For the One Series - Part 4My Commitment to Reach the One Commitment SundayApril 22, 2018 A family came home from church one Sunday and after they had lunch they sent their 6-year-old son off to play. After a while, his mother realized that they hadn’t heard much from him, which any parent knows is a recipe for disaster.  The mother got up from her recliner and walked to the child's bedroom and listened right outside his door. She kept hearing small metallic sounds and jingling come from the other side of the door. Intrigued, she cracked the door a little and looked in to see her son sitting on the floor with his piggy bank opened and a few dollars in coins lying on the floor. He gathered them up and put them in the handkerchief, knelt down and prayed silently, and then threw the coin up in the air. He watched them all hit the ground, frowned, and gathered his coin back into the handkerchief and repeated throwing them up in the air. His mom opened the door and asked him what in the world he was doing. The little boy replied, “We learned in Sunday School today that we should give money to God for an offering. I forgot to bring mine today I figured I’d come home and throw mine in the air, and God would catch whatever He needed and I could keep the rest, but He hasn’t caught any yet!” As cute as that story is, it does highlight one of the common misconceptions about giving as an act of worship. Our relationship to money is a spiritual truth taught throughout the Bible.Go with me to our text this morning: 2 Cor 8:1-9And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.   5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us a-see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. NIVThe past several weeks we have been searching the scriptures seeing how Jesus left the 99 to reach the one and how he has given us that great commission as well. We have heard that Jesus gave everything to reach the one and how it only makes sense that we do everything to reach the one as well.  This journey to reach the one is a Spiritual journey, it is a spiritual journey that transforms those who take it. Today we come to Commitment Sunday a day where we are challenging to make a financial commitment to the vision to reach the one. Our relationship to money is a spiritual truth taught throughout the Bible. (Repeat)When it comes to money and finances;·      Scholars say Jesus discussed the topic of money more than heaven & hell combined·     One man counted 2,350 verses in the Bible deal with money·     Rick Warren author of Purpose Driven Church has said that stewardship and redemption are the 2 all-encompassing themes of God’s Word.·     Why (the above)? Because as we saw in last weeks message God does want money to control us but us to control it!Our text this morning reveals a church, a group of believers, who seemed to be living by this spiritual truth.These two chapte