Sharing Troubles - Philippians 4:14-23

Introduction

Most of us are not waking up every morning thinking, “You know what would really make my life better? More people’s problems.” Nobody’s praying, “Lord, I’ve got a pretty manageable week right now. Could you send me somebody else’s crisis?” We don’t think that way, do we?

Because, man, we’re already tired. We’re already carrying family pressure, financial pressure, work pressure, parenting pressure, health pressure, emotional pressure….should I keep going?

So when someone else’s trouble comes into view, part of us wants to look away. Not because we hate them. Not because we don’t care. But because we just flat-out aren’t sure we have the bandwidth. You already know: If I really share in their trouble, my life is going to get harder, and, honestly, I’m just not sure that I have it in me.

But, throughout Philippians, Paul has been teaching us: Making someone else’s problems into my problem is the essence and impulse of the Gospel. Do you remember how Paul applied the Christ Hymn in chapter two when he tells us that Jesus emptied himself and died on the cross? He said, “Count others more significant than yourselves.” And, do you remember what Paul said would be the result of you rejoicing in the Lord in chapter 4? He said, “Others will experience you as gentler and more reasonable.” He’s teaching us that making someone else’s problems into my problems, someone else’s troubles into my troubles, someone else’s burdens into my burdens is the essence and impulse of the gospel.

God’s Word

Paul is ending this letter by talking about a gift. The Philippians have sent him financial support through Epaphroditus. Paul is in prison, and he is in need. They hear about it, and they move toward him. But Paul does not interpret their gift as merely financial. He does not say, “Thanks for the money. That really helped.” He recognizes that something bigger is happening. He says, “You shared my trouble.”

It’s the language of fellowship. It’s not just a meal and some token gifts; it’s partnership. They’re participating with Paul in his ministry and his “troubles.” That is, they didn’t just give to Paul. They entered into Paul’s burden. They made his trouble their trouble.

And Paul’s point is that this is what grace does. So, here’s the main idea I want us to see this morning: We share in the grace of God’s work when we share in the troubles of God’s people. Let’s look at it in three movements.

We share “trouble” because grace made us “partners.”

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.”

Philippians 1:5 “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Philippians 1:7 “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”

One of the most honest verses in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 7:28 when Paul says, “Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.” That’s true, isn’t it? In fact, “troubles” in 1 Corinthians 7 is the same word we find here in Philippians 4:14 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” What’s interesting about marriage is that it both creates “troubles,” and it gives you a partner with whom you can share those troubles. Getting married is good and right, and it causes problems, but it’s in those problems that you learn whether you have a partner or a roommate. Those problems, when handled with maturity and health, actually serve to make the marriage stronger, not weaker; richer, not poorer; deeper, not superficial.

And so, we could reframe the original question that we had of: “why would I go looking for someone else’s troubles?” by saying “why would I go looking to get married?” In fact, the impulse that we have to avoid the burden of others’ drama is the same impulse that is spreading that makes us more resistant to marriage. We are tempted to become so allergic to the difficulties others introduce into our lives that we’ll willingly embrace a less satisfying life if it means that it’s lower maintenance.

“Grace” makes us “partners.”

So then, why do most of us end up marrying despite the “troubles” that it brings about? The answer to this helps us to resolve the tension. I’d imagine that if I went around and interviewed all of the married couples here this morning there would be a consensus in the answer. If I asked you, “Did marriage make your life more complicated?” You’d probably envision his socks in the floor and say, “Yes!” But, if I followed up and asked you why did you marry and why do you stay married, I’d imagine the consensus would be: “Love brought us together, and love keeps us together.”

That’s the experience that Paul is sharing here. That’s the same reason we become church members. It’s the reason that we take on disciple-making relationships. It isn’t because it makes our lives less dramatic or less burdensome or invites less “trouble.” Paul’s “trouble” is actually the result of his commitment to the church and the gospel. No, it’s because grace has brought us together.

You’ll notice the word “share” in verse 14. You’ll also notice the word “partnership” in verse 15. These have the same root word, which you’ll notice in the footnotes of your ESV: “fellowship.” He’s ending where he started. Do you remember how Philippians 1 began? As a “partnership in the gospel” (same root word). And, why this “partnership?” 1:7 says, they are “partakers” (same root word) with him of grace.

So, the point is that our connection to one another is through the grace that Jesus has given, and our connection to one another is meant to reflect the depths, strength, and resolve of Jesus’ grace. That’s what Paul has experienced from them. That’s what we need from one another. We have been bonded, glued together by grace. We are fellow partakers, swimming together in the ocean of God’s grace. And, because we are bonded by grace, we share in one another’s troubles. Because we are connected in the gospel, and not in our hobbies or our personalities or even in our geography, we take care of one another and meet one another’s needs and add each other’s drama to our lives.That’s the impulse of grace. That’s the application of the gospel. It is grace received, grace shared, and grace offered.

So, grace makes us partners, AND…

“Partners” share “trouble.”

That’s the point. You’ll notice the character of the Philippians’ partnership. It’s one of initiative. They were the first church to enter into “partnership.” They were there from the “beginning of the gospel.” And, it’s one of dependability. “EVEN in Thessalonica” they sent help “once and AGAIN.” This is the nature of love, isn’t it? Love initiates for the others’ good. Love is dependable. It can be counted on again and again to come through and bear the burden.

And, this is the impulse of grace because it’s the impulse of Christ. Jesus didn’t have to begged to go to the cross. He went “willingly.” Jesus didn’t have to be guilted to come for us. “He emptied himself.” And, Jesus’ grace is as dependable as the morning sun. His mercy is new every morning.

Jesus’ grace brought him to us so that he could “share our trouble,” and it’s Jesus’ grace that leads us to share in one another’s. That’s the message of Philippians. Do you know what the most common reason is for not becoming a member of the church? It’s the desire to avoid the drama. It’s the desire to avoid the higher level of commitment and accountability. It’s the impulse to look away from the “trouble” that comes from others because you have your own stuff to deal with. And, do you know what the most common reason is that we don’t serve in a ministry within the church or commit ourselves to missions efforts or that we don’t engage in the brokenness that our friend is going through? We don’t want the drama. But, that’s not the impulse of the grace. And, we’ll never follow a self-sacrificing Savior to that way of life. No, we share in the grace of God’s work when we share in the troubles of God’s people.

So, I have a hard question for us to wrestle with this morning: Whose trouble has God called me to stop treating as someone else’s problem? Whose trouble is grace calling me to “share?” Where is the gospel calling me to embrace relational strain for the sake of relational depth?

Here’s what I believe: I believe the Lord is working in the life of our church to call us to stop being roommates and to start being “partners.” To start really bearing the burdens and responsibilities TOGETHER. Over the next year, we’re going to be elevating the importance of church membership and church commitment, not because we want to make your life unnecessarily complicated, but because we want you to know greater love, greater grace, and greater joy.

Grace makes us partners, and partners share trouble. And, when we share our trouble, recognizing this a means of us partaking in God’s work, we’ll also realize this involves sharing our treasure. And, we’ll….

We share “treasure” because of who we “treasure.”

Philippians 4:17–20 “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.”

If we’re honest, we’re often resistant to partnership because partnership threatens our treasure. Why don’t people marry? Well, one of the most common reasons is that they want complete freedom to do with their money as they please. They want to the freedom to come and go as they please. They treasure autonomy more than love. They’d rather be financially independent than relationally obligated.

From the beginning, one of the most perplexing traits of Christians to onlookers has been our generosity, our willingness to let go of what everybody else is going to war over. How strange it looks to work hard, earn a modest salary, and then give away a significant portion of what you’ve earned. But, Paul, in explaining the Philippians generosity helps us to understand why Christians live in a way so foreign to the rest of the world. And, it’s because our Treasure isn’t what everyone else’s treasure is. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And, Paul shows us the Philippians Treasure in verse 20 when he ends a testimony about their generosity by saying, “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” All of their generosity has been aimed in one direction, in the direction of their Treasure: “To God’s” glory. You’ll quickly notice three reasons we share in the grace of God’s work by sharing in the troubles of God’s people with our money, and with them you’ll see three reasons for Christian generosity today:

We give to “bear” lasting “fruit.”

Paul says that what he is seeking is not their money, but “fruit that increases to their credit” He’s saying that by denying themselves a few comforts and treasures here, they are storing for themselves untold, incalculable treasures in eternity with Jesus, which is where there treasures are. So, their clothes may not be the finest and their vacation may not be the fanciest and their cars may not be the most luxurious, but they are sharing in God’s work through the world and that means their reward is accumulating in a place where it’ll never rot or become obsolete.

Think about this: When the Philippians gave to Paul, they were helping fund the westward movement of the gospel. Philippi was one of the first places where the gospel took root in Europe, and from there Paul carried Christ farther into the Gentile world — to Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and eventually Rome. Over centuries, that gospel spread through the Roman world, across Europe, through the Reformation, through English-speaking Baptists, across the Atlantic, and eventually to places like West Tennessee and the Orchard Church. The Philippians gave to meet a need they could see, and God used it to bear fruit they could have never imagined — us.

One day, I think many Christians are going to be stunned by the fruit of gifts they barely remember giving. A missionary stayed on the field because you kept giving. A child heard the gospel because you kept showing up. A struggling family stayed afloat because you quietly helped. A teenager was discipled because you sacrificed to create a church where they could be known and loved. Oh, we share in the grace of God’s work when we share in the troubles of God’s people.

You may not see all of that now. But, you will if that’s your treasure. That’s why we give and why Paul seeks “the fruit.”

We give to “bring” God “worship.”

Paul reaches back into Old Testament sacrificial language and says, “Your gift is a fragrant offering. A sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” So their generosity is not merely assistance. It’s worship.

(slide) Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25? Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

That is, generosity toward God’s people is received by Jesus as an offering of worship to him.

Lottie Moon was one of the first educated women in the South and left a life of means to serve as a missionary in China. When Lottie was 72 years old, having served the impoverished of China for 39 years, it was realized that she had been giving away her small missionary salary and the food rations that Mission Board had provided for her. Realizing that she was starving to death, the evacuated her to the United States, but she never made it. Instead, she went home.

Why did she make her life harder to share in the “trouble?” Why have so many other Christians throughout history joined her? Because she wanted to worship Jesus. Because Jesus was her treasure. Because we share in the grace of God’s work when share in the troubles of God’s people.

And, lastly..

We give to “bank” on God’s “provision.”

Paul is not writing this to comfortable people who are anxious about whether they will be able to upgrade their lifestyle. He is writing to an impoverished church that has sacrificed to share in his trouble. He writes of them in 2 Corinthians 8:2: “for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy (don’t miss that word!) and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” It’s as if their joy was so full in Christ that it overwhelmed their poverty so that they gave far more than appeared possible. They shared their treasure because of the location of their treasure.

And so, Paul reassures them that “God will supply EVERY NEED” of theirs “according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Most of us are not in a situation of poverty like that of the Philippians, but all of us are in a position to leverage our treasure (lower case “t”) to reveal our TREASURE (capital “T”).

Our giving expresses our faith, and it declares the location of our Treasure. That’s why Christians do it. Why do I give? I give because it declares that my faith and security are found in Christ’s gift. I give because it declares that God is my ultimate provider. How much do I give? I give enough to do without some temporary treasures I want as a declaration that I’m living for eternal treasures. I give enough to “empty myself” like my Savior by faith that I’ll be raised like my Savior. I give enough to share in the troubles of God’s people because God has shared his grace so abundantly with me.

So, why do Christians give? Why should you give away what you work so hard to obtain? We give to bear lasting fruit, to bring God worship, and to bank on God’s provision. We give our treasure because of the location of our treasure. We give because we share in the grace of God’s work when share in the troubles of God’s people.

So, we share trouble because grace made us partners. We share treasure because of the location of our treasure, and, lastly and quickly…

We share “life” because we share “grace.”

Philippians 4:21–23 “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

Philippians 1:7 “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”

Paul bookends Philippians by reminding them that they are people of grace. He starts by saying “you are all partakers with me of grace,” and he ends by speaking a blessing over them, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

That is what brought the church together, and this is what holds the church together. Not personality. Not preference. Not convenience. Not shared hobbies. Not stage of life. Not even shared trouble by itself.

Grace. The grace of Jesus Christ. The grace that came to us when we were dead in sin. The grace that reconciled us to God. The grace that teaches us to count others more significant than ourselves. The grace that enables us to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. The grace that humbles the proud. The grace that strengthens the weak. The grace that restores the fallen. The grace that reconciles conflicted saints. The grace that sends help once and again. The grace that opens hands because Christ has captured the heart. The grace that makes one family out of people who otherwise may have had nothing in common.

So why would we willingly make our lives harder by sharing in the troubles of others? Why would we get in the middle of the conflict of two ladies? Why would we receive Epahroditus back with respect when we wanted a stronger leader? Why would we not lost heart when our missionary is in prison? Why would we keep standing firm in the midst of hardship? Grace. The grace of Jesus Christ that brought us together and held us together.

So, Orchard, let’s be that kind of church. Let’s be the kind of church that shares life. Let’s be the kind of church that shares one another’s troubles. The kind of church that sends help once and again. The kind of church that refuses to let gospel workers carry burdens alone. The kind of church that initiates and can be counted on. The kind of church that gives not because we feel guilty, but because Christ is our Treasure. The kind of church that believes God sees what nobody else sees. The kind of church that believes no sacrifice offered to God in faith is wasted. The kind of church that can open our hands because our Father has promised to supply every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Oh, we share in the grace of God’s work when we share in the troubles of God’s people. So, let’s share life.