so that's the key, giving yourselves to the Lord first. And then also we can read in Romans 12 and verse 1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. So it is a matter of heart. As Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. And we can also read that in Ephesians. So if we go to Ephesians 6:6, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. So again, it comes from the heart.
SPEAKER A00:25:11 - 00:25:26
Yeah, it's a warmth of idea, isn't it, around that, coming from the heart. Rosemary, how does unity of the Christian community come through in the support for the Jewish believers?
SPEAKER B00:25:26 - 00:26:28
Okay, yeah, as I mentioned before, they gave this money freely. They gave super abundantly above even what they were able. They planned it. They had it ready to be picked up at the right time because they wanted to help the Jewish believers. It showed a network, a family working together within the church as an overall, around the world as such, organization. It wasn't just churches haphazardly around the place. They were connected and they were connected for a family. So that is a very important lesson for, for us today. a divisive thing. It's, it's unity for the Church of God. God wants us to be united even though we're ethnically diverse. We're all part of God's family. And Galatians chapter 2, verses— chapter 3, verses 2 and 8— 28, sorry, says, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER A00:26:28 - 00:27:01
Yeah, and I like the way Ellen White puts it here. She says, the Lord does not need our offerings, yet God permits us to show our appreciation of His mercies by self-sacrificing efforts to extend the same to others. Well, thank you very much, Daniel and Rosemary, for your contribution to our discussion today. I've appreciated our time together. We've had a wonderful time together as we have talked together. You know, when we love someone, we like to be generous to them, don't we?
SPEAKER B00:27:01 - 00:27:02
We do, we do.
SPEAKER A00:27:02 - 00:27:59
And it just comes out naturally in the way we show our love. And God is like that. He loves us and He is a giving God. What an example for us. The heart that is touched by the grace and forgiveness of our Maker Cannot be selfish. We are told that God could have entrusted the work of mission to the angels, but He has given us the joy and privilege of giving in mission. May His love touch your life now and always. We're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. If you were blessed by this program, why not tell your friends? Remember, all past programs plus teacher's notes are available on our website, www.3abnaustralia.org.au, or you can email us on
[email protected]. We hope you'll join us again next time, and until then, God bless.
SPEAKER B00:27:59 - 00:28:31
You have been listening to Let God Speak, a production of 3ABN Australia. To catch up on past programs, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456 or email
[email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.
SPEAKER C00:28:31 - 00:28:34
Thank you.
