2019-01-13 PHILIPPIANS 4:14-20 GOSPEL GIVING (NO AUDIO OR VIDEO THIS WEEK)

GOSPEL GIVING (Phil. 4:14-20) January 13, 2019 Read Phil 4:14-20 – The question of the day is, what kind of giver are you? II Cor 9:6 tells us: “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” So, are we sparing, or bountiful? England’s Queen Mary (wife of George V) loved to mingle with people covertly. One afternoon, she got caught in a rainstorm. She stopped at a house to borrow an umbrella promising, “If you lend me one, I’ll send it back tomorrow.” Not recognizing the queen, the skeptical housewife gave her the oldest one she could find. Next day she answered a knock to find a royal guard outside returning her old, beaten umbrella. He said, “The Queen sent me to return this and thank you for loaning it to her.” The woman thought, “Oh, what an opportunity I missed. I didn’t give the Queen my very best!” So, here’s what we must realize. Every gift – of money, time, effort, whatever – is not just offered to some person; it’s offered to our King. Don’t think so? Remember how Jesus said of a cup of cold water offered to a thirsty person: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). Doesn’t that make you want to be a great giver. The Philippians were great givers -- even when they had nothing. No other church gave to Paul except them. And he says of them in II Cor 8:1, We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” Great givers – first giving themselves to God – the rest followed. Giving opens the heaven’s storehouses. Mal 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” This is not the prosperity gospel – sow your seed faith and God’ll give you everything you ever wanted. That’s not giving; it’s bargaining. It’s trying to put God under an obligation that can never happen. Notice God says “need.” 1 But give from a pure heart expecting nothing – there’s the difference – and the windows of heaven will open. That’s gospel giving. How much did you pay for salvation? Nothing! Freely given. And the heart that’s captured by that gospel gives back just as freely. The problem is, you can’t out give God! He’ll pour out blessing on you regardless – not exactly what you want – but everything you need for this life and the next. This text shows gospel giving benefits the Givee (the recipient), the Giver (you) and the God you serve. I. Giving Benefits the Givee Paul appreciated the Philippian’s gift. But he’d have been content in any case. Christ was his strength. But, that point made, he hastens to assure them their gift was appreciated. His language is beautiful. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share (literally fellowship with me in) my trouble.” We think of fellowship as a cup of coffee, a group meeting, a get-together, right? And it can be. But how much deeper to share with someone who is suffering – by giving, time, money, effort, whatever we can to ease the burden. That’s great fellowship. That was the beauty of their gift. It was their way of going to jail with him. In v. 15 they “entered into partnership” with him – another form of fellowship (κοινωνια). The money helped him stay under house arrest instead of rotting in the Roman underground. But it was their partnership with him that moved Paul. He wasn’t seeking the gift, but it warmed his heart in a very cold place. Doesn’t it warm your heart to see someone benefit from your gift of love. Isn’t it better to give than receive? If giving to honor our King, shouldn’t it be our best? When David wanted to buy the threshing floor from Araunah, the man offered to give it to him. II Sam 24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” We’re prone to give the left-overs, right? We forget who we’re giving to. We’re like the mother who took her kids to see some orphan children and explained, “These poor children have no mother or father or even aunts or uncles. What do you think we could give them?” Her brood huddled for a moment, then came back with a suggestion: “Let’s give them Aunt Martha” – obviously an aunt they could live without. Let’s give our best. In Tale of Two Cities prisoner Sidney Carlton is on his way to the guillotine, giving his life for a friend. A young girl he met in prison is also on the way to her execution. She comes up and asks, “If I may ride with you, will you let me hold your hand? I am not afraid, but I am little and 2 weak, and it will give me more courage.” They rode together, her hand in his, and when they came to the place of execution, she looked into Carlton’s face and said, “I think you were sent to me by heaven.” And isn’t that just the point? Every opportunity to give, to share time, talent, effort, resource, have we not been sent to someone by heaven? We have the divine opportunity to benefit someone in His name. Both of us will be the poorer if we do not. II. Giving Benefits the Giver It’s not just the recipient of a gift who benefits. So does the giver. 17) Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.” Paul’s more interested in how their giving benefits them than in how it benefits him. He’s a selfless individual. He wanted fruit stored up as a credit for them -- exactly what happens when something is given in Jesus’ name. It is all recorded in heaven’s accounting books and will one day be repaid 100-fold. This is not the prosperity gospel -- give to get. This is giving expecting nothing in return. But that turns on the fountain of God’s grace. Prov 11:2425: “One gives freely yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25) Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Simple principle: Take care of others, and God will take care of you. That’s true whether the gift is time, talent, money, whatever. You can’t outgive God! Prov 19:17: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Prov 28:27: “Whoever gives to the poor will not want.” Jesus says in Lu 6:38) give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Take care of others and God will take care of you. That doesn’t mean a penthouse. But it holds God’s promise to care for the Giver both now, in this life, and then, in the life to come. A. Now – Paul calls their gift “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (18c). Isn’t that good? OT sacrifices given with a pure heart were often said to be a pleasing aroma. When Noah offered a sacrifice after getting off the ark, Gen 8:21 says, “the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma” – meaning He loved the heart that presented this offering and accepted it. Levitical offerings, properly prepared and offered with a pure heart were said to be “a pleasing aroma” (Exod 29:18) – looked upon with favor by God. So Paul’s saying, “That $100 check you put in this offering to me –because your heart was pure expecting nothing in return, that sacrifice 3 found favor with God. He saw it; He accepted it; and He credited it to your account. You just invested in eternity!” Paul’s not done. V. 19: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” What a promise! God takes care of those who give to others -- God – not the government, not the church, not the recipient, but God will supply. Supply what? Every need. Not every want or every whim or every demand but every need. Every one. My mom and dad lived on this verse. When they were had 7 kids and were still tithing the first $30 out of Dad’s $300 monthly paycheck and mom was mixing a little powdered milk with a little skim milk to make it go a little further, they were claiming this promise. And God never failed. Never missed a meal. It’s often pointed out that God supplies those needs not out of his riches in Christ but according to his riches in Christ. Example. A millionaire giving a dime to a child would be giving out of his riches, but if he gave $100,000 to a worthy cause he’d be giving according to his riches. God gives according to His riches. So how come it’s not more? Why just enough to get along. Because God knows exactly what is best for us. It may be a lot or it may be a little, but it is just right for us. He is never lacking for what is best for us, and He is never holds back what is best for us. That’s a fantastic promise, isn’t it? I was 13 when R. G. Letourneau came to a YFC meeting in Hutchinson, KS. He had invented great earthmoving machines that helped win WWII and then made him a fortune later. He spoke that night of his faith in Christ. He told how, as God blessed his business, he began to give it away. First 10%, then 25%, then 50% until he was giving away 90% of his income. I’ll never forget his words: “I shovel it out and God shovels it back – but God has a bigger shovel!” That’s Paul’s point. That doesn’t mean every faithful servant gets rich. But it means as we take care of others, God will take care of us, and you can’t outgive God. He will give back exactly what is best for my life. B. Then – But giving doesn’t just benefit the giver in this life. It doesn’t even primarily benefit in this life. It is credit in the next life that is the real benefit. Paul saw their gifts as “fruit that increases to your credit” (17b). Credit implies the payback is not immediate, but it’s coming. By that $50 check they were doing what Jesus advised in Mt 6:20: “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Ultimate needs extend far beyond this life. Even the need to live is relative, right? Eternal life – that’s the ultimate need. So Paul says, “And my God (don’t you love the personal 4 relationship – my God) will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Riches where? In glory. God’s resources in Christ extend far beyond this life, because in Christ, eternal life was purchased for everyone who believes in Him. Eternal reward attaches to even the smallest gift given with a pure heart. Treasure in heaven. That’s the ultimate promise. This is where the prosperity gospel folks are so shortsighted. I heard one of them say, “I want to know how to live in a mansion now! I want to know how to live in a penthouse now!” Does that sound like Jesus? “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven”? He never once said or exemplified, “Get it now.” Another said, “Years ago they used to preach, ‘O we are going to walk on streets of gold.’ I would say, ‘I don’t need the gold up there. I’ve got to have it down here.” Got to have it down here? Really? How confused and how confusing? How misleading to so many. Better to obey and let God sort out what we get here and what we get there, isn’t it? I can tell you this, if your motive for giving is to put God under obligation – to get something back in return, you’ve ruined the whole thing, Psa 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” A contrite heart, not a demanding heart. God’s not in that. That is a stench in His nostrils. But a heart that gives out of love in response to God’s inexpressible love – with no expectation in return. That’s where God is. That unleashes His promise to supply every need as defined by Him – both now and then. III. Giving Benefits God The Philippians knew gospel giving. What is the gospel? It’s the good news that we can have sins forgiven and eternal life in Christ by submission to His Lordship. Eternal life is “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). That is, the gift is free to us because it has been earned by Christ and effected when we confess Him as Lord. Receive Him. So any gift given out of a pure heart, expecting nothing in return, depicts the gospel – giving the world a snapshot of the real thing. To give expecting a return is merely a business transaction. You don’t “give” $100 to Ace hardware. You expect product in return – a commercial transaction. But not gospel giving. The gospel is, here’s the gift of eternal life, free and clear, purchased for you by the love of God thru the death of His Son. That’s where people stumble. They can’t believe anything that good could be free. So when we freely give to others, God benefits because it pictures what He’s done for a lost world. That glorifies Him. 20) To our God and Father be glory 5 forever and ever. Amen.” We were all made to glorify God – our ultimate purpose. And here is one way to do that. Develop a giving heart, a giving spirit and a giving lifestyle. That’s gospel giving and that’s gospel living. Orchestra leader Paul Whitman got some great wisdom from his father, “I’ll tell you why Toscanini was such a great conductor. It’s because his orchestra never play for Toscanini, nor does Toscanini grasp selfishly for credit. He always conducts the music as if Beethoven himself were listening. And he wants Beethoven to hear it done correctly.” He conducted to glorify Beethoven. And we have the privilege of conducting our lives to glorify God. Giving from a selfless heart is one of the best way to do that. Conc – I have a long way to go on this journey. I can easily give grudgingly. My heart is not always pure. Can we not stir each other up that way – to see the wonderful privilege our Lord has given us to share from the abundance of what He has given us? How we give says a lot about who we really are. Amazing stories of generosity came out of the Nazi death camps during WWII. Like the Philippians, so often those who had not enough themselves gave freely to others. Many in those camps realized that the ability to give equated to the ability to survive. If a prisoner was on the verge of starvation but had a crust to share with a comrade who was suffering even more, he was capable psychologically and spiritually of surviving. One survivor of Treblinka described it this way: “In our group we shared everything, and the moment one of the group ate something without sharing it, we knew it was the beginning of the end for him.” I hope it’s not the beginning of the end for us. Let’s renew our commitment to gospel giving – being great givers -- in the name of our glorious Lord – lest it be the end of us! Let’s pray. 6