Gospel Giving

Introduction

I don’t remember most of the books I’ve read to my children throughout the years, but there is one that really sticks in my memory.

It’s called The Mine-o-saur. And it is about this greedy little dinosaur that has a really hard time sharing. The Mine-o-saur is afraid that if he doesn’t hoard blocks, slides, and snacks that he will go without.

And so in his class, with his classmates, he frequently yells out, “Mine, mine, mine!” And this ruins his friendships, takes away from his happiness, and shows what his heart trusts in.

I love the book because it teaches a great lesson and the drawings are comical—but I also love it because it reminds me that I have a “Mine-o-saur” in me and that If I’m not careful I too can look at my resources, my time, my home, and especially my money and cry out, “Mine, mine, mine!”

And I’m willing to bet that you struggle with this too.

Our text today is Philippians 4:10-20. Let’s read this text.

Philippians 4:10–23 (ESV)

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Our text today is about generosity and giving. In the final passage of Philippians the apostle Paul gives us 6 Words on Giving and Receiving. Let’s pray that God would work in our hearts through his word.

Pray.

I. Grattitude: Thank God for His Generosity (10)

Philippians 4:10 “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.”

Unsurprisingly, Paul is rejoicing again. And he says that he is greatly rejoicing. Why?

Paul is rejoicing because of the Philippians support of him. Remember, the Philippians received this letter from their brother Epaphroditus. And he came to Paul in the first place to deliver financial, material, and emotional support from the Philippians.

Paul also affirms the truth that the Philippians, when they were not giving to Paul’s ministry, never stopped being concerned for Paul and caring about him.

Paul is showing wisdom here in how he deals with receiving financial blessings from others.

There are several virtues that could be pointed out here. How Paul doesn’t try to manipulate the Philippians into giving more, how he doesn’t flatter them in response to their giving, or how he doesn’t remain silent in the event of their giving.

But for times sake I want to focus on what is most applicable to our lives as 21st century Americans.

Paul is not entitled. Friends, you and I are some of the richest people in the history of the world.

And when I say this, there might be a temptation to be doubtful. But if we are it’s only because we are comparing ourselves to other richer people.

Nearly half of the world’s population lives on $5.50 a day. That’s nearly 4 billion people. That’s 10 million football fields worth of people. They live on $5.50 a day. So when you and I feel poor, it's only because we are comparing ourselves to people who are richer than us.

It’s like people are starving all around us and we’re like, “Oh, my pile of gold isn’t as big as that person’s! Whoa is me, I am poor!” And rightfully the rest of the planet looks at us like we’re crazy.

And I’m not pointing this out so that we can feel guilty. It’s not wrong to live in America. It’s not wrong to be rich.

But our abundant blessings can cause us to become entitled to what we receive—especially when it comes to money.

And this is wrong and something we should fight.

Paul could have been entitled. “I’m the apostle, look at what I’m doing. I’m planting churches, Philippians, I planted your church. I’m preaching the gospel. I’m in chains. I preach to Kings and emperors. You owe me your money!”

But Paul isn’t entitled, he knows that every bit of resources that come to him are a gift, ultimately from God. And he is secure, knowing that God will take care of him and he’s grateful.

You and I should view every bit of clothing, food, transportation, comfort, and money as a gracious gift from God and not things that we are owed.

When it comes to our blessings—of which there are many—the only appropriate response is Paul’s. Grattitude.

Let me ask you, are you grateful for what you have? Or is your gratefulness spoiled by looking at what others have?

Our next word helps us with grattitude. And it is...

II. Contentment: Pursue this rare jewel (11-13)

Paul continues...

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Paul is content. And contentment in Paul’s day and ours is rare. Because the human heart is an idol factory.

Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: (among other things)... covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Not only do our hearts naturally bend toward discontentment, but our entire economy advertises toward it. At the core of all consumer advertising is, “Your life is not good enough, but if you buy this thing it’ll be better.”

Do you ever feel worn out from the constant desire for more?

Friends, if you can sympathize then let God’s Word point you to a better way. Contentment is a rare and precious jewel that is worth seeking out.

And Paul gives us 3 truths about contentment.

1. Contentment is unconnected to our circumstances.

Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

I’m content in hunger. I’m content in abundance. I’m content when I’m low. In every circumstance I am content, Paul says, whether good or bad.

Friends, more stuff or the next stage of life won’t bring you deeper satisfaction.

Listen to this poem, can you relate?

“It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,

The warm days, and the great outdoors.

It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,

The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.

It was fall, but it was winter I wanted,

The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.

It was now winter, but it was spring I wanted,

The warmth, and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,

The freedom, and the respect.

I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted,

To be mature, and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,

The youth and the free spirit.

I was retired, but it was middle-aged I wanted,

The presence of mind, without limitations.

My life was over, but I never got what I wanted.”

Friends, contentment will allude us if we try to root it in the wrong place.

What do you feel like you need in order to be content? A better job. More money? More friends? To move? A relationship?

God’s word is clear here—contentment is not found in the right set of circumstances; it’s found in Christ.

Let me go back to Colossians 3 again for a moment.

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is where we find contentment. You have all that you need in Christ. Be thankful.

2. Contentment is learned.

Look again at vv. 11-12

Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

Contentment doesn’t just happen to us. It is learned. Paul says it twice in these two verses.

It was through the experiences of Paul’s life—in abundance and in need—that Paul learned Christ is enough.

And Paul wasn’t in an easy place to say this, he experienced much hardship.

In Acts 9:16 God tells Ananias,“For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.””

Paul, throughout his ministry knew much suffering. Consider these verses.

1 Corinthians 4:11-12 “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;”

2 Corinthians 6:4-5 “but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;”

We often think about the low points of our lives as something to escape from, they are just part of the Fall—the fact that sin is in the world.

But friends, don’t forget that God is sovereign over this sinful world—and he is sovereign over the low points in our lives, he’s sovereign over sickness, he’s sovereign over disappointment, when you are desperate and hurting God is using that low point for your good.

Paul learned that even in the hard times of life—especially in the hard times of life—Jesus Christ our Lord and our King is enough.

When our desire is God then we can be content in any situation because neither height, nor depth, or anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The third truth Paul gives us about contentment is...

3. Content flows from union with and reliance on Christ.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Paul says in vv. 11-12 that he knows the secret to contentment and the cat is already out of the bag because I’ve mentioned it twice, but it bears repeating.

The secret to contentment church is your union with Christ.

This is one of the most oft quoted verses of the Bible and unfortunately it is one of the most misapplied verses in the Bible.

For instance, many athletes love to quote this verse as inspiration for achieving their dreams.

Paul wanted to be free from his Roman prison, but he didn’t mean...

“In Christ who strengthens me, I can break these chains, chokeslam these guards and run out of this prison with blinding speed—in Jesus name.”

We have to pay attention to the context. Paul is talking about contentment and material possessions.

Paul is saying—and God’s Word is saying to us this morning—you really can be content with your life. You really can be free from the tyranny of always wanting more, of feeling like you don’t have enough.

The secret is not being preocccupied with your circumstances, but being preoccupied with Christ.

The writer of Hebrews says it plain enough...

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

Be content with what you have, friends what you have is God!!!

Everything else is just icing on the cake, but even in times where there is no icing—the cake is still delicious and sweet and satisfying because it is God himself and there is nothing better.

Grattitude and Contentment are two of the words Paul wants to teach us this morning. The third is...

III. Partnership: See the Inseparable Relationship between Financial Support and Gospel Partnership. (14-16)

Paul picks the subject of verse 10 up again now.

Philippians 4:14-16 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.”

Paul shows here the relationship between financial support and gospel partnership.

It’s no secret where we spend our money shows what we value.

The Philippians valued the gospel ministry and so they gave to it. They put skin in the game.

When Paul left the Philippians to go and plant another church in Thessalonika, the Philippians were eager to give toward that work. See 2 Corinthians 11:9.

The Philippians saw their finances as a gift from God and they saw opportunities to give toward gospel ministry as worship of God.

In the book of Malachi, God gets angry at the priests, He says they “despise Him.” Do you remember why?

Malachi 1:6-8 ““A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.”

God is upset because the priests, instead of offering the first fruits and the best of what they had, they gave God their scraggly, blind, lame leftovers.

Imagine if I invited you to dinner and I sat down with crab, lobster, and steak. And then offered you last weeks meatloaf. Would you feel honored?

As individuals, we donn’t want to be consumers of Christ’s chruch—we want to be co-laborers and partners.

Gospel partnership is certainly more than money, but money is important for the work of Christ to continue all around the globe.

My encouragement to you firends, is to continue being the faithful givers that you are and carry that with you wherever you go and continue being an example to others.

If we view our financial giving to the church, to ministries, or missionaries as simply an exercise in not being greedy. We give and we let go, then we are missing part of what Paul is teaching us this morning. Our 4th word helps us here.

IV. Fruitfulness: Understand the Spiritual and Eternal Importance of Giving. (17)

Philippians 4:17 “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”

When you are generous with the finances that God has given you to steward and you give it to gospel ministry the fruit of that ministry increases to your credit.

That’s what God’s word says.

When people decided to give to Covenant Life as a church plant— all the fruit of this ministry added to the credit of those who gave. What does this mean?

It means, that we should understand that our financial support of gospel ministry is our active involvement in that minnistry so much so that God says the fruit of that ministry is credited, in part, to us.

That’s what giving to gospel ministry is about.

Look at the verse, Paul says I’m not seeking the gift I’m seeking what the gift accomplishes.

There’s probably not a better illustration to this than Heifer International. Are you familiar with this ministry? They really understand this.

They could say when you give to us you are helping people in third world countries with life impacting help. And they could leave it at that.

But instead, they show you what your dollars do. Do you have $30, you can buy these folks Honey Bees! (Slide) And they can sell the honey for profit to help their families.

Maybe you have less, $20 will buy these folks a flock of ducks! (Slide) They can eat the eggs and sell the extras.

Maybe you have more. Have you ever wanted to purchase a water buffalo. (Slide) For $250 dollars you can purchase a family a water buffalo that’ll help them plant 4x the crops they could otherwise.

Heifer International understands what Paul is saying. When you give your dollars it helps the gospel ministry go forth and God sees it and is pleased with it.

You might have an IRA, but what you really need is an IEA, Individual Eternal Account.

The safest and surest investment that you can make is to steward your resources faithfully for the good of the kingdom.

The fifth word Paul has for us as he teaches about generous financial giving is...

V. Worship: Sacrificial Giving Brings Pleasure to God (18)

Philippians 4:18 “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”

As we discussed, Paul is not trying to manipulate the Philippians. He isn’t flattering them. Verse 18 is the true word of God and it reinforces what we just spoke about. God is pleased when we give.

But it’s more than that—it’s part of our worship of God. Paul calls it a fragrant offering and an acceptable sacrifice. It’s like a sweet smell to God when His people trust Him and give.

And this is the greatest reason we give. The partnership in gospel ministry that we otherwise don’t have access to is good! Giving in pursuit of contentment is good. But the primary reason we give is because doing so is one of the ways that we worship God.

When we give of our finances to gospel ministry it says, “God this all came from you, it was a gracious gift, and I want to give some of it back because I love you. I’m not afraid God, I don’t need to hoard my money because you are providing for me.”

How many Christians will trust God with their salvation but will only trust themselves with their bank account?

We don’t want to partake of God’s own son and then be like the Mine-O-Saur when it comes to money.

The final word Paul gives us is...

VI. Faith: Trust in God’s Provision. (19-20)

Philippians 4:19-20 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

One thing we should never worry about it terms of giving is that by giving we won’t have what we need.

When you give to the church or another ministry do you think about how much gas that check could have bought? Or how much food?

Paul says we don’t need to be anxious that generosity will leave us in need.

Paul says plainly and clearly that God will supply all that we need.

Jesus said the same thing. Don’t worry about food and clothes. God knows you need these things.

Also, Paul is not just talking about physical needs here. When he says God will supply all that we need, he is also referencing our spiritual needs.

Paul is saying that God will provide everything we need to live for Christ.

We should marvel at this extraordinary promise. We should treasure this promise.

God’s Word famously says in Matthew 6:24-25 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

There are many fears when it comes to money. But you and I need to fight fear with the promises of God.

God loves his children, this is evidenced by the cross. How much does God love you? He died for you. He rose for you. He has taken your sin and cast it away. He has given you himself.

If God has provided for us so mightily in eternal things we should not doubt that God can and will provide for us in our daily lives.

Conclusion

When it comes t our money we don’t want our hearts to cry out, “Mine, mine, mine!”

Instead, let’s learn to rejoice in the Lord over our partners int eh gospel. Let’s thank God for them. Let’s learn the secret of contentment: that Christ is enough.

Let’s see the relationship between financial support and geniune gospel partnership.

Let’s understand giving is a way in which we bear fruit and store up treasures in heaven.

Let’s see our giving as worship of our good God.

And, Let’s live in generous and sacrificial ways knowing that we can trust God to supply all our needs.

Pray with me.