Philippians 4:10-20 “Give Like Philippians”

3:25Now, that point right there is very important for us to see because, as Christians, you and I are to be known for our generosity. And so, it's helpful for us to know what is it that has caused that is what is it that causes us to be generous? What is it that motivates us to be generous with what God has given to us? And here is where the Philippians come in. Because, as we heard Pastor Marty read earlier, they were a generous people. The Philippians, perhaps more than any other church in the New Testament, is marked out and highlighted for their generosity.

4:02They eagerly and generously gave to the work of the gospel. And as we see here, as we're going to see here, their reason for giving generously to the work of the gospel was very similar to the reason that the legacy members gave to AM. And we see that the Philippians gave to the work of the gospel because their lives had been fundamentally transformed by the work of the gospel. That's our main point this morning as we consider what is it that causes, what is it that makes us be generous, give generously to the work of the gospel. It's that a life transformed by the gospel will give generously to the work of the gospel. The gospel had such a transformative effect on the Philippians that there was not one area of their life that was not completely changed, including their thoughts, their feelings, and their desires about how they saw and spent their money.

5:06Their lives were transformed by the gospel, and so they wanted to give to the work of the gospel. As we're going to see in our passage this morning, we're going to see two specific transformations that the gospel made in their lives. There are two transformations that the gospel made that positioned and propelled them to give generously to the work of the gospel. Let's look at each of these in turn: that just like the Philippians, you and I might be positioned and propelled to give generously to the work of the gospel. The first transformation that the gospel makes is that the gospel transforms our financial priorities. Follow along with me, beginning in verse 10. Paul writes, 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. Paul opens this section here by highlighting the Philippians' care and concern for him as he shows how they were always on the lookout for how they could best care for him. But as we see at the end of verse 10 here, they had no opportunity.

6:25I think for us to better understand this last part, we need to remember that Paul was writing in the first century, not the 21st century. I think today, if you and I wanted to help someone, if you and I wanted to send some money, it takes not much more effort than reaching in our phones, grabbing out the little computers that we have, clicking a few buttons on Venmo or in our bank app, and we can send money to anyone anywhere in the world, meeting a need that they had.

6:54But things weren't so easy for the Philippians. For the Philippians to help Paul, they would have had to have first found out where he was, then they would have needed to see if he needed anything. Then they would have had to collect the gift and find someone who would accept the risk of traveling such long distances with this gift that many people would have wanted to take from them, all the while hoping that Paul, in this situation, would have been in the same place he was when they first reached out to him. But as we see here in Philippians 4, this didn't stop them.

7:30The Philippians' love and care for Paul caused them to be constantly looking for opportunities to care for and to support him. And as we see here, they finally had the opportunity as Paul found himself in prison under arrest for preaching the good news of Jesus. And as Paul sat in prison, Paul was completely dependent upon the help and support of others. Unlike today, you don't get food, clothes, or anything you might need when you were in jail. Back there in the first century, if you found yourself in jail, you got nothing, and you were completely dependent upon those outside to meet and to provide for your needs.

8:15And made aware of Paul's situation, we see that the Philippians jump at the opportunity to help as they send Epaphroditus with their gift. And as we learn in verses 14 to 16, this wasn't the first time that the Philippians had helped Paul. And more than just telling us about how they had helped Paul, verses 14 to 16, they show us why Paul helped him. Here's where we begin to see how the gospel has transformed their priorities. Follow along with me, beginning in verse 14. Here, Paul writes, 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.

9:14Here we see that these verses provide a beautiful illustration of the Philippians' transformed priorities. Having experienced the life-changing, heart-transforming power of the gospel in their own lives, the Philippians are eager to see others experience this same transformation. And so they put their money where their hearts are and they give. Just in Thessalonica, they sent multiple gifts to Paul because they desired to see him spending less time making tents and more time preaching the gospel so that others might see the glory of God in the face of Christ and they might turn to him believing.

9:57The Philippians' financial priorities had been completely turned upside down by the gospel. They stopped looking for new investment strategies or researching the latest technology to invest in. Their top financial priority was no longer building a large enough nest egg for them to retire comfortably. For those with lots of money, and we know Lydia and a few others were there, they no longer prioritized getting their names on buildings or athletic centers. But now their number one priority was funding. Paul's missionary endeavors. More than anything else here in Philippians 4, we see that their top financial priority now is supporting the spread of the gospel around the world and seeing others hear the good news and experience the same transformation that they themselves had experienced when Paul first came to Philippi and preached the good news of the gospel to them. Looking at the Philippians, we see an illustration of a very important biblical truth that Jesus taught us about our hearts and our money when he says in Matthew 6, 21, for where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also. Here in Matthew 6, Jesus is teaching us that what we do with our finances reveals perhaps more than anything else what's important to us. And as we see here with the Philippians, it is clear that their finances reflected and revealed that their hearts and their treasure were with Paul as he spread the gospel because more than anything else, they desired that this same gospel would be spread so that others might experience this same life transformation. In this way, we can see that our finances, our budgets, and our bank accounts, they're kind of like the mirror of Arised from Harry Potter. There any Harry Potter fans in here? All right.

12:00Right, woo-hoo. There was a, I'm a huge fan, love Harry Potter. San Diego, there was a running joke that it wasn't, I didn't preach the sermon if there wasn't a Harry Potter reference in it. And so I'm glad even here in Texas, that trend is continuing. But for those of you who are unaware, or perhaps if you have forgotten, in the first book of Harry Potter, there's this mirror called the mirror of Arised, Arised being desire, spelled backwards. And that shows, that's right, desire spelled backwards there. But it shows that whoever is standing in front of this mirror, they would see whatever it was that they most desperately wanted. It would show them, it would reveal to them what they wanted more than anything else in the world. As we're told in the book, it was for Harry to see his family. For Ron, it was to see himself standing above his older brothers. Well, here in Matthew 6, Jesus is showing us that there is, in fact, a mirror of Arised, but it's not a mirror at all. It's our budgets and our bank accounts. When we look at our budgets, when we look at our bank accounts, we see what it is that we truly desire, what we truly want more than anything else in the world. As Jesus tells us, where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. So I just want to ask you this morning: what do your finances reveal is most important to you? What is your gift? Saying about your priorities? Like the Philippians, does your giving reveal a heart that desires to see the gospel transform people's lives? To see them become mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the glory of God? Or perhaps does your giving reflect a heart that prioritizes comfort or safety, entertainment, or perhaps our reputations to the outside world? Or at least does it view them equally? Does it view lives transformed by the gospel equally with these other things? Before I continue, I just want to highlight and thank you and encourage you that for many of you here at New Life, your hearts, your giving does reflect a desire to see the gospel transformed. I'm reminded of our last members' meeting where Chris just thanked the congregation for your generous giving, for giving to the work of the gospel in and through New Life. So I just want to thank you and encourage you to see yourselves as that, as a generous people. And so be encouraged in those ways. But if perhaps this morning you are sensing that your own financial priorities are askew, perhaps your giving isn't reflecting the priorities that you would like to have. Well, sister or brother, if that is you, first, I just want to encourage you to stop and to give thanks to the Holy Spirit for showing this. To you for revealing this to you, that is his kindness to your hearts this morning. But secondly, I would just want you to know that the call for you this morning isn't to prioritize giving more, or perhaps even to give more to the gospel. That's not the call. I think the call of Philippians 4 would be to ask Jesus to increase our desire to see the gospel transform people's life. The call this morning is to be like the Philippians. It's to ask Jesus to help us remember the ways that the gospel transformed our own heart and our own lives and to long to see that change in others. Anton de Saint-Exuperi, I always pronounce his name wrong, but he illustrates this point really well in the book, The Little Prince, when he says, He says, if you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Do you see what he's saying here? He's saying, if you want to gather people together and get them to build a ship, you don't start issuing commands, telling them, do this, do that, but you speak to their longings, you speak to their desires, you get them to long for the endless immensity of the sea, where they don't want to do anything other than make this ship. And the same is true for you and for me. When it comes to giving generously for the work of the gospel, God doesn't issue a command here to give and to give more right now. No, he speaks to our hearts, he speaks to our desires. He wants us to have our hearts so transformed by the gospel, to be so moved by a vision of lives changed by the gospel, that we can't but help but give. In Philippians 4 here, Jesus is desiring to have our hearts be so changed and so desire to see lives changed that we can't help but give, that in fact, it would be hard for us to not give generously to the work of the gospel, aware of how changed our lives have been by the gospel. So a life transformed by the gospel gives generously to the work of the gospel, because first the gospel transforms our priorities. We now prioritize the spread of the gospel above all else. Now, before transitioning to our second point, I just want to briefly answer the question that some of you may have. You might be thinking, okay, Joshua, I agree that I'm supposed to give generously to the work of the gospel, but how much and where should I give? Well, I'm not going to say a whole lot about how much we should give beyond saying that Scripture calls us to be. generous and cheerful givers. Given the tithe meaning 10% of the Old Testament, I would generally say that that is a great place to start your giving, would be at 10%. Although your specific situation might merit a different answer. So I would just encourage you, if you're asking that question, how much should I give, I would just encourage you to get good godly counsel who's aware of your finances, who can help you think through those things together. But remembering that God calls us to be cheerful and generous givers. Now to the where question. I'm sure we've all wondered, should I give to the local church? Should I give to missionaries or parachurch organizations? What about local food banks, homeless shelters, or crisis pregnancy centers? I mean, there are so many good organizations that we can and we should be giving to. To where should I give? How should I prioritize my giving?

18:58Well, I'm again not here to issue directives, but as we look at the examples in the New Testament, as we look at passages like 1 Corinthians 9, 15, we look at passages like Galatians 6 or 1 Timothy 5, I think there's this theme in the New Testament that would teach us that we should prioritize giving first and foremost to the local church and then giving to these other organizations Because the local church is the context where you are most regularly taught and equipped as a disciple. And so the principle in the New Testament seems to be that you should give first and primarily to the local church, and then give above and beyond that to the work of the gospel elsewhere. And I know that we at New Life here partner with many great organizations and missionaries that you can give to. If you have some funds that you are interested in giving, just you can look at the church website to see the partnerships that we have and would encourage you to give to those. If you do want to know more about why you should give to your church, I do just want to recommend this little book here, Why Should I Give to My Church? These are the most cleverly titled books. I would encourage you to pick this up. It is a little book, but it does have really great insights into our motivation for giving and why we should prioritize giving to the local church. These are available by the doors on your way out. Pick one up. I think it took me like 20, maybe 30 minutes to read as you flip through it. So I would encourage you to grab one of those, pick them up. So the gospel transforms our financial priorities. And secondly, here in Philippians 4, we see that the gospel transforms our financial perspective.

20:49As we see with the Philippians, the gospel did nothing less than produce a Copernican revolution in their hearts in terms of how they view. Their finances. The gospel completely changed everything for the Philippians. In particular, in this passage, I think it shows us two perspective changes that the gospel brings to how we view our giving. First, we see that the gospel invites us to look at our giving, to look at our finances from God's perspective. The gospel transforms our perspective on giving from an earthly one to an eternal one. We see this in verse 17, where Paul says, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. Here in this verse, as Paul thanks the Philippians for his gift, for the gift that they sent to him, he makes it clear that while he is grateful for their gift, he is more grateful for the fruit that increases to their credit. In this phrase here, the fruit that increases to their credit, Paul is talking about the eternal rewards that they will receive in heaven. Because in their giving, the Philippians weren't seeking earthly rewards, but they weren't looking for benefits in the here and now, but they were laying up treasures in heaven, as Jesus says. You see, the Bible is very clear that it is not wrong at all to seek a return on investment on your giving. It's not wrong at all to seek a return on your giving. But what is wrong and what Jesus has the harshest words for are those who seek their return, those who seek their reward in the wrong place, those who are seeking their return in the here and now on earth, rather than looking to their rewards in heaven. Just listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 6. Here he says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, or where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. When our lives are changed by the gospel, we no longer view our giving from an earthly perspective, but instead we look at it from God's eternal perspective. We come to see that as we give to the work of the gospel, not only are we blessing new life and other missionaries and ministries that we give to, but looked at from God's perspective, we are storing up treasures in heaven. When we give to the work of the gospel in the here and now, it is a win-win-win scenario. Jim Elliott, the missionary who died in Ecuador, certainly understood this point when he said that he is no fool. Who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. As Paul shows us here in verse 17, when we give to the work of the gospel, we are giving what we cannot keep to gain eternal rewards that we cannot lose. We are storing up treasures in heaven. And if this isn't incredible enough, when we look at our giving from God's perspective, not only do we see things eternally, but we see that our giving is actually pleasing in his sight. Here again, what Paul says in verse 18: he says, I have received full payment and more, and I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. A fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Isn't this amazing, new life? When you write your check, when you give on the church center app or however it is that you give to the work of the gospel in and through new life, that is pleasing to God. It puts a smile on his face. Your giving to the work of the gospel brings God much joy. It is a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

25:25I don't know about you, but when I write out my check each month to put in the offer, Basket. It doesn't really cross my mind that what I'm doing is pleasing to God. But that's exactly what God tells us here in verse 18. He desires that us knowing that our giving is pleasing to him motivate us in our giving. Unless you think that perhaps God is only pleased with those who give lots and lots of money, that perhaps God's pleasure is determined by the number of zeros at the end of the check. I want to remind you that when we look at the Bible's teaching on giving, and especially as we see those who are praised for their giving, as Jamie Dunlot puts it in that book I mentioned earlier, the giving heroes of the Bible were poor. Every single one of the giving heroes, those who are highlighted and commented on for their giving in the Bible, were poor. Those who were praised for their giving were those who didn't have much, but they still cheerfully and sacrificially gave what they had. I mean, just remember the widow from Mark chapter 12, the widow who gave two small copper coins. In contrast to the rich people who were pouring in large sums of money into the giving baskets, this widow gives two small coins. And in response to her giving, Jesus says that from God's perspective, she gave more than all. The others, and that was pleasing in his sight. Hope this is encouraging your hearts this morning. No matter what the number on your check, when you give cheerfully and generously to the work of the gospel, no matter what that amount looks like in your stage of life, that is pleasing to God.

27:23The gospel transforms our financial perspective by first inviting us to look at our giving from God's perspective, to see it eternally and to see that it pleases Him. But it does one last thing for us. When we look at the gospel from God's perspective, it invites us to look to God for His provision. The gospel transforms our financial perspective by inviting us to look to God for our provision. Hear what Paul says in verse 19: He says, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The Philippians were able to give generously to the work of the gospel because they were confident that God would supply all of their needs, as we see there in verse 19. I think this verse 19 here, I think it speaks to a struggle that many of us have, a common struggle that one I know I certainly have. And that is the fear that we won't have enough. The fear that perhaps we might go without. And the truth is that it doesn't really matter whether we grew up in poverty, whether we grew up comfortably in the middle or upper classes. When it comes to money, I think we are all tempted to think that we don't have enough. Or we're all tempted to fear that what we have might not meet our needs now or in the long term.

28:59I think of the famous story about John D. Rockefeller. This was one of the richest men in the history of the world, that not even he was exempt from this fear. One day he was asked, John, how much money is going to be enough? How much money till you know that you have enough? You know what his answer was? Just a little bit more. The man who owned 90% of the U.S. oil and gas industry, one of the richest people in world history, was gripped by the fear that he wouldn't have enough, that he would always need just a little bit more. And in my heart, I know that my response is usually just the same.

29:49How much do I need to make before I give more generously? Just a little bit more. How much do I need in my savings account before I give more generously? Just a little bit more. How much more stuff do I need before I give more generously? My heart says, just a little bit more. Well, sisters and brothers, the truth is that when we look at our finances from our human, fleshly perspective, giving generously will always be a struggle because we'll be constantly fighting against the feeling that we don't or that we won't have enough. But as God is showing us here in verse 19, when we view our giving from His perspective, we no longer need to look to our bank accounts. We no longer need to look to our salaries to know that our needs will be met because we can look to God. We can look to God, the one who has promised to provide for every need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Now, this phrase here, supply every need, I think it needs some explanation. Otherwise, we might falsely assume, as many have, that Paul here is saying that we can get anything and everything we've ever wanted because God has promised to supply every need, as if God were some cosmic vending machine always there to give us what we think we need. But that's not what this verse is promising us. That's not what verse 19 is promising us. Instead, as we see in verses 11 to 13, verses that I intentionally Skipped over earlier, this verse here is promising us that we will have everything we need to be content. In fact, you could read verse 19 as saying that God will supply everything you need to be content according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Let's go back and briefly look at verses 11 to 13. Here, Paul writes, in verse 10, he thanks them for their gift, and he says, 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. Here in these verses, Paul is making it clear that whether he was low or abounding, whether he had plenty or whether he was hungry, whether his hands were full or his hands were empty, he could say that he had everything he needed because he had learned the secret of being content. And what was this secret? What was the secret of contentment that he had learned? We see it right there in verse 13. He learned that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. The secret of contentment Paul shows us is looking at the content. To Christ. It's looking to Christ to strengthen us to be content in any situation. As he says, in times of plenty, we can look to Christ who enables us to see that all we have is gift and we can give thanks to God for it. In times of want and times of hunger, we can look to Christ and we can face our circumstances as God's will for us and use our lack to increase our dependency on God who has promised that He will give us what we need. Here we see that far from promising Christians that we can accomplish miraculous feats, that we can win improbable victories, get an A on the test, or receive that promotion, Philippians 4.13 isn't about accomplishing these great things, but it's all about Christ strengthening us to be content. It is all about Christ equipping us with everything we actually and truly need in this life. We can give generously to the gospel because the gospel frees us to look to God for what we need. And the good news, brothers and sisters, is that we don't do this crossing our fingers, hoping that He will provide, but we can look to Him to provide all that we need confidently and with great assurance because of who our God is. God is, because as we look at Scripture, we see that our God is a good and loving Father who loves to give good gifts to his children. Contrary to how I know I can so often think of God, where I can view him as a stingy God, Scripture shows us a God whose disposition is not to begrudgingly give us what we need, but it shows us that God's disposition is as a loving Father, one who desires to generously give us all we need and more, with the same joy and smile on his face that any of us have had when we have given someone we love a special gift. The same joy we have giving that gift to that loved one is the same joy that God has when he gives to us.

35:23We can give generously because the gospel reminds us that everything we have is a gift that comes from our loving Father, and he has promised that he will keep giving and that he will richly supply all of our needs in Christ. And most importantly, we can give generously knowing that God will provide for all of our needs because he has already done so supremely in Christ. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, speaking of Jesus, he says, thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift.

36:00Whenever we are tempted to doubt God's provision, whenever you and I are tempted to question whether we'll have enough, we can look back to the cross, where we are reminded of God's inexpressible gift as he gave Jesus over to death to forgive us of our sins, to free us from the power and the penalty of sins. Oh, sisters and brothers, if God gave his Son Jesus for you and for me, if he paid the ultimate price to redeem us from slavery to sin, to restore us to a right relationship with him, then you and me, we can have great confidence that he will supply every need of ours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. No wonder as Paul reflects on this gift of Christ, on all that God will give us in Christ, that he closes out this section in praise in verse 20 as he says, To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. I think responding in praise is the appropriate response to viewing our God who gave us more than we can ever give in response to him. Brothers and sisters, you and I, we wonder how is it that we can give generously to the work of the gospel? Well, we see that we can do that because the gospel transforms our financial priorities and it transforms our financial power. Our financial perspective. As I hope you've been seeing this morning, as we give generously to the work of the gospel, not only are we imitating the Philippians, but we are imitating our triune God who loves to give good gifts. Pray with me.

37:50Oh, Father in heaven, Father, we thank you so much that in your word you direct us to your inexpressible gift of Christ as the supreme motivation for our giving in the here and now. Father, we pray that you would give us eyes to see all we have as a gift from you. Father, fill us with a longing to see other lives transformed by the work of the gospel in the same way that you have transformed our heart, that we would have no other response but to give generously to the work that you are doing.

38:41Father, we thank you so much that you invite us to participate in your mission of spreading the gospel to nations near and far. And Father, we pray, Lord, that you would be pleased with our gifts, that you might receive much glory, and that you might encourage our hearts. Father, we pray these things in Jesus. Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.