One Investment (4:14-23)

One Investment: Philippians 4:14-23 (Are you guys ready? God is about to kick our complacency to the curb with the truth of His word.) Pray & Intro: After explaining that he has learned to be content in any and every circumstance, Paul clarifies that he is indeed grateful for the gifts they sent to help meet his needs and especially to assist him in advancing the gospel. And as usual, he encourages them in an area where he sees them being faithful to follow the example he has set for them (see 3:17 & 4:9). That thing which he compliments them on is their spirit of giving. They have partnered with him in advancing the gospel through faithful giving. Read & Develop: Use the temporal resources God has given to invest in eternal souls. – That’s what Jesus means when he says to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mt. 6:20). 1. What are you invested in? a. Pie chart – In my personal finance software, I have a pie chart that shows where I spend my money. 1. Maybe you’re thinking today, what’s the big deal about giving? – These are not my words, but I agree with them: “There is probably no more accurate gauge of your spiritual life than your giving to the Lord’s work. The reason your giving is a pretty good gauge of your spiritual life is that your heart is bound up with your treasure. Jesus taught, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21).” (Steve Cole) b. Money isn’t the only way to invest. – Time, energy, influence. What does your pie chart in those areas look like? 2. A spirit of Giving (and receiving) – the gcg triangle [grateful, content, generous] a. Grateful. – Paul is thankful for their gift, and they are thankful for Paul’s ministry in having shared the gospel with them and now sharing it with others. They are thankful too to get to be an added blessing to his ministry and the spread of the gospel, and Paul is thankful for the spiritual blessing this act of generous and sacrificial giving is for THEM. 1. Paul rejoices in the Lord greatly (v. 10), knowing that it is kind of them (good, right, proper, commendable) to share (fellowship, participate) in his toil and trouble in this battle to see the gospel advanced. (v. 14) He encourages them with the abundance their giving has created for him at the current time (v.18a). 2. When you are grateful, you give willingly. a. [You’re gonna want to keep one finger in 2 Cor. 9 and one in Php. 4.] When Paul was encouraging the church in Corinth (2nd letter) to give back to the church in Jerusalem to help with the needs there, he wanted most of all that it should be a willing gift (9:5). b. As to the individuals involved in that corporate gift, he said, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (v.7) c. That grateful and willing giving is well-received where it matters most: v. 18b!!! b. Content 1. If you were here last week, you know how and why Paul is content. (vv. 10-13)  When you know God is sovereign, saving, and sufficient, then you aim to love, learn from, and lean on Him in any and every circumstance. That gives you a rest and peace and joy in Him knowing that he is in control and is perfectly trustworthy. Content. 2. When you are content, you give confidently and consistently.  (vv. 15-16) a. They partnered in giving to Paul when he left Philippi and went over to witness in Thessalonica. [MAP] Apparently they kept partnering with him even when he left the region of Macedonia altogether. And now they had made great effort in giving, sending someone very dear and valuable to them with gifts all the way to Rome. b. 2 Cor. 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency [contentment] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” c. I recommend that you give consistently, planned amounts, on the front end, primarily through your local church if possible. [Illust. and explain] c. Generous (sacrificial) – When you are truly grateful to God, contentment is easier. And when you are content, generosity comes easier b/c you become concerned with the well-being of others (instead of thinking of yourself). 1. When you give generously, you reap generously. – Generous spiritual fruit (profit), both for yourself and for others. a. In v. 17 we see that this is Paul’s primary desire for them, to reap generous spiritual blessing, “profit that accrues to your account.” b. You can give generously without giving stupidly. (I’m sorry, I should say carelessly or something instead. You can be generous and still be a good steward!)  Give to individuals and endeavors focused on the advance of the gospel, not squandered in laziness and greed. (Don’t give to things when you don’t know how they use it. Definitely don’t give when you have evidence of gross mismanagement.)  Give to those who emphasize ministry, not money. (That is not to say that we can’t make strong appeals for funds to help others. Just be wary of those who seek their own financial gain.) 2. When you give generously, you honor the generosity of God. When you give sacrificially, you honor the sacrifice of Christ. [leads to our next point in the text…] 3. Give because of the goodness and faithfulness of God. a. Paul is as grateful, generous, and content a recipient and he is a giver. Why? B/c he understands the grace and glory and generosity of God.  Understanding grace (v. 23) means that you… Deny the urge to think that you deserve anything that you receive. Deny the urge to desire praise for anything that you give. b. Giving generously, contentedly, gratefully takes a great deal of faith. But God is faithful. (READ v. 19) 1. We’re not just talking physical provision from God, not even primarily: “By stating that God will supply the Philippians’ every need, the apostle not only echoes the immediately preceding context and refers to their material needs, but also and more significantly he focusses on the central concerns of the letter, namely the fulfilling of their spiritual needs.” (P.T. O’Brien) 2. We’re talking – Unlimited resources of God’s goodness, his inexhaustible grace, his unquantifiable glory – making us infinitely rich in Christ Jesus! c. Give out of a heart motivated by worshipping God. (v. 20) d. Be faithful in giving. It will both demonstrate that you are (content, grateful, and generous) as well as help you to be… content in Christ, grateful for His sufficiency, and generous b/c he is generous.  So give faithfully. But give contentedly, generously, gratefully. e. The final greeting (vv. 21-22) reminds us that these are real people in a real time and place who have real struggles and real relationships to one another, who are learning to put their trust wholly in their God who is real. Conclude: What should we take away from Paul’s letter to the Philippians? A pie chart might help you evaluate how you are investing your time, energy, and resources. But that by itself won’t get you to pursue Christ like Paul does. In order to run this race called life like living is Jesus and dying is Jesus, you must be head over heels in love with Jesus because God has opened your eyes to see his goodness, glory, and grace to you in the gospel. When you get ahold of that and pursue it, you will find that pursuing Jesus leads to pursuing the eternal souls of others so that they too can lay hold of the goodness, glory, and grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing else worth living for. There certainly is nothing else worth dying for. I beg you to join me in a being a people so marked and transformed by God’s grace to us in Jesus that there is nothing more important to us anymore! We will declare to our God and others, by our words and actions and our hearts, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (1:21) • Brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… That is how we will stand firm in the Lord. (4:1) That is how we will know Christ is our first love—when we speak and act and think like we have one purpose: to live is Christ. • That is how we will live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (1:27) • That is how we will be unified with one Spirit, having the same mind and love displayed in the humility and sacrifice of Jesus. (2:2-8) • That is how we will trust that it is God who is at work in us by his grace and for his glory (2:13) and yet give everything that we have to keep maturing in the faith by straining hard after Jesus. (3:12-15) • That is how we will put no confidence whatsoever in the flesh or place any value in the things of this world, but put all our confidence in the sufficiency of Christ’s righteousness for us and for others. (3:7-10) • That’s how we’ll find models like Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus to follow—when we see them follow Jesus by pursuing him like nothing else will satisfy. (2:19-30, 3:17, 4:9) • That is where we will find joy, and rest, and peace… and freedom to invest everything in eternity without worrying. (4:4-7) • When we pursue Jesus like that, the gospel is advanced (1:12). And we can ask for nothing more profound and eternally valuable than gospel progress from this life—to be living, breathing, burning lights for the sake of our Savior. (2:15) Do you see it? Do you want it? Chase hard after Jesus. He will always be as good as He promises. After all, he is the good, gracious, and glorious God of all.