Gratitude, Glory, and Grace: Paul's Unwavering Joy

What our theme is for this last part of the book of Philippians is gratitude, glory, and grace.

I mean, wow, gratitude, glory, and grace. So some of y'all are wondering,

Brother Joe, that's three Gs, right?

We're pulling three Gs, right? That's right. Gratitude, glory, and grace. Come on.

That's our three G, all right? And so Paul comes here to the end of this letter,

and we don't see a defeated man. And we've talked about that for a couple of weeks.

Neither do we see one who is discouraged or downcast.

Though he is in prison and held in chains, the apostle remains robust in his

faith. He's resolute in his hope, right?

He's not exasperated with the turn of events that have confined him in Rome for two long years.

I know most of us here, probably all of us here, I would think,

do not want to be in prison, right?

And now, some of us would say, no, I don't want to be in prison,

but I might can handle two weeks better than two years.

Okay, I don't know. But regardless, we don't want to be there,

right? But Paul has been there for two long years for preaching the gospel.

But to the contrary here, he is upbeat. He is triumped. Is that because he's nuts?

No, it's because his confidence that God is using him amid this difficulty to

spread the gospel to the Roman Empire, y'all.

In fact, Paul had always wanted to preach the gospel to Rome.

He just never knew that God was going to put him in prison to do it.

Right? I mean, come on. I mean, he just didn't realize how God was going to accomplish this.

But despite his physical hardships, his unjust sufferings, he has given praise to God.

Praise to the Lord. Y'all, think

about it. How easy is it for us to give praise to God in the good times?

It's very easy, right? Sometimes we forget to though, right?

But how easy is it to give God praise in the hard times?

It really depends on where our resources come from and where our rock is founded,

right? Where our foundation is.

And he's giving praise to God. Though the outlook was dim, the uplook was never brightened.

I mean, wow. Just think about it. Paul doesn't depend, as we've seen, on his circumstances.

He has true joy that passes all understanding, right?

In fact, in this closing section that we're starting to look at today,

Paul concludes with an expression of gratitude for the ministry partnership

that he continues to maintain and enjoy with the Philippian Christians.

He states his thankfulness for their financial health during these trying times.

And finally here, as you'll see, as we read earlier, he ends with a doxology of praise for God.

And then final greetings, of course, to the believers there in Philippi.

Like Paul, though, you may find yourself in a difficult place in your life today.

Now look, I'm not naive enough to think that everyone sitting here today has

just got a, you know, no problems, no troubles, right?

Every one of us have varying degrees of troubles. And if you don't today, hold on.

You probably will down the road at some time. And I'm not trying to be negative. That's just life.

Jesus said, in this world, you will have trials and tribulations, but be of good cheer.

For I have overcome the world, right? So you might find yourself in a difficult

place. You too might be in a confining set of circumstances,

even from where there is no apparent or immediate escape.

If so, take heart. Take heart as you consider these words of the Apostle Paul.

His vibrant testimony here in this passage can be your experience and my experience too. Amen?

And in fact, if you're not in a trial, like I said, today or at this moment,

then learn from him, for it is certain that you will find yourself in a trial

or hardship at some point in your future.

And when difficulty comes, notice I said, when difficulty comes,

make sure that his joy can be yours too, right?

Paul's joy can be yours too because it's founded from Christ.

Well, let's talk a little bit about this today. Some of y'all are going to get

this because you just are business-minded, okay?

We're talking about partnership in gospel ministry.

Partnership in gospel ministry. Paul begins this closing section here today

of his epistle by communicating his deep gratitude to the Philippians,

first of all, for the partnership that they share together in ministry in which

they support him in his ministry.

Look at verse 14 again here in Philippians 4.

You have done well to share with me in my affliction.

That word share, it just means to be a partner together with others.

That root word, koinio, is used

elsewhere in scripture to have fellowship with or to be made a partner.

And fellowship means to share something in common, basically,

with another person in partnership.

And so the idea here today, church, is to be participant, be a participant with

others in a common enterprise, a partnership.

And by sending this financial gift, and who did they send it by who remembers?

Epaphroditus. If you're looking for a name for your child, there you go.

But by sending a financial gift,

the Philippians were close partners with Paul in the gospel ministry.

In fact, this ministry partnership between the Philippians and Paul had been

a long-term relationship of many years.

And he writes, 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, and he states in verse 15 there.

Again, that shared is once again, koinonia, right?

In this part here, that word used for fellowship or partnership.

And the Philippians had established an ongoing partnership, as we see with him,

beyond what many other churches had known here.

And no church had stood with him for as long as they had, basically.

And Paul had first preached the gospel, if you remember, in Philippi a decade earlier.

Now, decades a while, right? Ten years, right?

He had preached it earlier. And as he had then departed from Macedonia,

this church actually remained his ministry partner for a period of 10 years.

Wow. And only, at least we look at this, only the Philippian church had consistently

given Paul the financial support he needed to continue his itinerant preaching ministry.

And as soon as he left Philippi, after planting the church there,

they immediately began giving financially to meet his needs in ministry.

In fact, in verse 15, look at it again there in verse 15.

Paul uses three business terms here.

Giving, that refers to expenditures. Receiving, to receipts.

And matter, could be translated account, literally.

And those words don't indicate like a crass approach, I have to say, to ministry at all.

But the recognition that the Philippians here, get this, are investing.

They're investing wisely by giving financially to the work of the Lord.

Their monetary support here of him has been recorded where?

In heaven, and it's already yielding an eternal rate of return for God.

Wow. I mean, Paul remembers this.

Look at verse 16, that even in Thessalonica, look what he says,

you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

And after he left Philippi, we see in Acts 16, 40, that he had journeyed through

this area until he came to Thessalonica, a couple of areas there.

And in Acts 17, there Paul had preached the gospel and created an uproar.

Y'all, I don't know if y'all have noticed the life of Paul, but he seems to

cause riots wherever he goes, right?

He's preaching the gospel. There's an uproar, there's a riot of some kind.

But much like the one that had occurred in this place in Philippi,

the aftermath of the event was that a church was planning.

At a demanding time when Paul needed financial assistance, the Philippians stood

with him with repeated gifts of support.

In fact, in this sense, they were close partners.

They were close partners with him in the work of the gospel.

That's what we need, y'all, in our lives, partnership in the work of the gospel.

In fact, that leads us to this next part today. I want us to see this because

it's so important. Making a profit.

Some of you are scratching your head and saying, what are you talking about,

Brother Judd? Well, the apostle next expresses a disclaimer that he desires,

that what he desires is not the Philippians'

gift, but rather the spiritual reward that is accruing for them. Look at verse 17.

The profit which increases to what?

Your account. Whenever somebody invests in a business venture,

they're allowed to share in the profits earned.

And by the way, of a metaphor, this

is how the financial support of the Philippians here is profiting them.

By their monetary gifts, the Philippians, I want y'all to see this,

are storing up an eternal profit for themselves in heaven.

Jesus had taught the same. You remember this verse, but store up for yourselves

treasures where? and heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys or corrupts

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

That's Matthew 6, 20. And in like manner here, eternal dividends,

if you will, are being posted to the Philippians account in heaven because of

their partnership in the gospel ministry with Paul.

And this is what matters to Paul. I want y'all to see this, because as MacArthur

points out in his commentary, their gift brought Paul joy, not because of its

personal material benefit to him, but because of its spiritual benefit to them.

And every believer, y'all, every

believer should be one who invests financially in the work of the Lord.

Now, there's a lot of ways to invest, right? And yeah, you can invest financially,

obviously, with the cold, hard cash, right? What's that song I think of?

Cold, hard cash for Christmas, right? That's what I want, right?

That's Home Free, those acapella guys.

They got that famous song, Cold, hard cash for Christmas, right?

You think about the cash, and yes, that's a part, and that's what Paul is getting here, right?

And also, there's an investment of time, which can equate to cash in some ways,

right? Time, talents, all those things, and investing in the work and the ministry, gospel ministry.

And we should be like the Philippians, every one of us shrewdly supporting those

servants and ministries that are faithfully proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

Y'all, it's important. And I'll tell you what here, when we give to the work

of spreading the gospel, we're wisely using what we've been entrusted with for

the greater glory of God.

That's what Paul is saying here and why he is so thankful and so excited about

this gift from the Philippian church through Epaphroditus to him.

He's so excited about this. And, you know, some of us kind of think this way,

your money, God's pleasure, God's promise.

And you can look at it that way as we go to this next slide,

but your money, God's pleasure, God's promise.

But I want us to also think of it this way. God has entrusted it to us, right?

So we were talking about this in Sunday school, but everything that we have belongs to God.

Not just 5%, 10%, whatever.

Sometimes I think we mark out like there's certain things and I've done all

I need to do for the kingdom of God, no matter what it is, right?

But truly everything that we have, that means our resources,

our talents, all of it belong to who?

God, right? And so really, if we look at it that way, that means we're stewards,

right? Does a steward own anything?

Huh? No. What do they do? They manage what someone else owns.

And that's with us. We manage what God owns.

And some people kind of are tempted to think sometimes, well,

I mean, I'm the one who did this.

Like, I started this business from the ground up. You don't know the blood,

sweat, and tears that I put into it.

You know, I'm the one that did this. Really?

You wouldn't have got very far without the breath of God in your lungs,

would you? Or the mind that he gave you.

Or giving you the sense, right? The common sense, whatever it might be, right?

You wouldn't have got anywhere. And so when we look at it that way,

yeah, it's your money, my money,

whatever, in the sense that we've been entrusted with it as a steward.

But it's not only Paul and the Philippian church that this gift has positively

affected, y'all. and affected in this way because ultimately it has brought

pleasure to somebody else. Do you know who it is?

God himself. Look at what he says here, y'all, in verse 18.

He says, the apostle has received from Epaphroditus what you have sent. What kind of aroma is it?

A fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to who?

To God. He's received everything in full.

That's to say his needs here, Paul is saying, have been amply supplied.

In fact, he has an abundance of all that he needs.

And these generous gifts from the Philippians have been brought to him in Rome

by this faithful servant, Epaphroditus.

But Paul's main concern is to express that their financial giving to his work

serves as a much, much higher purpose than simply meeting his needs.

Now, we got to get a hold of this today.

Their stewardship is an act of worship. that's being given to God.

And the apostle uses that imagery of the Old Testament sacrifice being offered,

if you remember, by the priest on the altar, which we understand was a sacrifice

being given to who? To God, right?

In fact, in this act, incense, if you remember, was poured out onto the sacrifice.

It actually released a fragrant aroma that ascended upward to heaven.

And that sweet-smelling fragrance pictured the pleasure that such a sacrifice

brought to Almighty God.

And in like manner, Paul is saying here, the giving of the Philippian Christians

is an expression of their worship of Almighty God, and that is well-pleasing to him.

In fact, here's the ultimate purpose and the greatest motive for our financial

giving to gospel ministry, if you will.

More than meeting the needs of God's ministers or to spread the gospel,

those type things, the highest aim is the pleasure it brings to the Father. That's the highest aim.

And such sacrificial gifts are offered here as an act of worship that brings pleasure to God.

And when we realize that our financial support or support really in any other way of God's servants.

It's a fragrant sacrifice that brings great pleasure to God.

And you'll find you are a sacrificial giver who can be classified as what Paul

calls here in 2 Corinthians 9, 7 of the New Testament, a cheerful giver.

Because of their sacrificial gift, don't miss this, Eastwood,

Paul announced to the Philippians that God would do something. Look at verse 19.

What would he do?

Supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

Not according to my riches or your riches, right? They're his riches.

And he will supply all our needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

And that is in response to their sacrificial giving and partnership in the gospel ministry.

That comes in the form of a promise, by the way, a promise.

Not only would the Philippians receive spiritual blessings in heaven,

remember that return from God for their giving, but God would also supply how

much of their needs in this line? All.

That generosity from God would come according again to his riches.

There's a vast difference between God merely giving them out of his riches and

more correctly, according to them.

His giving, in other words, would be in proportion to his vast resources.

I mean, think about it for a moment.

God has no limit. He owns it all, right?

He owns the cosmos. I mean, He owns places you and I don't even know about.

We can't even comprehend, right?

I mean, our Father owns it all. As the old hymn says, this is my Father's world.

It's an important promise that Paul states here. It's true both individually and collectively.

As believers give to support those serving in gospel ministry,

God will give to these sacrificial givers.

Jesus taught the same principle, by the way. Y'all remember this.

Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure,

pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.

That's in Luke 6, verse 38.

Luke 6:38

And likewise, in churches that give to those ministers or who are preaching

the word abroad, especially in places where Christ has not even been named.

God will give to those congregations as well.

And that gives us, as you see on the slide, reasons for praise,

like we needed any, right?

But here's some reasons today to take you out of here because Paul concludes

this paragraph here by giving glory again to who?

To God. Look at what he exalts here in verse 20. He says, now to our God and

Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I mean, this high doxology is a feeding response, church, to the high theology,

if you will, that he's taught in the previous verses.

You know, it's no wonder that Paul now concludes the preceding sentence here with a doxology, right?

No wonder, because God has so faithfully supplied his needs and promises to

provide for the Philippians that Paul has great reason to offer praise to God.

Though Paul finds himself, get this Eastwood, Paul finds himself in a difficult

situation, he nevertheless abounds a giving glory to God for his goodness toward

this supporting church.

So these verses, or this verse, I should say, we just read, serves as a concluding doxology here.

In response to all that Paul has written in this letter, throughout the course

of this epistle here, Paul has taught the magnificent truth of the saving grace of God.

I mean, we can think about it just for a moment as we take that whirlwind review,

because every chapter has been packed with triumphant teaching that's magnified

the greatness of Almighty God, including, let me just give you a few today as we close,

his grace that is persevering.

We saw his grace that is faith-granting, sanctifying, justifying,

empowering, glorifying, comforting.

The God of such abounding grace that he's talked about must be ascribed the

glory that has due his name. the boasting about him, right? It's all because of him.

And specifically here, the first person of the Godhead is to be praised. Did you see that?

Verse 20, our God and Father is in view. Why should glory be given to the Father?

Because he is the giver of grace. We learned that all the way back in Philippians 1 verse 2.

Philippians 1:2

The worker of salvation in chapter 1 verse 6.

He's the exalter of Christ in chapter 2 verses 9 through 11.

He's the conformer of Christ's likeness in chapter 2 verse 13.

He's the father of believers in chapter 2 verse 15.

He's the revealer of truth in chapter 3, verse 15.

He's the giver of peace in chapter 4, the supplier of needs,

as we saw here today in chapter 4, verse 19.

So we can think today, the Father is worthy of praise.

How long does it say in verse 20?

Forever and ever. Giving glory to God, church, will be our eternal occupation

throughout the ages to come. Come on.

Giving glory to God. Hey, look, if you have a hard time giving glory to God, guess what?

You're going to really be bummed in heaven.

I'm telling you, that will be

our eternal occupation, giving glory to him throughout the ages to come.

We should also, look, think about today, make it our primary occupation today in this age, too.

The only proper response to these truths that Paul has shared here is to join

our affirmation to Paul's amen, right?

We're just saying, come on, preach it, Brother Paul, right? Amen to what you've said.

God is a supplier of all our needs. God is the one who gives us the return,

not out of selfish motive, but out of truly out of his abundance in response

to our partnership in gospel ministry.

Wow. I hope today that gets you excited.

I hope it gets you excited about what God has done and about how much He loves

us, how much He cares for us, and the abundance of grace, mercy,

and that He is able to supply all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.