WEBVTT - Treasured Truth Weekend—The Macedonian Mindset, Part 1 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.040 Here's what he's saying. The reason these Macedonians become your 0:00:04.040 --> 0:00:10.440 example because you're thinking about giving is wrong. You don't 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.920 have the right motivation for giving. They do. And so 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:18.439 you need to have the Macedonian mindset. 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.080 You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.000 Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.519 I'm Steve Hillard. Glad you're with us. As we continue 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:37.199 to look at this theme of giving and stewardship. And 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:39.760 today we're going to be in Second Corinthians chapter eight 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:42.159 as we talk about the Macedonian mindset. And I think 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:44.640 we need to begin right there, pastor. What is the 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:46.199 Macedonian mindset? 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:50.720 The bottom line, Steve, is they had a heart for 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:54.440 God and a heart for the people of God. Yeah. 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:59.160 And so they're giving did not come out of their pocket, 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:03.680 their wallet, their checkbook. Their giving came out of their heart. 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.280 And so they were people who were compassionate, you know. 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:11.160 You know my definition of compassion, your pain in my heart. 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:16.600 And so these were individuals that had the right mindset. 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.680 It wasn't about the money. It was about the master 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:25.480 and about ministry. And they cared. And the old adage 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:29.280 is still true. People don't care how much you know 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.800 until they know how much you care. And they cared. 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.200 Yeah. Yeah, they they did. In fact, uh, you know, 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.760 as you read Second Corinthians eight, we see that they 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.360 pleaded with Paul for the opportunity to give and the 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.280 Macedonian church, this was like a poor area. 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:45.600 Very. 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:47.800 Poor. These guys were broke, very poor. And they're saying, 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:49.400 we want to give. Where does that. 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.400 Mindset got poor? They were po. 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:52.800 Po. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.440 They couldn't afford the oh and the ah. 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.800 So Amen. When you can't afford the. Oh and the ah. 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.680 And you still have this desire to give. Where does 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:03.960 that come from? Because I think many of us, if 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:06.480 we're poll, we have the tendency to say, I need 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:07.600 not I want to give. 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.600 That's right. Well, you know what Paul said that Jesus 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.359 said it's not recorded. But Paul said, Jesus said it. 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.280 And Paul don't lie. Yeah, it's written down in the 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.519 word and it's written in concrete. He says it's more 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:26.520 blessed to give than to receive. And individuals who give. 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.800 I heard you don't. You never heard this guy. His 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:37.160 name is Andy Stanley. He said something so very profound. 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:40.440 And I'm on a stewardship right now at Christ Bible Church. Yeah. 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.239 And so I wrote it down and I said, I'm 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:46.760 going to give Andy Stanley credit for this. He says 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:52.720 that you give so that you can have joy. I said, wow, 0:02:53.480 --> 0:03:01.510 you save so that you could have freedom And then 0:03:01.510 --> 0:03:05.829 you live so that you can enjoy. And I thought 0:03:05.830 --> 0:03:09.269 that was very powerful. I mean, just the mindset and 0:03:09.270 --> 0:03:13.550 the focus was on the giving that giving brings you joy. Yeah. 0:03:13.750 --> 0:03:16.070 You know, and that's why I think the Lord said 0:03:16.070 --> 0:03:18.990 it's more blessed to give than to receive. You know, 0:03:19.190 --> 0:03:22.070 it's like, uh, there's a book called sheep, Goats and Wolves, 0:03:22.070 --> 0:03:24.429 and it talks about the three kinds of personalities in 0:03:24.430 --> 0:03:28.870 the church. I just preached this Sunday and he said, sheep, uh, 0:03:28.870 --> 0:03:33.790 go in very heavy, very slow, because they're loaded with wool. 0:03:34.230 --> 0:03:37.670 But then after they're sheared, they come out light and 0:03:37.670 --> 0:03:42.310 giddy because they have joy in giving their wool. So 0:03:42.310 --> 0:03:45.150 I asked the church to, you know, in the African 0:03:45.150 --> 0:03:49.350 American venue, we say, you know, say to your neighbor, neighbor, uh, 0:03:49.550 --> 0:03:53.590 are you a sheep that loves to give your wool? 0:03:53.870 --> 0:03:57.310 And then tell your neighbor we'll see at offering time. 0:03:57.550 --> 0:04:00.990 That's right. Well, right now we're going to open our 0:04:00.990 --> 0:04:03.910 Bibles to Second Corinthians chapter eight. Join us there as 0:04:03.910 --> 0:04:08.110 we begin a message called The Macedonian Mindset. Here's Pastor Ford. 0:04:08.710 --> 0:04:13.110 Three pastors were complaining about the giving of their congregations. 0:04:13.110 --> 0:04:16.510 And so the one pastor said to the other pastor, well, 0:04:16.790 --> 0:04:20.070 how do you determine what you give to God? He said, well, 0:04:20.070 --> 0:04:22.870 what I do is I get my paycheck, I cash it, 0:04:22.870 --> 0:04:25.150 I come back to the church, put all the money 0:04:25.150 --> 0:04:27.990 in the offering plate. Then I come by where the 0:04:27.990 --> 0:04:30.270 steps are, and I throw it up in the air. 0:04:30.750 --> 0:04:34.510 And what lands on the even steps I keep it. 0:04:34.550 --> 0:04:38.990 What lands on the steps I give to God. Second 0:04:38.990 --> 0:04:42.110 pastor said, oh, I do something similar, I do, I 0:04:42.110 --> 0:04:45.030 do almost the same thing. He said, I cash my 0:04:45.029 --> 0:04:47.430 check and then I bring the money, put it in 0:04:47.430 --> 0:04:50.310 the offering plate. I come to the church and I 0:04:50.350 --> 0:04:52.950 throw it up in the air and I just do it. 0:04:52.950 --> 0:04:55.990 The reverse of what you do, uh, what comes on, 0:04:55.990 --> 0:04:59.270 the odd steps I keep, what comes on, the even 0:04:59.270 --> 0:05:03.190 steps I give to God. Third pastor said, well, isn't 0:05:03.190 --> 0:05:06.870 it amazing that we all do a similar thing? He said, 0:05:06.870 --> 0:05:09.270 I do the same thing. I cash my paycheck, I 0:05:09.310 --> 0:05:11.270 come back to the church, I put it in the 0:05:11.270 --> 0:05:14.190 offering plate. I throw it up in the air and 0:05:14.190 --> 0:05:17.270 I say, God, whatever you want. You better keep it 0:05:17.310 --> 0:05:20.790 while it's up there. Because whatever hit them steps, that 0:05:20.790 --> 0:05:25.270 belongs to me. Uh, now we laugh at that, pastor, 0:05:25.270 --> 0:05:28.830 but many of us, we give the same way to 0:05:28.830 --> 0:05:32.070 many of us give a widow's mite, but we don't 0:05:32.070 --> 0:05:36.349 make a widow's salary. You know, it's like when you 0:05:36.350 --> 0:05:40.070 talk about grace giving for grace living. There are too 0:05:40.070 --> 0:05:44.669 many of us. Dispensation of grace. People who think that 0:05:44.670 --> 0:05:47.830 means we can make God Lord of the leftovers. We 0:05:47.830 --> 0:05:50.550 can just give him whatever it is that we want 0:05:50.589 --> 0:05:54.230 and everything is hunky dory. People say it all the time. 0:05:54.350 --> 0:05:57.390 I can't afford to give to God. Well, my Bible 0:05:57.390 --> 0:06:01.510 teaches me that you can't afford not to give to God. 0:06:01.510 --> 0:06:05.029 I didn't come to get amens today anyway. And so 0:06:05.070 --> 0:06:07.750 Adrian Rogers, that great preacher who's in the presence of 0:06:07.750 --> 0:06:12.110 the Lord, said this. A faith that hasn't reached your 0:06:12.110 --> 0:06:18.070 wallet probably hasn't reached your heart either. Mm. Yeah. Proverbs 0:06:18.070 --> 0:06:20.870 three nine and ten. Remember what it says. Honor the 0:06:20.870 --> 0:06:25.110 Lord with the firstfruits of thy substance and thy increase, 0:06:25.270 --> 0:06:30.469 and so shall thy barns be running over. One guy 0:06:30.470 --> 0:06:33.589 said I had a horrible dream, a horrible dream. Well. 0:06:33.589 --> 0:06:36.150 Share it. What what what was so horrible about it? Well, 0:06:36.150 --> 0:06:41.070 I dreamed that God took out of the offering plate 0:06:41.070 --> 0:06:45.510 what I put in. Multiplied it by ten and said, 0:06:45.510 --> 0:06:47.830 now you live off of that for the rest of 0:06:47.830 --> 0:06:51.470 the week. Why was it such a horrible dream? Who 0:06:51.470 --> 0:06:56.910 can live on $10 a week? Mhm. And so we 0:06:56.910 --> 0:07:02.190 need the Macedonian mindset Forgiving because in the text that 0:07:02.190 --> 0:07:05.909 we have in front of us today, the Macedonians had 0:07:05.910 --> 0:07:12.230 a mindset that was generating a spirit of generosity, that 0:07:12.230 --> 0:07:16.230 they were very generous in their giving. Let me give 0:07:16.230 --> 0:07:20.230 you the backdrop of what's going on in this background. 0:07:20.870 --> 0:07:24.510 What had happened was, uh, the church was born on 0:07:24.510 --> 0:07:28.390 the day of Pentecost. You remember that? And so people 0:07:28.390 --> 0:07:32.070 had come from all over the world, uh, to the 0:07:32.110 --> 0:07:35.550 annual feast of Pentecost. Remember, every Jew had to go 0:07:35.550 --> 0:07:39.989 back to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual 0:07:39.990 --> 0:07:43.150 feast days. So they're gathered there, they're coming from everywhere. 0:07:43.350 --> 0:07:47.350 And they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. So they 0:07:47.350 --> 0:07:52.470 started off in acts chapter one with 120 Christians. Uh, 0:07:52.470 --> 0:07:55.470 but by the time Peter preached his message and I 0:07:55.510 --> 0:07:59.390 timed it, uh, I preached Peter's message, and it only 0:07:59.390 --> 0:08:08.870 took eight minutes. Don't get hopeful. That's an exercise in futility. 0:08:09.630 --> 0:08:11.430 If you want to know how long you're going to 0:08:11.430 --> 0:08:20.350 be here, I multiply that by at least ten. And 0:08:20.350 --> 0:08:22.790 so he preached that message. And then how many got saved? 0:08:22.790 --> 0:08:27.510 How many thousand? 3000. The opposite of what happened when 0:08:27.510 --> 0:08:31.670 the law was given. When the law was given, 3000 died. 0:08:31.670 --> 0:08:35.550 But when the Gospel of Jesus Christ was given, 3000 lived. 0:08:35.590 --> 0:08:38.390 Because he's the Lord of life. And he came that 0:08:38.390 --> 0:08:41.190 we might have life and that more abundantly. And so 0:08:41.190 --> 0:08:43.990 when the gospel was preached, it brings life. And many 0:08:43.990 --> 0:08:46.510 of us ought to know that it brought us life. 0:08:46.830 --> 0:08:50.150 Because if you were like me, pushing drugs, carrying a pistol, 0:08:50.150 --> 0:08:52.990 robbing people, all that kind of stuff, sleeping with everybody 0:08:52.990 --> 0:08:55.150 was crazy enough to do it. But when I met 0:08:55.150 --> 0:09:00.030 Jesus Christ, he gave me real life. I was just existing. 0:09:00.100 --> 0:09:04.900 But now I'm really living. I'm experiencing the abundant life 0:09:04.900 --> 0:09:07.700 that's in Jesus Christ. You'll never believe what I do. 0:09:07.940 --> 0:09:15.700 I get high and don't have any substances. And I 0:09:15.700 --> 0:09:19.380 wake up on on a Saturday morning and a Sunday morning, 0:09:19.380 --> 0:09:21.660 and I don't have to worry about if somebody's going 0:09:21.660 --> 0:09:25.420 to be looking for me with a gun because of 0:09:25.420 --> 0:09:29.380 what I did the night before. Amen. Amen. Not unless 0:09:29.380 --> 0:09:32.580 it's going to shoot me for praying. Oh, y'all ain't 0:09:32.580 --> 0:09:33.860 going to pray with me. Alright, let me go and 0:09:33.860 --> 0:09:36.140 preach this message. Get you up out of here. And 0:09:36.140 --> 0:09:38.900 so what was going on? They were coming from everywhere. 0:09:38.900 --> 0:09:42.939 So when they got the message of the gospel, they 0:09:42.940 --> 0:09:47.420 decided not to go back home. They wanted to stay 0:09:47.900 --> 0:09:52.620 where the word was. So the disciples were teaching them 0:09:52.620 --> 0:09:54.740 because they didn't have a Bible like you and I. 0:09:55.300 --> 0:09:58.660 And so they were teaching them. And so what happened? 0:09:59.179 --> 0:10:04.339 The church a few days later went from 3120 men, 0:10:04.380 --> 0:10:08.939 women and children to 5000 men. So if you add 0:10:08.940 --> 0:10:11.380 the women and children, there may have been as many 0:10:11.380 --> 0:10:15.620 as 8 or 9000, maybe 10,000 or more. So now 0:10:15.660 --> 0:10:21.860 you've got your first mega church. Mhm. And so what 0:10:21.860 --> 0:10:23.580 do you do with this mega church. How are you 0:10:23.580 --> 0:10:25.699 going to feed all these people? Now you add to 0:10:25.740 --> 0:10:31.020 that the fact that Christians were being persecuted now. And 0:10:31.020 --> 0:10:35.699 you add the fact that the Romans were overtaxing everyone. 0:10:35.820 --> 0:10:39.140 You add the fact that the Jews that had jobs 0:10:39.179 --> 0:10:43.700 gave it to the Jewish people, not to the Jewish Christians. 0:10:44.460 --> 0:10:47.500 Add to the fact that acts 11 said Agabus, the 0:10:47.500 --> 0:10:50.380 prophet said, there's going to be a famine that's going 0:10:50.420 --> 0:10:53.020 to hit Jerusalem. So put it all together. There's a 0:10:53.020 --> 0:10:57.020 famine in Jerusalem. There are all these believers, and they're 0:10:57.020 --> 0:11:01.099 in the cribs or the houses of everybody that's a believer, 0:11:01.100 --> 0:11:05.020 and they've eaten them out of house and home. What 0:11:05.020 --> 0:11:09.380 are you going to do? Well, Paul said, look, we 0:11:09.420 --> 0:11:16.900 gotta help them because they are having a Harvey and 0:11:16.900 --> 0:11:20.780 an Irma, and they're our brothers and sisters and we 0:11:20.780 --> 0:11:25.300 have to do something. Now, remember, these folk didn't have 0:11:25.300 --> 0:11:29.140 any link cards. These folk didn't have the government helping them. 0:11:29.140 --> 0:11:32.380 The government was taking. So what the Lord was giving, 0:11:32.380 --> 0:11:36.060 the government was taking. They didn't have FEMA. They didn't 0:11:36.059 --> 0:11:38.940 have a virus on her team to feed them in 0:11:38.940 --> 0:11:41.740 a food pantry. Nor did they have a Katrina Wilson 0:11:41.740 --> 0:11:44.580 and her team to give them a hot meal on 0:11:44.620 --> 0:11:47.220 a feeding ministry, or they didn't have a Ron Carter 0:11:47.220 --> 0:11:52.340 and his team to provide produce, uh, to everybody. Uh, 0:11:52.340 --> 0:11:55.900 so Paul says, look, the church ought to help. They 0:11:55.900 --> 0:12:00.339 don't need comic relief. They need church relief. Uh, that 0:12:00.340 --> 0:12:02.500 the people of the church are to look out for 0:12:02.500 --> 0:12:05.740 the people of the church. So he said, I'm going 0:12:05.740 --> 0:12:08.780 to have a great day of giving, and I'm going 0:12:08.820 --> 0:12:12.300 to ask every believer to give over and above their 0:12:12.300 --> 0:12:21.020 regular giving. Mm. So now the Corinthians pledged to give, 0:12:21.059 --> 0:12:22.740 but if you read in the chapter, I'm not going 0:12:22.740 --> 0:12:25.820 to go through everything for you. Read some for yourself. Amen. 0:12:26.140 --> 0:12:30.420 But if you read down to verses nine, ten and 11, 0:12:30.420 --> 0:12:34.380 you'll see that Paul, they promised Paul in first Corinthians, 0:12:34.380 --> 0:12:37.620 we're going to break you off a piece. But now 0:12:37.620 --> 0:12:41.060 Paul didn't get it. And Paul was saying, wait a minute, 0:12:41.059 --> 0:12:44.380 you made a pledge, you made a faith promise, but 0:12:44.380 --> 0:12:50.340 now you're not living up to it. Mm. Alright. So 0:12:50.340 --> 0:12:53.180 he says, here's what I want you to do. I'm 0:12:53.179 --> 0:12:56.300 going to give you an example of how you're supposed 0:12:56.300 --> 0:13:00.820 to give. I'm going to use the Macedonian Donian mindset 0:13:01.700 --> 0:13:08.900 because the Macedonians, poor Christians gave a whole lot to 0:13:08.940 --> 0:13:13.140 the work of the Lord. So here he wants to 0:13:13.140 --> 0:13:20.819 motivate Christians to give based on a Christian example, the 0:13:20.820 --> 0:13:22.620 Macedonian mindset. 0:13:26.140 --> 0:13:28.860 Here I think about giving. This is the first passage 0:13:28.860 --> 0:13:31.260 of scripture that comes to mind. So helpful as we 0:13:31.260 --> 0:13:34.939 think about how we ought to be giving our attitudes, 0:13:34.940 --> 0:13:38.179 our hearts. You're going to find this Macedonian mindset in 0:13:38.179 --> 0:13:40.660 Second Corinthians chapter eight, and we're going to get back 0:13:40.660 --> 0:13:44.340 to this teaching in just one moment. But speaking of giving, 0:13:44.340 --> 0:13:47.820 that is how this program actually makes it on the radio, 0:13:47.820 --> 0:13:51.020 online and everywhere else it may go. We're able to 0:13:51.059 --> 0:13:53.620 produce this program, pay for airtime and all the things 0:13:53.620 --> 0:13:57.179 that happen behind the scenes because of your generosity. So 0:13:57.179 --> 0:13:59.819 if you've been giving to Treasure Truth and Moody Radio, 0:13:59.900 --> 0:14:02.780 I want to say thank you for your financial support. 0:14:03.020 --> 0:14:04.939 If you've never given a gift before, you can do 0:14:04.940 --> 0:14:08.660 so today by coming to Treasure Truth radio.org and click 0:14:08.660 --> 0:14:13.900 on the donate button. Again, that's Treasure Truth radio.org. Back 0:14:13.900 --> 0:14:16.620 to the message. Once again, here is Pastor Ford. 0:14:17.179 --> 0:14:20.580 I was reading about Warren Buffett and the impact he 0:14:20.580 --> 0:14:27.980 had on millionaires and billionaires. Here's what he did. In 2010, 0:14:28.220 --> 0:14:33.780 Warren Buffett came out, put in the newspapers. I'm giving 90% 0:14:33.780 --> 0:14:39.980 of my wealth away. So he gave away $30 billion 0:14:40.860 --> 0:14:45.420 to charity non for profits and all of that. You 0:14:45.420 --> 0:14:50.060 know what happened after. Say what happened? Yeah. I gotta 0:14:50.060 --> 0:14:51.900 get you to say something. You're looking at me like, 0:14:51.940 --> 0:14:54.340 you know. And I know it's not popular because it's a, 0:14:54.380 --> 0:14:57.180 you know, it's a given message. So, you know, it's like. 0:14:57.220 --> 0:15:00.410 It's like all these preachers want is my money. But 0:15:00.410 --> 0:15:03.810 this is only the second message on money in three years, 0:15:03.810 --> 0:15:05.490 so it can't be. All I want is your money 0:15:05.490 --> 0:15:08.050 if I only talk about it twice in three years. 0:15:08.050 --> 0:15:09.890 But I tell you what, you don't say that about 0:15:09.890 --> 0:15:13.290 anything else. You don't say all you want is my money. 0:15:13.290 --> 0:15:15.970 You don't say all the beauty supply I want is 0:15:15.970 --> 0:15:18.690 my money. You don't say. You don't say. All the 0:15:18.690 --> 0:15:21.250 beauty shop want is my money. You don't say all 0:15:21.290 --> 0:15:23.930 the car dealer want is my money. You want to 0:15:23.970 --> 0:15:28.170 know why? Because you value what they give you. And 0:15:28.170 --> 0:15:32.290 you say whatever they're asking me for. I believe it 0:15:32.290 --> 0:15:35.690 is equitable value. So then when you put a dollar 0:15:35.690 --> 0:15:38.930 in church, or you're telling me, hey, I believe then 0:15:38.930 --> 0:15:41.930 that God is not even worth a dime out of 0:15:41.930 --> 0:15:46.090 a dollar? So, you know, I just thought I'd I 0:15:46.170 --> 0:15:48.570 and if you're visiting, what is it for the first time? 0:15:48.570 --> 0:15:52.130 Is it providence or accident that you would come on 0:15:52.170 --> 0:15:55.730 the on the only time in three years that I'm 0:15:55.730 --> 0:15:59.770 preaching about money. I know somebody saying I knew I 0:15:59.770 --> 0:16:05.330 should have come next week. And so what happened since then? 0:16:05.330 --> 0:16:10.690 Let me tell you what happened. Since 114 billionaires have 0:16:10.690 --> 0:16:14.810 made a commitment and signed a giving pledge to give 0:16:14.850 --> 0:16:20.450 at least $1 billion a year to charity, to education, 0:16:20.450 --> 0:16:25.930 to non-for-profits. Since Warren Buffett became the second richest man 0:16:26.090 --> 0:16:29.970 in the world, there are all kinds of institutions that 0:16:29.970 --> 0:16:32.930 have come up. Uh, there were over 200 of them. 0:16:32.930 --> 0:16:35.970 I just wrote down a few of them. Oceans give 0:16:36.010 --> 0:16:40.610 bridge builders collaboration. Ocean legacy, new profit. These are all 0:16:40.610 --> 0:16:43.930 organizations who looked and said, wait a minute. He's the 0:16:43.930 --> 0:16:48.170 second richest man in the world. But yet he gave 0:16:48.170 --> 0:16:53.370 $30 billion away because he said, I'm not going to 0:16:53.370 --> 0:16:56.090 be able to take it with me. My children have 0:16:56.090 --> 0:16:59.890 lived a luxurious life. I'm going to give them a 0:16:59.890 --> 0:17:01.770 little piece, and they don't have to make it on 0:17:01.810 --> 0:17:05.170 their own. When I die, I want most of my 0:17:05.170 --> 0:17:09.450 money to have gone to help people who can't help themselves. 0:17:10.810 --> 0:17:15.649 That's powerful stuff. That's powerful stuff. And so then here's 0:17:15.650 --> 0:17:19.090 the thing. Here's the thing. Say, what's the theme? The 0:17:19.090 --> 0:17:23.890 theme is this your giving is not based on your money. 0:17:24.050 --> 0:17:27.770 Your giving is based on your mindset. That's the theme 0:17:27.810 --> 0:17:31.290 of chapter eight verses one through nine. Your giving. Let 0:17:31.290 --> 0:17:33.730 me play that back. Your giving is not based on 0:17:33.730 --> 0:17:38.370 your money, it's based on your mindset. That is the 0:17:38.369 --> 0:17:42.970 amount you give is based on the attitude that you have. Amen. 0:17:43.850 --> 0:17:46.770 Thank you for that. Amen. Praise the Lord. I ain't 0:17:46.770 --> 0:17:49.889 believing I got one. Amen. And so here it is. 0:17:49.930 --> 0:17:51.209 It's all we going to do. I'm going to drop em. 0:17:51.210 --> 0:17:53.290 I'm not going to push em. Notice in the text 0:17:53.330 --> 0:17:56.010 he says, if you're going to have the Macedonian mindset, 0:17:56.010 --> 0:17:59.210 if you're going to generate a spirit of generosity, here's 0:17:59.210 --> 0:18:01.409 what you need. Three aspects to it. I'm going to 0:18:01.410 --> 0:18:04.090 drop them now. Push them. Number one verse one you 0:18:04.090 --> 0:18:08.890 have to have the right motivation. Come on, say it. Yeah, yeah. 0:18:08.890 --> 0:18:11.129 Here it is verses two through six. You have to 0:18:11.130 --> 0:18:15.490 have the right method. Yeah I want you to say it. Yeah. 0:18:15.530 --> 0:18:17.650 And then seven through nine you have to have the 0:18:17.650 --> 0:18:21.929 right model. Yeah. Why do you need those. Because the 0:18:21.930 --> 0:18:25.370 right motivation that tells you why you give the right method, 0:18:25.369 --> 0:18:27.850 that tells you how to give, and the right model 0:18:27.850 --> 0:18:30.930 that tells you who you're supposed to emulate. And so 0:18:30.930 --> 0:18:33.690 when you look at this text, uh, let me look 0:18:33.690 --> 0:18:35.729 at it again. Here's what it says. I want to 0:18:35.730 --> 0:18:37.930 read it. Uh, all all of my King James folk. 0:18:37.970 --> 0:18:40.129 You were rejoicing last night. You ain't going to like 0:18:40.130 --> 0:18:43.570 it this morning. Hey, here's what it says in the 0:18:43.570 --> 0:18:47.850 ESV version. We want you to know, brothers, about the 0:18:47.850 --> 0:18:50.930 grace of God that has been given among the churches 0:18:50.930 --> 0:18:56.010 of Macedonia. And so King James says, moreover, brethren, we 0:18:56.050 --> 0:18:59.010 do you to wit, see who knows what that means 0:18:59.369 --> 0:19:02.570 of the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia. 0:19:02.609 --> 0:19:06.929 Here's what he's saying. The reason these Macedonians become your 0:19:06.970 --> 0:19:14.570 example because your thinking about giving is wrong. They're thinking 0:19:14.570 --> 0:19:19.370 about giving is right. You don't have the right motivation 0:19:19.369 --> 0:19:23.330 for giving. They do. And so you need to have 0:19:23.330 --> 0:19:30.450 the Macedonian mindset. Now notice the preacher is talking about money. 0:19:31.810 --> 0:19:34.450 Now I submit to you I did you an injustice 0:19:34.450 --> 0:19:37.409 for the first 15 years that I was pastor here, 0:19:37.410 --> 0:19:40.730 because I never preached on money in the first 15 0:19:40.730 --> 0:19:45.290 years of my pastoring. Here's the way I felt. You 0:19:45.290 --> 0:19:49.170 look at TV and what you have. You have profits 0:19:49.170 --> 0:19:53.290 for profit. Every time they open their mouth, they try 0:19:53.290 --> 0:19:57.250 to separate you from your money. That's it. And they 0:19:57.250 --> 0:19:59.050 say things like, and I said this before, but I'll 0:19:59.050 --> 0:20:01.570 say it again. They say things like, you know, God. 0:20:01.609 --> 0:20:04.689 There's a tenfold blessing that's coming. So you send me 0:20:04.730 --> 0:20:07.090 $100 and God will send you a thousand. Here's the 0:20:07.090 --> 0:20:09.370 way I think. I don't need no money. You need 0:20:09.369 --> 0:20:12.050 the money. So you send me the 100. Let God 0:20:12.050 --> 0:20:15.090 send you the thousand. Does that make sense? I mean, 0:20:15.090 --> 0:20:19.210 if you really believe that, then that's what you would do. Here, 0:20:19.210 --> 0:20:21.810 I'm giving you $100 because I'm looking for a thousand. 0:20:22.050 --> 0:20:26.570 But that's not the right motivation. And I did you 0:20:26.570 --> 0:20:30.169 a disservice early, because I would shrink back because I 0:20:30.170 --> 0:20:34.369 had the mistaken notion that because some people overdo it, 0:20:34.369 --> 0:20:36.889 I shouldn't do it at all. And then I begin 0:20:36.890 --> 0:20:41.689 to realize, uh, listen, listen, just because somebody puts too 0:20:41.690 --> 0:20:46.850 much salt on their food doesn't mean I can't season mine. Alright? 0:20:47.970 --> 0:20:52.169 And so what happens here? It is, it is, it is, uh, 0:20:52.210 --> 0:20:54.730 you know, it doesn't stop me from seasoning mine just right. 0:20:54.730 --> 0:20:58.730 Here it is. Say, Pastor Ford, cut to the chase, man. 0:20:58.730 --> 0:21:02.480 You're making much ado about nothing. No I'm not. Because 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:05.680 he says it's deeper than money. Now walk along with me. 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:08.280 If you have your your smartphone or whatever it is, 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:10.240 I want you to walk through the text. You say, 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:14.400 how is it deeper? Because giving is not just about money. 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:21.040 Verse one giving is about lordship. Verse two before it's 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:28.520 about stewardship. Verse three, it's it's partnership. And then verse four, 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:32.280 it's fellowship. And then verse five, it's worship. Let me 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:35.560 say it again. That he says, you don't understand it. 0:21:35.560 --> 0:21:40.000 Let me tell you. Giving is first about lordship. So 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.320 he says, the grace of God that's in you, where 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.200 you get the grace of God. It's a genitive of possession, 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:47.920 which literally means it's grace that belongs to God. That 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:49.920 means if you got it, you got it from God. 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:53.359 Since God gave it to you. It means then, that 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:58.960 you are responding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, And 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:04.960 that he can tell you what to give. Then stewardship. 0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:11.840 Verse two. And then partnership. Verse three. And then fellowship. 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:18.879 Verse four. And then worship. Verse five. That's the mindset 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:24.520 that they have. Let me say it this way. Verse 0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:29.600 one teaches us that giving is first and foremost about 0:22:29.600 --> 0:22:34.360 your attitude in giving, rather than your amount in giving. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:40.159 Isn't that so good to know? The fact that God 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:43.280 is not looking at the dollars and cents of our gift. 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:47.200 He's looking at the condition of our hearts as we give. 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:51.040 We're listening to a message called The Macedonian Mindset taken 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:54.080 from Second Corinthians chapter eight. And we'll continue this teaching 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:56.720 next time here on Treasure truth. If you want to 0:22:56.720 --> 0:22:58.639 make sure that you don't miss one of the broadcasts 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:02.080 in the series, come to our website. It's treasure truth Radio.com. 0:23:02.840 --> 0:23:05.320 There you can sign up to begin podcasting the program, 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:08.119 or you can download the Moody Radio app. Now, the 0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:10.239 app is great because it's free and it's available for 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:13.080 Apple and Android products, and it makes it really convenient 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:15.640 for you to listen to Pastor Ford's teaching on the go. 0:23:15.960 --> 0:23:19.000 But not only Pastor Ford's teaching, but also other programs 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:23.160 produced by Moody Radio and internet music stations. So if, 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:25.560 like me, you find yourself constantly on the go in 0:23:25.560 --> 0:23:27.680 the car, rarely in the same place at the same 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:29.520 time every day, and you don't want to miss out 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:32.800 on a certain program. Go get the Moody Radio app. 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.200 You'll find it at your favorite app store, or we'll 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:39.200 link you to it when you come to Treasure Truth radio.org. Well, 0:23:39.200 --> 0:23:41.720 I want to thank our producer, Amy Rios, for her 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:45.160 help on these broadcasts for Pastor Ford, I'm Steve Hiller. 0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:48.720 Treasure truth is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:50.280 of Moody Bible Institute.