Sermon Tone Analysis

*Philippians 14**.*

God is GOOD!

Hallelujah!

He has given us many things.

Each of us have talents, don’t we? *[P]* It is quite interesting to see what the Bible has to say about talents.

It is easy to do these days with computers and software with search engines.

You type in “talent” press enter and up come the answers!

65 times in my NASB, and 65 times in your KJV (if you use a NIV it is only 48 times).

But do you know that not one of those times is it talking about “talents” as we use the word today?

In the OT it is a weight (about 35 Kg), usually of gold or silver, so it was a measure of money; and in the NT it was an amount of money – a large amount: a silver talent was getting on for 20 years pay, a gold talent maybe 30 times that!

But the funny thing is that our word “talent” comes directly from the Greek word used in (Matthew 18 and Matthew 25).

The word comes straight from the Bible, so how come talent means something so different today?

We know the parable in Matthew 25 where the landowner gave different amounts of talents to his servants to look after (in Luke he gave minas, not talents) – to one he gave 5, and he earned 5 more, to one he gave 2 and he earned 2 more and to one he gave 1 (and remember?) he buried it in the ground.

People took this parable and applied it – what God has entrusted to you, you are to use for Him.

You use the /abilities/ He has given you, your “talents”, and apply them to the furtherance of His Kingdom.

And so from the application of that parable, the meaning of the word in English changed from money to abilities.

There is nothing wrong with applying the parable, we are right to do so – but Jesus was actually talking about money!

*[P]* He did so quite a lot, actually.

I don’t want to get too deep here – but sometimes when the Bible talks about “money”, it actually means, well, money!

But we spiritualise it, money is “evil mammon” and we don’t talk about that.

But Jesus did and so did Paul – he spent considerable attention and effort in collecting it – not for himself I might add!

In fact how we handle our money is taken as a measure of how suited we are to responsibility with other things [*Luke 19:17*/ “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’/ *Luke 16:10-11*/ “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?/].

We are coming to the close of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi – and it is all about money.

There are some well known verses here that people love but Paul is talking about the practical subject of finances: *[P]* [*Philippians 4:10-23*/ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the Gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church *shared* with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to *your* account.

But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

The brethren 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./]

Paul says: “/I rejoiced greatly in the LORD/” – there it is again – over and over again in Philippians Paul mentions rejoicing.

The Philippians had sent him a financial gift and he is acknowledging it – it is about money.

Is Paul rejoicing over the money?

No, what made him rejoice was the concern that the Philippians had for him.

*[P]* There is Paul in prison – it is an encouraging thing to know people are concerned about you.

And often we are concerned – what we need to do is show it – express it in a practical way.

Giving is a way of showing your concern.

The motive in giving is love.

They were showing their love – not in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth.

James and Carolyn are serving the LORD is Kazakhstan – it’s a pretty hard winter there.

You are concerned for them – that is wonderful, but not much good unless you do something about it.

Your concern has to be expressed!

– you send them a gift to help pay their heating bill.

[*James 2:15-16*/ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?/]

But the Philippians had expressed their concern and Paul rejoiced in the love shown to him.

I have just had a birthday – and I was given some presents.

I guess when I was little I was more concerned with what I got but now that doesn’t matter so much – it is not getting things, but that someone cared enough to give – the gift reflects the love of the one giving it.

Your joy is not in the presents but the love expressed.

You express your love through giving *[P]*.

I think it is a truism: Love gives!

You can give without love but you cannot love without giving.

And Christians can get hung up on giving.

I’ve been in churches where there have been sermons preached on how we should be giving, how we should be tithing – it becomes some onerous, heavy thing.

But if the motivation is love, it all changes.

Paul says [*2 Corinthians 9:7*/ Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver./]

– a “hilarious” giver.

There is joy in giving when it is done in love.

Love longs to be expressed.

So here Paul is acknowledging the gift that the Philippians had sent him while he was in prison.

I was taught when I was little: if someone give you something it is good to say thank you.

If love must expressed, so too must gratitude *[P]*.

But sometimes it is a bit tricky saying “thank-you”.

Here’s what I mean.

I like my food, and so if someone gives me something delicious, I am going to make sure I express my appreciation.

I may think that I am doing it to be a courteous and thankful, but at times I have ulterior motives.

If I say, “That was a fabulous chocolate cake!” Chances are they will say, “have another piece.”

So if there is too much praise, it may sound like you are actually seeking more.

If you give too little thanks, they might think you didn’t really like what they gave you.

It can be a difficult balance at times.

Paul has to handle this.

He wants to genuinely thank the Philippians for their generous gift to him, but without sounding like he is seeking more of the same.

If he praises the gift too much, it will sound like he wants more.

If he downplays it too much, he may sound ungrateful, or as if the gift was insufficient to meet his needs.

So what he does is both.

He begins in (Phil 4:10) with the downplaying.

At first glance it might seem like Paul is saying something like, “/You’re finally getting around to remembering me/.” *[P]* Then he basically repairs that statement by saying that they “/were indeed thinking about him, but they just lacked an opportunity to express it/.”

He didn’t make a mistake – remember, Paul is writing, not speaking; so it is not a slip of the tongue, he does it deliberately.

He is being careful not to go over the top in his praise.

He is making sure that they don’t think he is hinting that he wants more.

He makes it clear that he is not suffering lack – he is content – and that contentment doesn’t depend on what he has.

[*Philippians 4:11*/ Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am./] Paul now goes into a little sidetrack on contentment, and to understand this section, we need to recognize Paul’s distinction between what is /desired/ versus what is /required/.

*[P]* Paul uses two different words: “/want/” in this verse and the word: “/need/” (Phil 4:16) – some translations are unhelpful by using “need” in both places.

The first word means a lack or shortage: there is not enough of something.

You could be running low on something without necessarily having run out.

The latter term refers to something that is required, a necessity, and is missing.

If I needed a screwdriver to assemble something but didn’t have one, the project would grind to a halt until the need was met – it is essential, it is required.

It would be nice to have an electric screwdriver – I lack it, but I don’t need it – it is desired, not required.

Why is this distinction important here?

When Paul talks about learning to be content in (Phil 4:10), he is talking about a lack or shortage.

When he talks about God meeting needs, he is referring to a “must-have”— something essential to accomplish a given task.

So in (Phil 4:11 and again in Phil 4:12) Paul talks about a “/lack/” in contrast to having an /abundance/.