A Giving Church
Notes
Transcript
A Giving Church
A Giving Church
philippians 4;1
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. 17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. 19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Paul is closing this letter with a statement and gratitude to the church at Philippi!
They showed up and helped
They sacrificed for the work of God in foreign lands
What this church Know for ? Commitment and service...
What did Paul call them? They made him joyful
\deassdddswasww
That why this letter is know as the epistle of Joy .....
Generous people are available.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
They create space in their lives for others. Whether that is just be able to meet up for coffee with a friend or giving their time weekly to donate with a local organization, generous people make themselves available to others.
Generous people don’t need recognition.
Generous people don’t need praise for their generosity. It’s such an integral part of who they are that it almost seems silly to be given praise. They don’t do it to be acknowledged or to make a big to do of their giving. In fact, most generous people fly under the radar when it comes to just how generous they are. What a breath of fresh air!
Generous people want to see impact.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
While generous people may not want to be recognized for their giving, they do want to see that their giving is having impact. They want to know that the investment of their time, money, and resources is having influence on the missions they choose to support. They want to see a great return on investment so that they can keep being generous.
Generous people give sacrificially.
Perhaps the biggest habit of a generous person is that they are sacrificial. They don’t just give of themselves because it’s easy. They do with great sacrifice. Maybe that means waking up an hour early to mentor a kid, or Whatever it may be, generosity always comes with some form of sacrifice.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, so I want to hear from you! What do you think are characteristics of generous people? What have you experienced when it comes to generosity? Let us know!
Much more here
Characteristics of a giving church ...
I. Faithful Church
I. Faithful Church
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
vs 14 - they shared in his troubles ; the money they had sent to supply his needs during his imprisonment.
They were faithful to supply his needs.
When he was in trouble the church at Philippi was there ...
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
vs 15 - they all were quit and abandoned Paul
No church partnered with me but you..... in giving ....
You are it
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Paul had been in desperate financial need before. He had been short of funds when he had more or less been forced to leave Philippi at the time the work in Europe first began.
He had gone on to Thessalonica, and when driven out of Thessalonica, he had gone on to Berea and then Athens. The reason for his need for money at that time was the pressure of open doors for evangelism along with the pressure of persecution.
But after Paul left Philippi and Macedonia (northern Greece) for Achaia (southern Greece), the work of evangelism flourished so greatly that he could not spare the time to do secular work.
When Paul fasted, no doubt he remembered the Lord’s instructions: “When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast” (). Not a soul knew that Paul was starving. He did not even think of sending broad hints in a letter to Lydia. He was ashamed to beg—begging seemed to him to be a betrayal of trust. God knew his needs and that was enough. Since Jesus went hungry for forty days in the will of God and resolutely resisted Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread (), Paul felt that he could go without food for the sake of the gospel. He knew that God, in His own good time and way, would take care of his financial needs as long as he was in the will of God.
Turning our thoughts to Paul’s present situation, we notice that he commended the Philippians for their practical Christian kindness.
i. The Lacking Concern of the Churches (4:15b)
“No church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.”
Paul showed how deeply he felt the other churches’ lack of concern “in the beginning of the gospel.”
The many churches he had planted and the thousands of people he had led to Christ did not seem to care about his financial needs when he “departed from Macedonia.” The church in Syrian Antioch had sent him forward as a missionary to the regions beyond. Why had not they remembered him? What about the churches of Galatia? They had once received him “as an angel of God”; they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him (). But they had not helped him when he had needed financial aid. The one bright spot had been the church at Philippi. Only they had sent him relief.
The church in Syrian Antioch had sent him forward as a missionary to the regions beyond.
Why had not they remembered him? What about the churches of Galatia?
They had once received him “as an angel of God”; they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him ().
But they had not helped him when he had needed financial aid. The one bright spot had been the church at Philippi. Only they had sent him relief.
ii. The Loving Concern of Their Church (4:15c–16)
“But ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.”
Paul was still remembering the former generosity of the Philippians.
Twice they had helped him while he was at Thessalonica. Thessalonica was nearly a hundred miles down the Egnatian way, a considerable distance in those days.
A Giving Church is faithful.....
A Giving Church is a fruitful Church
II. Fruitful Church
II. Fruitful Church
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
A giving church has fruit....
There are people that are saved because of that ministry
Fruit ....
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
john 15.1-
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Paul’s Delight in Their Gift (4:18a)
“I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you.”
Muller would not accept a financial gift from a person he knew to be in debt; such a donation was always courteously but firmly refused. Another of his principles was to give a full accounting of what he did with all the money he received. Therefore he developed the habit of circulating an annual statement called “The Chronicle of the Lord’s Dealings with George Muller.” Because this annual statement, which listed every gift, might be misconstrued as a subtle way of hinting for support for the work entrusted to him, Muller never released “The Chronicle” to the public until there were more than ample funds in the bank. Never was an issue published when funds were low.
Similarly Paul was “full” when he wrote to the Philippians. Epaphroditus had delivered their gift. Now he had plenty. He had need of no more.
look at vs 17
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
phil
A fruit producing church will change the community:
The community is served
The community is exposed
The community is reached
Lives are changed
The family tree of a family is changed
A giving church produces fruit more here
more here
(b) Paul’s Description of Their Gift (4:18b)
“An odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
The love-gift which Epaphroditus brought from the Philippians to Paul is described as a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
The only other time these words are used, they refer to Christ Himself (). Paul dignifies the sacrificial giving of the Philippians by describing what it meant to God. It ascended as a fragrant sacrifice to Him. It was both acceptable and well pleasing.
Jowett exclaims:
How vast, then, is the range of an apparently local kindness!
We thought we were ministering to a pauper, and in reality we were conversing with the King. We imagined that the fragrance would be shut up in a petty neighborhood, and lo, the sweet aroma steals through the universe. We thought we were dealing only with Paul, and we find that we were ministering to Paul’s Savior and Lord.[1]
A Giving Church
III. Funded Church
III. Funded Church
III. Funded Church
III. Funded Church
III. Funded Church
III. Funded Church
So when Paul was a hundred miles away and the Philippians were still babes in Christ, they had reached out to him twice—and he was only in Thessalonica a scant three weeks. Now they had reached out to him all the way to Rome. Every memory of their loving concern warmed his heart.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Phil 4.
their needs are met
4:19 Now Paul adds what is perhaps the best-known and best-loved verse in this entire chapter.
We should notice that this promise follows the description of their faithful stewardship. In other words, because they had given of their material resources to God, even to the point where their own livelihood was endangered, God would supply their every need.
How easy it is to take this verse out of context and use it as a soft pillow for Christians who are squandering their money on themselves with seldom a thought for the work of God! “That’s all right. God will supply all your need.”
While it is true in a general sense that God does supply the needs of His people, this is a specific promise that those who are faithful and devoted in their giving to Christ will never suffer lack.
It has often been remarked that God supplies the needs of His people—not out of His riches, but according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
God’s supply is according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, and nothing could be richer than that!
Williams calls verse 19 a note drawn upon the bank of faith:
My God—the name of the Banker.
Shall supply—the promise to pay.
All your need—the value of the note.
According to His riches—the capital of the bank.
In glory—the address of the bank.
By Christ Jesus—the signature at the foot, without which the note is worthless.[1]
Are we a Giving Church!