“When Grace Turns Your Heart Up To 11” 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 20 June 2021

If you know anything about amplifiers, then you know that they only go up to 10. All the knobs only go up to 10. So, the maximum volume level is 10. And, if you know anything about the movie , then you know that one scene where Nigel, the guitarist, explains that his guitar amplifier actually goes up to 11.

* INSERT GUITAR AMP 11 PIC

Here’s the dialogue as Nigel explains to Marty, the documentary filmmaker, how the band’s amplifiers all go up to 11:

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...

Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?

Nigel: Exactly.

Marty: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?

Nigel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?

Marty: I don't know.

Nigel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

Marty: Put it .

Nigel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Marty: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?

Nigel: [there’s a long pause] These go to eleven.

What we’re going to see today in God’s word is a bunch of churches in Macedonian turned their giving up to 11. These churches didn’t just give financially and stop at 10. They went up to 11 in their giving. One louder.

Now, you may be uncomfortable right now because I just said the “G” word: giving. You may be thinking, “Here’s another preacher who is going to preach again about giving. Money. Money. Money. That’s all preachers preach about. That’s all churches care about. They’re always asking for money. Always talking about giving.” Well, I’m not going to preach about giving, or money today. And I’m not going to ask for your money either.

Today, we’re going to talk about the other “G” word: grace. Because that’s what this passage is all about: the grace of God. And we’re going to see that from a passage that people think is about money. But, it’s not really a passage about money, or giving, or offering plates, or tithing, or building campaigns, or stewardship, or Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. It’s not really about that stuff at all.

So, turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. And, yes, preachers do come here to 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9 to preach about money, and tithing, and giving, and stewardship, and “money makeovers,” but these passages are not even speaking about those issues, primarily. The big idea of 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9 is that God’s grace should change us; that we should be re-oriented in the way we live and love. So, yes, these chapters can apply to giving. And Paul will talk about giving. But, as we’ll see, the underlying motive for giving- or for any ministry that we do- should be a response to the grace of God, the unmerited favor of God, given to us, Hell-deserving sinners.

What we’re going to see in these verses today is that- GRACE TURNS YOUR HEART FOR OTHERS UP TO 11!

What I mean is that the joy that comes to us as a result of God’s grace to us in Christ should result in ministry to other people. Loving and caring for other people. In essence, we are called to “copy” the grace that we have received from God and then pass it on to others… even the people we don’t like…especially the people we don’t like! When you realize how good God has been to you, it should make you want to love and care for other people, empowered by His grace. It should make your heart turn up to 11. You should be like and say, “Yes, other people may turn their hearts up to 10, but because of Jesus, my heart goes to 11.”

Now, here’s what so crazy about all of this: Paul never uses the word money in chapters 8-9! Think about that! A lot of preachers suddenly get interested in 2 Corinthians when they start a new building campaign, usually ignoring chapters 1-7 to just plop down in chapter 8 because they want to talk about giving. But Paul never even uses the word money in these 2 chapters! And he’s certainly not thinking about building campaigns! But he does use the word grace…a lot! Paul spills a lot of ink on the word grace.

Grace is all over these 2 chapters! In fact, Paul uses the word grace 10x in chapter 8 and 9-

8:1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 19; 9:8, 14, 15.

The word grace (Greek: charis), depending on the context, can be translated as:

1) divine enablement/power 2) divine favor 3) human privilege 4) monetary gift 5) word of gratitude

And Paul will use a few of those uses in these chapters. Okay, let’s get into the text.

LOOK AT VERSE 1… We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Paul wants to pass on to the Corinthians the evidence of grace that came to churches in Macedonia. Those churches included churches like the churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. And Paul tells them the Corinthians this in order to stimulate them to contribute financially to the suffering church in Jerusalem. In other words, the Macedonian church got wind that believers in Jerusalem were suffering, so they pooled their resources to help. And now Paul wants the Corinthians to do the same.

But here’s what’s amazing about the Macedonian churches. What was happening in Macedonia when they “passed the offering plate?” In verse 2, Paul says that God’s grace dug deep into their hearts so they dug deep into their wallets during a severe test of affliction. The Macedonian churches were undergoing severe persecution for their faith. They were suffering intensely because they followed Jesus and yet when they heard that some churches in Jerusalem were suffering financially, they gave money to these poor churches in Jerusalem.

In the middle of intense suffering, they sent money via PayPal to Jerusalem. Let me ask you: How would you react if they came in here and dragged away the pastoral staff and a few other church members and threw us in jail? What would be on your mind? What would be the concern of your heart? If you’re like me, I would be thinking, “How can I survive? What will happen to my family?” But, not the Macedonian churches! They weren’t merely concerned about themselves, they were also concerned about the suffering church in Jerusalem.

Severe persecution broke out and they passed the offering plate! Wow! Who does that? People who have experienced the grace of God, that’s who! People who have rubbed the Gospel into their pores, that’s who!

And even more so these days, people are talking a lot about how suffering and persecution may intensify in America in the coming years. And it may, what do I know? But when I think about that prospect, I want to think thoughts that are informed by this passage. Thoughts like, “Okay. Well, Jesus said that we would suffer. But, what if we passed the offering plate? What if, as we suffered, we reached deep into our pockets to help out poor Christians?”

That’s what the Macedonians did. So, listen, when you hear people talking about how persecution is on the way, don’t panic. Don’t freak out. Just think to yourself, “If that happens, I bet the Holy Spirit is going to move through the church and cause people to give financially to help other poor Christians. I bet some Christians will lose their jobs because of their beliefs, but I bet the church will step up and buy groceries for one another, sharing their cars, helping each other teach their children school, etc. I bet the Gospel is gonna cause people’s hearts for others to turn up to 11 if the world turns the heat up on the church!”

Listen, the same Spirit of God that was at work in the Macedonian churches when they endured intense suffering will be at work in our churches if we undergo the same thing. There is no need to be worried or scared. So, I suggest that we not focus on the fears that await us in the future. Let’s not stress about how churches might undergo persecution. Instead, let’s focus on what the Holy Spirit is going to do when His people, His church suffer.

Do you think the Spirit is just going to sit back and do nothing? He loves the church more than all of us combined! He will take care of us. He will take care of you.

We’re gonna be alright, y’all. The Spirit of God has got this. Let’s trust Him. Let’s not worry about the future, instead, let’s focus on present needs: Who can we bless right now? Who needs our help? Who can we love? Who can we support? Who can we come alongside and encourage?

But the Macedonian churches weren’t just undergoing severe persecution and trials. They were also dirt poor! Paul says that they were experiencing extreme poverty. They were destitute. But Paul adds further clarification. He says that their poverty was “extreme,” or “down to the depth” or “ever-deeper poverty” or “rock-bottom poverty,” as one commentator explains it (Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 216).

But even though they were dirt poor, and even though they had hit “rock-bottom poverty,” they were rich with joy! Paul says that they had an abundance of joy. The Greek word for abundance means to “overflow the set boundaries.” In other words, their abundance of joy turned up to 11! These go to 11. One louder. Their joy went up to 11. It exceeded any set boundaries.

What Paul is saying is that the joy of the Macedonian churches overflowed the set boundaries. But what kind of boundaries might they have? Well, think about it: they were undergoing severe persecution and suffering and they were dirt poor! And yet their joy knew no boundaries! No fences. No limits. All the way up to 11.

Now, we would expect them to have zero joy, right?! How can you have joy when 1) you’re being severely persecuted and 2) you’re dirt poor? When you hear that people are being persecuted, and put in jail, and maybe even being killed for Jesus, and then you add to that the fact that you haven’t eaten a square meal in days because you’re so poor, how can you have “overflowing-the-set-boundaries-turn-up-to-11 kind of joy?” How is that possible?

The answer: grace. Because of the Gospel! Your joy can overflow when you are suffering because you have experienced God’s grace in Christ! Because you’re sins are forgiven, you’re justified, you’re adopted into the family of God, and you have the hope of the resurrection. That’s how your joy can overflow.

When you rub God’s grace into your pores, you will love and care for others, even as you suffer. Even when you hit rock-bottom poverty.

The churches in Macedonia want to remind the churches in Santa Maria that- GRACE TURNS YOUR HEART FOR OTHERS UP TO 11!

That’s what happened in Macedonia. Think about this:

Severe affliction + abundance of joy + extreme poverty = wealth of generosity. Wow! I could see if they just had an abundance of joy that they might want to be generous. But you throw in severe affliction and extreme poverty and you realize that grace is the only reason this happened!

The same Greek word translated as “abundance” is also used here to describe their “overflowing” wealth of generosity. Their generosity was turned up to 11, just like their joy!

So, all of these elements combined: 1) extreme poverty, 2) severe persecution, 3) overflowing joy. And what did it produce? Overflowing wealth of generosity.

God’s grace came down and got into the nooks and crannies of their hearts, then their joy in God went up, and their generosity went out. And then they started begging Paul and Co. to give even more!

LOOK AT VERSES 3-5… For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

How did the Macedonians give? We’ll see 5 ways that they gave in vv. 3-5:

1) According to their means. They gave as they could. They didn’t give their whole paycheck. They gave what they could. Some could give $5 and some could give $500.

2) Beyond their means. They not only gave what they could, but then they even gave a little more! They didn’t just settle with some western, American evangelical percentage. They even went beyond the percentage that most people said they should give.

3) Of their own accord. They gave because they wanted to. Because they were touched by the Gospel of grace. No one had to hog tie them, or brow beat them to give, or guilt them, or pressure them, or make them cry, “Uncle.” They gave because they wanted to!

By the way, we will never guilt you into giving here. We’re not about that at all. We want you to give of your own accord. We haven’t even passed the offering plates in over a year and people have been faithful. So, what we’re doing now is we “give as we go. “ As you leave (or enter), give. Or, use the church app. But, please don’t ever give here if you feel like you’ve been guilted or had your arm twisted. Give because you are overwhelmed that God has given you so much in Christ.

4) Begging earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. They actually begged Paul to give! The word favor is the word grace. Here, it means privilege. They begged for the privilege or opportunity of giving. Wow!

John Piper gives great insight here:

“The Macedonians have discovered the labor of Christian Hedonism: love! It is the overflow of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others.” (Desiring God, 104)

That’s a perfect description of what happened in the churches in Macedonia: Love is the overflow of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others. Their joy in God overflowed, then their love for others got turned up to 11, and then they gladly met the needs of the suffering church in Jerusalem.

And that’s why any of us should give to this church or any ministry. Our love for Jesus and all that He has done for us should make our heart overflow with joy so that our love overflows to gladly meet the needs of others. I hope that’s why you give here. Give here because your heart for Jesus has turned up to 11 and you just have to love and care for others.

Isn’t that why we give? Of course, we give because the Bible teaches us that we should. And we give ultimately because we want God to be glorified, but God doesn’t need our money. In fact, it’s not even our money. It all belongs to God. He just lets us keep most of it. How kind of Him!

But God doesn’t need our money. God doesn’t need us. God doesn’t need anything. God doesn’t need anything from us. He is self-sufficient.

So, we don’t give financially to churches as if God needs us to. We give because people need us. We give because people need to be loved and cared for. We give because we love people and people need Jesus. We don’t give here just to have a building. As if any of us would come in here and say, “Oh my, pastor. Look at your pulpit. What a unique grain of wood. And the smooth texture. Oooh, I just love this pulpit. And these walls. These walls are just exquisite! Simply divine! And don’t get me started on the carpet, pastor!”

We give so that we can minister to people! So, this passage is not really about giving, primarily. It’s not really about money at all. It’s about people. The Macedonian churches gave because they loved and cared for their brothers and sisters in Christ in Jerusalem.

So, this passage is not really about our wallets; it’s about our hearts! It’s not really about “What’s in your wallet?” It’s about “What’s in your heart?”

But, notice the last phrase in verse 4: taking part in the relief of the saints. It’s literally, “the fellowship of the ministry of the saints.” It’s the Greek word koinonia. The Macedonians gave because they knew that they were connected to the suffering Jerusalem church. They were in fellowship together. They were “family” so they begged Paul to take part in providing some financial relief to their brothers. And, then, lastly Paul says-

5) They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. I think this means that they were committed to giving in their local church first, and then they gave to Paul and Co. to support their ministry.

LOOK AT VERSE 6… Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Paul sent Titus to encourage the Corinthians to continue their plan of giving, what he calls here an “act of grace,” meaning the privilege of giving to the suffering Jerusalem church. Paul actually mentions this offering that was being taken up in 1 Corinthians 16:1.

Then Paul points out how blessed the Corinthians were. They were a gifted church. They excelled in all kinds of gifts- faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, and love. All of those things they had turned up to 11, as well. But Paul wants them to turn their giving up to 11 and complete this offering that was being taken up for those in Jerusalem.

In fact, we once again see the same word “overflowing the set boundaries” 2x in this verse: the Corinthians had excelled, that is overflowed the set boundaries in all kinds of gifts, but now Paul wants them to excel, overflow the set boundaries in giving! He’s saying, “Y’all have all kinds of giftings in your church that are turned up to 11. Now, turn your giving up to 11 too!”

And what would ever cause anyone to turn their hearts up to 11 for other people? Grace. Because guilt, fear, and legalism can’t generate this kind of big-hearted giving. Only great love created by God’s overwhelming grace. And when you meditate on all that He has done for you, you’ll find your heart moving out toward others. Why? Because-

GRACE TURNS YOUR HEART FOR OTHERS UP TO 11!

Jesus can turn your heart for others up to 11. Who do you need to love today? Who do you need to care for? Who do you need to serve? Who has the Spirit been nudging you to love? Who do you know you need to turn your volume up to 11 for?

My prayer for this church- this church family- is that we would be so overwhelmed with the grace of God that we love and care for each other. And I think we do that well. Y’all do that well. Really well. Really, really, really. But let’s keep at it. Let’s keep the Gospel fresh so that the knobs on our hearts go all the way up to 11.

I want Jesus to look down on us, look down on Grace Baptist and explain to some angel, “These go to eleven.”

So, imagine a conversation, if you will, between Jesus and some angel, because we know from 1 Peter 1:12 that angels long to look into the Gospel.

So, imagine a conversation between Jesus and some angel because the angel has asked how the Gospel changes human hearts:

Angel: So, most human hearts go up to ten?

Jesus: Exactly. Most go up to 10. But where can you go from there? Where?

Angel: I don’t know.

Jesus: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

Angel: Put it up to eleven.

Jesus: Exactly. One louder. These hearts go to eleven.

I want Jesus to look down on us and say to an angel, “These go to eleven. At Grace Baptist, their hearts go to 11. Their hearts are gospel-centered. They love and care for others and they go one louder in their love.”

Now, think about this: Who wouldn’t thrive in a church environment like that? Who wouldn’t thrive in a church family where you feel loved and cared for? That’s what we’re shooting for here at Grace, by God’s grace.