Fullness and Abundance
Notes
Transcript
Fullness and Abundance
Fullness and Abundance
We are winding down and have reached the last
You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of the emperor’s household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Of course, Paul waits to make the final part of his message about thanks for helping him on his journeys
I don’t mind talking about ministry support, it gives me a chance to remind us of our responsibility and how some take advantage of others.
You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once.
Sometimes we forget how Paul started his ministry.
He was violently against the ‘Followers of the Way’
He would hold the cloaks of others as they killed believers
He would arrest and return people to Jerusalem for trial
His entire goal was to ‘put down’ this ‘Jewish Movement’
For Paul, this former Jew who persecuted Christians, fundraising from Christians is going to be difficult.
Many are right not to trust him, but he will eventually work his way into trust
So you can imagine how hard it would be to get a ministry started.
But out here in Philippi, they don’t know Paul’s history.
And there are some who are following Paul
And they are letting people know Paul’s history
It makes it hard to have a ministry
Paul’s gratitude comes out…
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Paul is grateful for the gift, but he is more grateful for their faith, recognizing that what they are storing in heaven is far greater than anything Paul can accumulate on earth.
Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Just as we saw earlier in Philippians 2:17 “But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with all of you;”
Paul is referring to what they sent as an offering to God
Often, I am disturbed by the lack of appreciation pastors and church leaders can have for the offering of time, talent and treasure provided by those in the church.
People who steal the offering that belongs to Yahweh never come to a good end in the Hebrew Bible.
The sons of Eli (the High Priest) are wicked. Let’s find out why.
Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord or for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan, kettle, caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first and then take whatever you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now; if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for they treated the offerings of the Lord with contempt.
And
Why then look with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings and honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?
Paul was raised a good and faithful Hebrew. He was a Pharisee, he knew this story.
He received this offering from the Philippians
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
Paul sees what they sent as an offering to the LORD.
Priests did have rights to partake of ‘some’ of the gifts given
But they were not allowed to abuse the system
Ely’s sons were killed for what they did.
There are many stories of Christian Pastors who abuse what is offered to the LORD
And I don’t know what to think of them
But God does
We know what you give to support us is an offering to the LORD
We work very hard to make sure those dollars go as far as possible
In the mission of the LORD
It is easy to see what is given as belonging to the ‘church’
It does not. It belongs to the LORD
And we are entrusted to do what is right with it
Paul, at this point, has let them know several times that he is doing okay.
He does not need any further funds from them
But he honors their offering
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of the emperor’s household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Seek unity not just among yourselves,
but among the whole of the church.
Emperor’s household catches people’s attention
He is likely speaking of the roman guards who check in on him in his house arrest.
But remember I told you that Philippi is like a retirement area for Roman prison guards and soldiers.
Check this out.
When Paul is in any Roman prison, he can talk about these people he met in Philippi.
It is possible they know some people who live there
Paul has this ‘IN’ with people whenever he is in Prison
So imagine, this gift shows up, a ‘care basket’ so to speak from people in Philippi, to Paul who is under some kind of arrest.
If anything, it will be a conversation starter with these of ‘Caesar’s house’
Fullness and Abundance
Fullness and Abundance
Paul is full and abundant
Even where he is.
But Paul is not the subject of his letter.
He wants the church to be at peace
Then it will be most effective
