2 Corinthians 08 Round Two: Generosity is Contagious

What if comfort doesn’t come from holding tighter but from opening your hands? We walk through 2 Corinthians 8 to unpack why Paul says generosity can overflow even in hardship, and how joyful giving reshapes both our priorities and our community life. Drawing from the Macedonian churches, we talk about what it means to give ourselves first to the Lord, then to the mission, and why eagerness needs follow-through to become a life-giving habit.

We also get practical. You’ll hear how proportional giving creates room for faith without pushing anyone into burnout, why equality over time is a biblical financial vision, and how integrity and transparency—modeled by Titus and the trusted brothers—build confidence for givers today. We contrast sowing and reaping with cultural ideas of karma, and we explore how money can quietly become an idol when it promises security, identity, or worth that only God can give.

If you’ve wondered whether tithing still matters, we share a simple 90-day challenge to help you move from good intentions to steady practice. Not as superstition, but as formation—training your heart to trust God and resource the local church. Along the way, expect candid talk about finishing what you started, building systems of accountability, and discovering how blessing often returns in unexpected forms: answered prayer, restored relationships, and renewed courage. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend, and tell us: what step of generosity are you ready to take this week?

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Renovation Update
• 1:14 Community Growth & YouTube Push
• 2:18 Why Talk About Money In Church
• 3:34 Reading 2 Corinthians 8:1–7
• 5:10 Macedonian Example Of Joyful Giving
• 7:03 Finish What You Started In Giving
• 9:00 Equality, Proportion, And Sowing
• 11:05 Titus, Accountability, And Integrity
• 12:25 Comfort, Idols, And True Security
• 14:05 The 90-Day Tithe Challenge
• 16:10 Prayer And Closing Comfort Reminder

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the BibleBreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's word together. Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, 2 Corinthians chapter 8. And if I were to give this one a title, it would be Generosity is Contagious. Generosity is contagious. And before we do this, if you're listening to this on the podcast, you're still my favorites and you have no idea. But if you are watching this on YouTube, then things will look a little bit different in my, and I'm air quoting here, uh, studio today. And that is we are in the process of doing some renovations. We're taking a step forward in the way everything looks. And so if you're a podcast listener, nothing changes. But if you are someone who is used to watching me, then this looks a little bit different this week, but we are gonna have something new that I'm really excited to show you guys. It's gonna look different. It's gonna take a lot for me to get used to, but I cannot wait for you to see it. And I may actually shoot a completely separate video. You can only get on YouTube that'll let you see it as we get started. Okay, but enough of that for now. Let's talk about what it is to understand that generosity is contagious. But as always, before we do that, make sure you comment, like, subscribe on YouTube. We are on our way. We are getting closer every day to the road to 1000. Thank you so much for everybody. I see some of you who are sharing this on your social media, asking your friends to go and subscribe to all of this. That means the world to me. Thank you so very much for podcast listeners. Make sure that you can actually share the podcast on your social media as well. And together, we are creating a community of people. I loved it so much. The other day, I was uh saying goodbye to someone as they were leaving church. And I said, Goodbye, I'll see you next week. And this lady looked at me and she said, Pastor, I see you every day. And it just filled my heart with so much joy that we get to spend this time together every day. And I just love it. I love just geeking out and enjoying the Bible together. And of course, as always, there's also a community that is growing every day on the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. That is the place to go. Man, you want to talk about people who are really doing an amazing job. Those people over there are doing phenomenal. So make sure you go there and you get a chance to read the stuff that they are writing. It is amazing. I look forward to reading them every day. So this one is one that is I would love to hear your comments on the Bible breakdown discussion on times when you have been blessed by somebody, and then times when you have had the opportunity to be a blessing. That's what we're going to be talking about today in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. So if you want to take your Bibles with me, you want to open them up to 2 Corinthians 8. I love the idea of generosity. But here's the thing: generosity does not come natural to a lot of people. Now, if generosity does come natural to you, then you don't understand why people struggle with it. But a lot of people do struggle with the idea of being generous. And can I just get on my like my pastor soapbox for a moment? One of the areas where we should be able to talk about finances the most should be in the church world. Because it's in the church world where we can talk about how God has a plan for our finances and He wants us to be free in our finances. He wants us to be blessed. He wants all these great things for us. But when we get into church settings, a lot of times people say, God, you can have my soul, you can have my eternity, but don't touch my checkbook. Don't touch my checking account. And I think that's very dangerous when we talk about that. And I can't tell you how many times I've had people come to me and they have said, Pastor, I would love to give. I'd love to give to missions, I'd love to give to the church, but I'm just financially strapped right now. There's just nothing I can do. And then I'll start a series on how to honor God with your finances, and then I'll get these emails of criticism. How dare you talk to me about my finances? Well, you just told me that you were struggling. And so one of the things I love about God is he loves us enough to talk about all kinds of things. And what we're going to see in this chapter is Paul talking about the idea of we are being called to generous living. And that's not just our finances, but it's in a lot of ways. And if you remember, the overall theme of 2 Corinthians is the God of all comfort. And so that even in our difficult times, many times we can find comfort when we are generous to one another. And so I want to read this and just see what God's Word will say to us as we walk through this together. So 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 1 says this. Now, I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor, but they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in his rich generosity. 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. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. Paul's. Now remember what I was telling you before that when the Holy Spirit descended on the Jewish people in Acts chapter 2, according to history, a lot of people never went back home. They were already there because the Feast of Pentecost was the first of the fall harvest when they would, when people would travel back to Jerusalem to celebrate the fall harvest. But then this amazing thing happened. They just never left. And so because of that, there were a lot of people that needed financial help. And so these churches that started getting planted, they were sending money back to the city of Jerusalem to help them. And so what happened was is as Paul is in Macedonia planting churches, and he's telling them about the other churches, they Paul's saying, these people were broke. They didn't have anything. They couldn't even afford to pay attention, right? But they wanted to bless the people in Jerusalem. So he said, they, man, they just blessed them and blessed them and blessed them even more than they could really afford. Verse 5 says this 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. So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and to encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. Since you excel in so many ways in your faith, in your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us, I want you to excel in this gracious act of giving. I am not commanding you to do this, but I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of other churches. You know that the generous grace of our Lord, you know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. Here is my advice. It would do you good to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let your eagerness, the eagerness you showed at the beginning, be matched by now your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don't have. Of course, I don't mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, if they will have plenty and they can share with you when you have need. In this way, things will be equal. For the scriptures say those who are granted a lot had nothing left over, and those who gather only a little had enough. So what Paul is saying is he's talking about this idea of a lifestyle of generosity. And if you can see what he's saying, he's saying, I'm not asking you to give in such a way where now you can't pay your bills. Like he's saying, I'm not asking you to do something that's ridiculous and crazy. What I'm saying is have a lifestyle where it just becomes part of your world to give. Because it really is true, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. The challenge with that is, is that a lot of times because we're so blessed, and I know we all have challenges and all of this, but you know, if you live in the United States, which I think it's about 90% of this audience lives in the United States, so the other 10, ignore this for a moment. But if you live in the United States, you are automatically the top 1% lifestyle and earners in the entire world. So you're all just because you woke up, just the the level of just the blessing that we live in the United States, we're already that blessed. And so what he's saying is, is when you realize you're blessed, you should bless others. But the challenge is a lot of times is we're so blessed that we can give to someone and it we don't feel it. It doesn't cost us anything. I think that's why God asks us in Malachi chapter three, and all over the Old Testament, Malachi chapter three, to give the tithe to the Lord, give it to the local church, give it to the body of Christ. It's because for many of us, if we were to give 2%, 3%, 5%, we wouldn't miss it that much. 10% is just enough where you feel it. And I think that's important because that tests our heart a little bit. And that's what Paul was saying. I'm asking you to give to test your heart. Like, are you really willing to go all in for the Lord? And that's important because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But then once again, he says on the other side, I'm not asking you to give to the point where you can't take care of yourselves. I'm just saying that as God has blessed you, give. And then when you need, God will make sure it comes back to you as well. And that's not that's not the law of karma, okay, which by the way, karma is a new age teaching. I get what people are saying. Karma, you do something, it comes back to you. There's a law of sowing and reaping in the Bible, but as Christians, we don't believe in karma. Okay, that's that's new age and like Hinduism. Okay. The law of sowing and reaping is whatever you sow, whatever you plant, that's what will come back to you. I know it sounds similar. One is based in paganistic worship, one is based in the Bible. Let's go with the Bible. So it's the idea that when you sow into other people's lives, when you are generous, when you need generosity, it will come back to you. I heard that say, someone say that to me one time, is they said, I used to get so mad at God when I would be struggling financially, and then I realized that whenever I'm blessed, I don't think about him. So when I'm struggling, why should I start thinking about him? It's starting something to think about, right? Let's finish the chapter. Verse 16. But thank God, he has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. He we also are sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a great preacher and the shares the good news. He is appointed or was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem, a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help. We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We also are careful to be honorable before the Lord, and we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. We are also sending with him another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now more enthusiastic because of this great confidence in you. If anyone asks you about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ, uh, so show them your love and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified. Now, what do we do with this chapter? What Paul is teaching them over the course of this book is that God is the God of all comfort. Remember, they've come through this long journey of being in sin and Paul having to say you need to get it right, then they repented of that sin, and now they're in this place of brokenness and um of really insecurity where they need to realize they need to forgive one another, come back together, and move forward because God loves them. God is the God of all comfort. Well, how does God comfort me by me giving away my money? Like, how does that work? Can we just be really honest? That doesn't make sense to me. God should be comforting me by giving me the bag, by giving me all the money, not me giving it away. Well, here's the thing The great theologian Jim Carey once said, he said, I wish for a day that everybody could be rich and famous so that they could realize it doesn't solve any problems. Think about that for a moment. One of the most famous comedian actors of our generation says, I wish for one day everybody could be rich and famous and have everything they wanted so that they could realize that it solves nothing. Here's the thing that God wants us to understand. He wants us to be blessed. He wants us to have all the things that we need. He just doesn't want all the things to have us. Because what happens is if we're not careful, is as God blesses us with more, we begin to acquire more stuff. And if we're not careful, we begin to acquire more gods in our life. Things that we put in place of God in our life. And what we realize is that in our finances, we try to get from our finances what only God can provide. We try to get comfort, we try to get security, we try to get self-worth, we try to get, you know, uh, I don't know, everything from money. And money might be the tool that God uses to help us with these things, but those things only come from God. And what God helps us realize is that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. So what I would encourage you to do is if you find yourself as someone who doesn't consistently give a tithe to the local church, take what I call a 90-day tithe challenge. And this is not a place where you are tempting God, but you are you are giving God an opportunity. He says in Malachi chapter 3, test me in this and see that if you bring all of your tithe into the storehouse, he didn't say give it to the humane society. He didn't say give it a one-on-one to people in need. He said, No, no, no. He said, You bring all the tithe, Malachi 3.10, into the storehouse that there may be meat, there may be resources in my house. And since we don't have a temple anymore, it's the local church. See if I want open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you can't contain. It's the only place in the Bible where God gives us permission to test his word. And so now there's places where he says test the spirits to see which is of God, but this is where he's saying directly. So what I encourage you to do is with all humbleness, go on a 90-day tithe challenge. And what that means is you take 90 days and you say, okay, God, I want to trust you in this. And I and I know that you're faithful. So for 90 days, I am going to consistently tithe on what I earn. Consistently. I'm going to tithe. And I want you to write it down somewhere. Make a spreadsheet. Do whatever you got to do. Write down the date. Today, God, I am trusting you and I am tithing to you. And then you give that to God. And for 90 days, you do that. And watch if God does not open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing you can't contain. Now that may not be financial. It might be an answer to prayer over here, it might be a restored relationship over there. But I believe if you pray about it every day, if you're serious about wanting to be truly blessed of God, God will honor his word. Can I tell you, over the course I've been in ministry now for 20-something years, and I have challenged people over the years to do this. Can I tell you, not one time when someone has done this sincerely, have they ever made it to 90 days? Because usually somewhere around the 30-day mark, God does something amazing. And they go, you know what? Sometimes it's financial, but sometimes it's something else. And they go, you know, I know that was God. I get it. When I'm doing this, I'm releasing the blessing of God into my life. So if you don't believe me, try it and see that God is the God of all comfort and He wants to bless you in every way, including giving us the opportunity to be generous. Let's pray together. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for who you are. I pray that in all things, God, you would help us to be led by you, even in areas like this, where we don't always understand, but we trust you in those areas because you always prove yourself faithful, even though you don't owe us that. But you do it anyway. And I'm thankful for you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Don't forget God's word says in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, God is the source of all. Say it with me. Comfort. He comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow with my kind of odd setup here for 2nd Corinthians chapter nine.