Part Four of our sermon series Living Generously at Pensacola Worship Center - September 28, 2014

2. Living Generously
 “Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”
Confucius
 “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked
was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’
But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do
not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ ”
Martin Luther King Jr.
 “One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no
occasion of serving God. And, since He is invisible to our
eyes, we are to serve Him in our neighbor; which He
receives as if done to Himself in person, standing visibly
before us.”
John Wesley

3. - 2 Corinthians 8: 1 – 4
1. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of
God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:
2. that in 1a great trial of affliction the abundance of their
joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their
liberality.
3. For I bear witness that 2according to their ability, yes, and
beyond their ability, they were 3freely willing,
4. imploring us with much urgency that we would receive
the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints
1. The Pattern of Sacrificial Giving
2. The Pattern of Abundant Giving
3. The Pattern of Freely Giving

4. - 2 Corinthians 8: 8 – 9
8. I speak not by commandment, but 1I am testing the
sincerity of your love by the 2diligence of others.
9. For you know the grace of our 3Lord Jesus Christ, that
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,
that you through His poverty might become rich.
1. Giving is not a matter of commandment but a
matter of love.
2. If others can give, so can you!
3. Jesus is the ultimate example of giving – He gave
all so that others could have all.

5. - 2 Corinthians 8: 10 – 12
10. 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;
11. but now you also must 1complete the doing of it; that as
there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a
completion out of what you have.
12. For if there is 2first a willing mind, it is 3accepted
according to what one has, and not according to what he
does not have.
1. Giving must go beyond thinking and move on to
doing.
2. Giving must come from a willing mind.
3. There are no excuses when it comes to giving.

6. Luke 4: 18 – 19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are
oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord.”
Matthew 25: 37 – 40
“Then the righteous will answer Him,
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You
hungry and feed You, or thirsty and
give You drink? When did we see You
a stranger and take You in, or naked
and clothe You? Or when did we see
You sick, or in prison, and come to
You?’ And the King will answer and
say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these My brethren, you did it
to Me.’

7. Willing Loving Giving
+ =
Diligence Sincerity Abundance