The Joy of Missions Giving

Is preaching to a bunch of sleepy Baptists is never easy

after a meal like this. So I know how it goes.

But we're going to turn in our Bibles tonight to Philippians

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

As we look at the theme tonight, the joy of missions giving.

The joy of missions giving, you say, how can the word joy and

the Word give go together? Because sometimes we hear the

word give and it makes us feel anything but joyful.

But actually, if you understand the Bible and God's heart for

giving, it's possible to give with joy.

In fact, that's the kind of giving God wants.

And God doesn't need our money, does he?

In fact, he's more concerned about having our hearts and but

if he has our hearts, then we'll be willing to be used of God as

a channel. And that's really what it comes

down to. We want to allow God to use us

as a channel for giving. When I was a little boy, my

mother taught me Simeon, you can never out give the Lord.

And that's certainly true. You can never out give the Lord

and we don't give to get. But I have seen in my life

today, if I'm faithful to give as the Lord leads, the Lord

supplies the needs and the Lord blesses that and God is mighty,

God is able. And and so we look tonight at

the joy of mission's giving. When you think about our God, is

not our God a giving God? For God so loved the world that

he gave. So giving is right at the heart

of it all, isn't it? God gave his Son the greatest

gift of all. And so it shouldn't be too much

for us to give back a little bit of what he's entrusted to us for

the support of his work. And so Philippians 4, verse 10.

Philippians 4:10

And we're going to read to verse 20.

And why don't you read? Why don't we read this

responsibly to keep you awake? I'll read verse 10.

You read verse 11. We'll go back and forth like

that until we get to verse 20. The Bible reads.

But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now the last your

care of me hath flourished again, wherein you were also

careful, but you lacked opportunity.

Whatsoever state I am their way to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound

everywhere and in all things. I'm instructed both to be full

and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I do all things through Christ that strengthened me.

Notwithstanding you have well done that you did communicate

with my affliction. For even in Thessalonica ye sent

once and again unto my necessity.

But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of

Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a

sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to

God. Now unto God and our Father be

glory forever and ever, Amen. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for the opportunity to assemble here

again tonight. We thank you for this church,

what it stands for. Thank you, Lord, that there is a

heart for missions here. We thank you for the good meal

tonight and all the sacrifice there, the hands that prepared

it. We pray now that you would

strengthen us in the inner man and enable us to receive from

your word and we'll look to you now.

We look to you now for your blessing in Jesus name, Amen.

You know, Paul was really a living testimony of the theme of

the epistle. The theme of Philippians is joy.

And we see in the apostle Paul's life that his joy was not

dictated by his circumstances. This was one of the, this is one

of the prison epistles. And even though Paul was in

prison, he still knew how to rejoice in God.

And he he rejoiced there in God's provision for his needs

through the church at Philippi. And so the Philippian Church had

been a blessing in supporting the Apostle Paul in his mission

work and had contributed very generously there to to the

supporting the Apostle Paul. Now interestingly, at the time

when Paul wrote Philippians, the Philippian Church was

approximately 10 years old. So I understand it's your 10

year anniversary this year. And that's really what we see

here is quite a testimony concerning a young church.

And it's hard to give you. So we're just a small church.

We're just a young church. We haven't been around for many

years. Well, you can still be used of

God to be a blessing in this area of missions giving.

And here Paul writes to commend and to encourage a church that

was around 10 years old that had been a source of blessing and a

source of help to him as he went about in missionary endeavour.

So I want to just give you 3 points tonight and I'm trimming

this message back just to give you a quick overview of the of

the text. And normally it would take about

an hour to get through this, but I'll just hit the highlights so

that you can go home and get some rest before tomorrow.

But look in verse 10 through 14 at what I would call the renewal

of their support, the renewal of their support.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last,

your care of me hath flourished again.

And so they had supported Paul in the past, but now they had

sent further support through Epaphroditus.

And Paul describes this as a flourishing.

He uses a a agricultural term there like a like the sprouting

of a of a plant in spring. And so we see the apostles

commendation in verse 10. His commendation there was joy

and rejoicing in the apostles heart because of the giving of

God's people. And you know, sending financial

aid to those in in in in in the work of the Lord can is one way

we can really encourage them in the frontline of the of the

battle. Paul's in a, in a difficult

situation and their renewed support brought encouragement to

him. And so there's the commendation

there. He rejoiced over their giving

that had flourished again. They had been a source of

blessing to him. And that's how we that's one way

we can be a blessing to servants of God.

We need to pray for them, of course, but we can encourage

them and and strengthen them and help them with that practical

means of financial support. Then we look at the apostles

contentment. The apostles contentment in

verse 11 to 13 and in the process of thanking the

Philippian Church, the apostle Paul shares how the Lord had

taught him contentment. One thing the apostle Paul is

very clear about in this passage is that he wasn't really after

their money in a carnal sense. God had taught him to trust and

dependence upon God in All in all situations, and yet at the

same time he's thanking them and commending them for their heart

to support him. So he says there in verse 11,

not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in

whatsoever state I am therewith to be.

What's that word content? I know both how to be abased and

I know how to abound everywhere and in all things.

I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound

and to suffer need. I can do all things through

Christ which strengtheneth me. And so Paul knew what it was to

be content in his life in times of abundance, in times of

adversity. And you notice there the keyword

learned for I have learned in what sort of a state I am there.

We have to be contented. You know, the contentment does

not come naturally. It's something that we have to

learn. OK, Our our, our sin nature is

such that we always want more. We Live Today in societies that

very much promote discontentment.

And they want you to be discontented.

So then you'll buy more of their products.

They want to try and create a sense of, of want and a sense

of, of desiring you all the time.

And so this is something that we have to learn.

Paul had to learn what it was to be content.

And contentment is a is a very important thing in the Christian

life, especially in a materialistic age.

We are living in a, in, in the age of materialism.

And if we're not careful, we can get caught up in that and get

caught up in the world's priorities.

And the Bible actually warns that if you make riches your

goal in life, you expose yourself to very It's a

spiritual dangers, one Timothy 6/6 through 10 says.

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought

nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing

out. And having food and raiment, let

us be there with content. But they that will be rich.

The Word has the idea of to desire fall into temptation and

a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown

men in destruction and perdition.

For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while

some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced

them themselves through with many sorrows.

So be very careful about about making riches your goal in life.

As it's been well said, it's not wrong to have money, but there's

something wrong with money has you.

OK, It's not wrong to have money as long as money doesn't have

you. And for many people today, money

has them. But as a believer, you can just

be content. It's wonderful to be content

with a simple life, content with what the Lord provides because

we have much greater blessings that the world knows nothing

about. Eternal life, forgiveness of

sins, a home in heaven, mansion, glory.

And we see this world through the lens of Scripture, knowing

that whatever we own in this life we won't be taking with

this. So therefore let's use our

resources for something that will count for eternity.

Now you say, well, how was Paul able to be content?

Look at verse 13. What does it say?

I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

You know, this is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible,

but people forget it's in the context of contentment.

In fact, people like to claim that verse today is like a

prosperity verse, but actually look at the context.

It's about being content even in times of want.

In fact, as we're going to see, there's really 2 verses in this

chapter that are frequently quoted by Christians.

Verse 13, I can do all things through Christ, which

strengtheneth me. And verse 19 But my God shall

supply all you'll need according to his riches in glory by Christ

Jesus. But they forget that both those

wonderful promises were written to a giving church, a church

that had a heart to give two missions.

And so I'm not saying it's wrong to claim those verses as a

believer, but I'm just saying those verses in context are

spoken to a giving church, a mission minded church.

And a church that takes giving to mission seriously can really

claim those promises and trust for God's strengthening and for

God's supply. So that's the first point there.

We see he commends them for the renewal of their support.

And then look at #2 what I call the remembrance of their

support, the remembrance of their support.

And Paul recounts how the Philippian Church had been

faithful to him. Their support of him was not

new. They had done this for him in

the past. Now you 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, for even in

Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

So you see here that the the Apostle Paul had been the

recipient of faithful giving from this church in the past and

10 years on, they still had a heart to support the Apostle

Paul and had sent fresh relief through Epaphroditus.

So we could say their support was rare.

Their support was rare. Verse 15, he Paul mentions the

fact that no other church had communicated with him as

concerning giving and receiving. But ye only only the Philippian

church and it tells you something there.

The the support that he received was something that was rare.

Not many churches supported the apostle Paul.

Now there were others. Of course, he robbed, he talked

about taking support from other churches, but it's interesting

that in his work of the gospel there, as he left the Macedonian

area, they were the only church that were faithful in giving to

him. And when Paul talks about the

beginning of the gospel there, he's referring back to his early

mission work in Macedonia about 10 years previously.

So that word beginning means commencement or origin.

So Paul departed from Macedonia, went into OK to the cities of

Athens and Corinth. Corinth, sorry.

And Paul would later remind the Corinthian church that he

administered among them, supported by other churches,

Second Corinthians 11/8 through 9.

And so this church had been faithful in supporting the

apostle Paul, and it really speaks volumes for a church that

was just newly planted, a young church.

So how can God use us? We're not as big as other

churches. God can use you.

God can use this church, which is a similar age to the

Philippian church at the time Paul was writing.

That's a great encouragement. A little as much when God is in

it. In fact, I think about our

service for the Lord, I think about our giving and compared to

the need, it's just so small. And I think about that little

boy with his five loaves and two fishes and you look at that.

It's just, it was just so small compared to the huge need, but

placed in the Masters hands, the Lord could multiply it and

minister it to many. And that's what we need.

We just bring the little that we have.

And yeah, compared to humanly speaking, compared to the huge

need out there, it doesn't look like much, but you put it in the

Lord's hands and he can do much with it, with his power.

And so that's what we, that's what we need to do, just be

faithful and continue on. And so this was a wonderful,

this is a wonderful example in the church, a church that

really, it seems from its early days had a heart to support the

Apostle Paul and continued on in faithfulness in supporting the

Apostle Paul. So their support was rare.

Verse 15, we could say their support was repeated.

Verse 16. For even in Thessalonica he sent

once and again unto my necessity.

So even when he was still in the Macedonia region there

ministering in Thessalonica, they had supported him once and

again. So at least twice there they had

sent financial aid to the Apostle Paul.

Do you have a heart to support the work of missions, then?

A Ravenhill said today Christians spend more money on

dog food than missions. That's convicting, isn't it?

Today Christians tend to spend more money on dog food than

missions. It's amazing, isn't it, what

people spend on their pampered pooch?

I mean, aisles, I don't know what it's like here, but at

home, aisles of literally aisles in the grocery store there of

stuff for the dog. And I'm not against, I'm not

saying you should be mean to your pet.

You should look after your pet. But there is something wrong

when we can spend more on our pet than the work of the gospel.

Can't afford to give to missions past it or how much did you

spend on coffee last week? Can't afford to give to missions

past it. How much did you spend on your

favorite luxury? Can't afford to give to missions

past it? How much did you spend on your

rifles and ammunition and your hobbies?

Now again, it's not a sin to have some of those things.

I'm just saying it's good to stop and think, isn't it?

Where's the priority in our finances?

Is it eternal things or selfish things?

Third Point #3 look at the reward of their support.

And here's some real encouragement here.

Verse 17 through 19. Not because I desire a gift, but

I desire fruit. That may abound to your account,

but I have all and abound. I'm full, having received of

Epaphroditus the things which are sent from you, an odor of a

sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to

God, but my God shall supply all your need according to his

riches in glory by Christ Jesus. There were three blessings that

the Philippian Church could expect as a result of their

faithful giving, and we can apply them to ourselves as well.

The principle applies, blessing #1 the abounding of fruit.

The abounding of fruit. Verse 17.

Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound

to your account. Isn't that an amazing statement

that God would credit to the Philippian church's account,

really the results of Paul's ministry?

Paul would get a reward, no doubt before the Lord, but

that's the way God sees it. And that's that really lifts

missions giving to a high level. You give to faith, promise, and

then that money goes to supporting missionaries all

across the globe, different parts of the harvest field as we

support them and they win souls for Christ.

There's a reward for us in that. That's how God sees it.

That should motivate you to give to missions because we want

fruit. Paul said I desire that, not

because I desire a gift. Paul wasn't.

Again, we can see Paul wasn't really in this for himself.

He wasn't like the prosperity teachers trying to just bleed

people of money for his own selfish gains.

No, Paul was a spiritual man. His heart was there for souls,

and his heart was to see the Philippian church rewarded by

God at the judgment seat of Christ for faithful giving.

So he he desired fruit that would abound to their account.

I think that's amazing that the giving of temporal things in

this life can result in eternal fruit.

And God views our giving to missions as a part of the

process in bringing souls to himself.

That's how God sees it. So that should encourage you to

be faithful in the giving of missions because it means fruit

that will abound to your account.

I'm amazed actually, I'm amazed that God would, would, would

love us enough to save us. And then I'm really amazed that

he would be willing to go beyond that and reward us for our

pathetic attempts to serve him. But that's the heart of God

heart to reward us and to bless us.

And so give, give to missions. Be a part of that great work of

supporting the work of the gospel because as souls are

saved in the harvest fields of the world, that's fruit that

abounds to your account. That's how God sees it.

We're all a team in this. It's all there are many links in

a chain, aren't there to bring us all across and and we can

just be a part of that great team effort of seeing people

come to the Lord. Second, blessing the approval of

God. So the abounding of fruit #2 the

approval of God. Look at God's perspective on

giving. But I have all and abound.

I am full having received of Epaphroditus the things which

are sent from you. And look at how Paul describes

their gift, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable,

well pleasing to God. What's he describing there?

He's describing their missions offering to him and he said it

was an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well

pleasing to God. And Paul is drawing here on the

imagery of the Old Testament, and in particular the sweet

savour offerings to describe the gift from this church.

And so in the church age, we don't OfferUp animal sacrifices,

but we offer up the sacrifice of Christian service and we offer

up the sacrifice of giving. And it's a sweet smell to God.

It brings joy to the missionary, but more importantly, it brings

joy to the heart of our God. It's a sacrifice acceptable and

well pleasing to God. So this lifts missions giving to

a high level, doesn't it? We can expect the abounding of

fruit, fruit that abounds to our account.

We can expect the approval of God.

This is something that pleases God.

After all, God himself is a giving God.

It's a part of his nature and his character.

He loves a cheerful giver. Then we can expect the the third

blessing, the assistance of God, the assistance of God.

Verse 19 but my God shall supply all your need according to his

riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Again, I emphasize this

wonderful promise was written to a church that was sacrificing in

giving to missions. And so you say, well, pastor, I

just don't know how it's going to work out financially for me

to give to the missions, the faith promise missions there of

the giving program of the church.

I just don't know how it's going to work.

Well, you can claim verse 19 here.

If you will give as the law directs you, you can claim verse

19 because this promise was given to a mission, missions

minded missions giving church. The word supply there means to

fulfill, to fulfill. In fact, it comes from the same

root word translated I am full in the previous verse.

So they filled Paul's every need to overflowing and God would do

the same for them. Note the connection here between

full and supply. The apostle was full on account

of the gift sent to him. Now God would fill what they

lacked. And that's true, isn't it?

When you, when you give of your own resources, that leaves a

lack on your part. Now, well the Lord has promised

to fill that and to provide your need.

Now notice it doesn't say God will provide all of our wants.

OK, sometimes what we have on our list are a whole lot of

wants. Now God will supply our need and

He does that. So this is a verse that you can

claim as a church because this verse applies to individuals

within the church giving commissions, but it also applies

to the church because, you know, even as a pastor, Psalm, as you

look, you think, wow, we're giving all this money

commissions. Imagine what we could do with

that here. But this is God's way the church

takes that step of faith. Individuals in the church take a

step of faith and the church as a whole takes that step of faith

to send those resources to the work of missions.

And this verse can therefore be claimed by the church also

because he's writing to the Church of Philippi.

So it's a wonderful, wonderful verse there of promise that can

be laid hold of the individuals and for faithful churches that

are giving to the work of missions.

Now remember, the Philippian church was not a wealthy church

like Latus. Here they go by faith even in

their poverty. This is described in 2nd

Corinthians 8 one through 4. Remember, the Philippian Church

was one of the Philippian Church was one of the Macedonian

churches. Moreover, brethren, we do to wit

of the grace of God bestowed on the Church of Macedonia how they

in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and

their deep poverty abounded under the riches of their

liberality. For to their power I bear

record. Yay.

And beyond their power they are willing of themselves, praying

us with much entreaty that we should receive the gift and take

upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the Saints.

So you cannot out give the Lord, you cannot out give the Lord and

remember again these two wonderful promises.

Verse 13 I can do all things through Christ, which

strengtheneth me and but my God shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Verse 19 were written to a missions minded sacrificial and

giving church. So if you're going to get

involved in missions giving, those two promises are

especially for you to claim before the Lord, he can

strengthen you to do it and to be content along with that and

and he can supply your every need.

Let's pray, Father, we pray you bless this church.

Thank you for it. We thank you for the Philippian

Church and for its example. Lord in giving, we pray Lord

that you give us a heart Lord, to continue to give.

Lord, we pray you bless the efforts of this church as it

seeks to reach out in the area of missions.

We pray you use them mightily and bless them and supply their

every need. Lord, as they do give by faith

in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.

Well, I hope you'll pray about what God wants you to give.

And you know that that is one of the things about faith promised

giving, the whole purpose of faith promised giving.

I hope you'll take a couple minutes and read through that

little pamphlet. It's got some good Bible verses

in there, but it talks about the idea of what faith promised

giving is. I'm going to give this by faith

and then just pray that God will provide it, right?

And that that requires many times us stepping outside of our

comfort zone, But that's when God really answers those prayers

and when God really does things for us beyond what we thought we

could do. And that's exactly what, you

know, the, the, that he was, he was commending this church for.

It's just that they gave more than what he thought they could

give more than what they were expected to give, But they, they

gave and, and God used them in a great way.

So take some time to pray about that and about probably by the

end of April or so, we'll, we'll ask you to make sure you have

those back in. And you know, we'll just, we'll

see what the Lord allows us to do this year with, with

missions. So let's go and stand and we're

going to close in a word of prayer.

And we normally have our prayer meeting at 8:30 for the men on

Saturday nights. We won't have that tonight.

Most, some of you won't even be home by that time.

So, but we'll just just take some time to pray together as a

family if you can, and then we'll be back here in the

morning for Sunday school at 9:30 and looking forward to what

the Lord has for us. But let's pray, and then we'll

close with each one can reach one Father again.