Well, should we take our Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter four? We have been, I think, all this year, 2017, we've been working verse by verse through this little letter of the Apostle Paul to the church in the city of Philippi. Philippians chapter four, and we are right near the end of the book. We will look at the paragraph tonight in chapter four, verses 15 to 20. And then next week we will conclude the book of Philippians. What a great book we have studied together. One of the great benefits of teaching through books of the Bible is God always determines what you preach next, right? You know, the topics that are well known and well loved, you preach those and the topics that may not be all that preached all that often or Uh, all that talked about very often, you still have to preach it if it's the next one in the text. And here we are tonight in a remarkable paragraph. It's a, it's a glorious paragraph with, with wonderful truths that God has for us tonight in Philippians four. It's a paragraph that really in the title of, of your S the sermon here in your notes, we're going to look at lessons on financial giving and God's provision. So let me read it and then we'll pray and we'll ask for God's help and then we'll study it together. Philippians 4 beginning in verse 15. Here's what the Spirit of God says to us. 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 and glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Well, we come to your word yet again. Oh, Holy spirit that you carried along the hand of the apostle Paul to write exactly, precisely, perfectly what you, Oh God would have for us to learn. We thank you for these precious words. We thank you for these inspired words, these inerrant words, these sufficient words. Oh God, give me clarity. Give all of us understanding as we look and come and submit to your word in Jesus name. Amen. I bet that we could all gather together and tell many stories. of the many occasions when God has been faithful in providing for all of us in many, many ways. I could only imagine all the occasions and all the stories and all the ways that God has provided for all of our needs. And one of the things that I want to do tonight is I want to encourage you in this one fact, and it is this, that God is faithful. that God is faithful. Our God is a promise making God and our God is a promise keeping God. I love what Psalm 145 says. The Lord is faithful to all of his promises. Joshua 21 near the end of the book, an amazing little verse here. Not one of the good promises the Lord made to Israel failed, but all came to pass. What a great verse. 2nd Corinthians 1 verse 20 as many as are the promises of God Go ahead and find them as many as are the promises of God They are all yes in Christ our God is faithful to call us to give financially to him for the working of his gospel, for the spread of his gospel. And our God also is faithful to provide for us when we give so that we can receive joy and blessing and encouragement as we give. to the spread of the gospel. Our God is so loving that, that he tells us all through the Bible, a number of things such as number one, who owns our money. The Bible tells us who owns our money. And the Bible tells us number two, the perspective that we ought to have on this money. The Bible thirdly tells us the joy that comes in giving our money away. Amazing concept the joy that comes from giving our money away and forth the way to store up treasures in heaven Is quite simple by giving it away and sending it ahead One of the ways that the Bible and particularly the words of our Savior gives to us is our stewardship in temporal things like money is an accurate barometer of of one spiritual condition. Jesus brings it out in Matthew chapter six, and it's this, it's this idea, the thoughtfulness in sharing with others and in relieving their needs and giving to the Lord for the advance of his gospel is, is frankly part of having the mind of Christ. It's part of, it's part of having the mind of Christ and the attitude of Christ who gave himself to us so freely. Consider how important it is that God sees our generous financial giving. Just a couple of verses. Luke chapter six tells us, give and it will be given to you. The apostle Paul says in Acts 20, it is more blessed to give than to receive, quoting the words of Jesus there. In Proverbs 11, 25, the generous soul will be made fat. Proverbs 19, 17, he who pities the poor lends to the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 5 and verse 7, blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6, whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. And then the next verse, 2 Corinthians 9, 7, for God loves a cheerful, giver. God loves a cheerful giver. Our God is faithful, not only to tell us who owns our money and what we are to do with the money that has been entrusted to us, but God provides for all of our needs because he is a faithful God. Now, if we go to the New Testament and look at verses on giving, if we go to verses on giving in the New Testament, here's what the epistles speak about. They speak about giving first and foremost to your local church. Second of all, the New Testament epistles will talk about giving with generosity. Third, the letters talk about giving out of a joy filled heart, a worshipful heart. And then fourth, the New Testament talks about giving for the advancement of the gospel, both locally and globally. God works through us in that amazing thought. God works through us to accomplish his purposes in the world. What an amazing thought that we are co laborers with God in the spread and the advancements and the progress of the gospel here and far. One of the things that is true for us that we do well to remember time and time again, it's just this one simple word for us as Christians that it is impossible to out give God. It is impossible to out give God. We come to a paragraph tonight that's going to teach us about these particular matters. In fact, here we were reminded of this young church in the city of Philippi. It was a very pagan city. It was a city in the Roman Empire that really was kind of a Roman colony that prided itself in its wealth, that prided itself in its emperor worship, that it prided itself in its own identity as being a colony of the Roman And yet, here's a church that was so prompt, they were so spontaneous, they were so generous, they were so initiating, they were so frequent in extending financial help to the Apostle Paul. We could almost label this little paragraph in Philippians 4 as a theology of Christian giving. What does the Bible say about giving? Answer, a lot. But here's one paragraph that we could go to that teaches what to do with the money that God has given to you and that God has entrusted to you for the short time that you and I are on earth. one of the neat things about this paragraph, it's very personal. I mean, this is just bleeding forth the heart of Paul. Paul is just pouring out his heart in personal matters. It's very urgent. It's very necessary. It's very endearing to the Philippians. And it begins with the little phrase in verse 15, you yourselves also know Philippians. Paul uses language here, even by calling the church by a direct address, Philippians, that he doesn't really do very much in his letters. It's almost a way of saying to the church, sit up and take note of what I'm about to say. I'm going to share my heart with you, and I want you to take note of what I'm going to say to you about the matter of financial giving. So as we look at these few verses tonight, let's pull out the meaning of the text, and then we want to also pull out some principles that we can glean about financial monetary giving to God for the spread of the gospel. So we're going to look at these verses. You pull out five principles and you've got them there in your outline. This probably isn't going to be all that new, but it may be a review and it may be helpful and it may be timely and it may be a blessing to us as we sit under God's word in Philippians four. So here's the first principle that we have from Philippians chapter four, give to your local church primarily and regularly. Because Paul says in verse 15, you yourselves 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. Now here's what's going on. Paul reminds the Philippians that they began supporting him early on in his ministry after he preached the gospel to them in Acts chapter 16. He founded the church there in Philippi. And when he left Philippi in the Macedonian region, he says, there was no church that shared in the matter of giving and receiving except you, the Philippians, you alone, even when Paul was in Thessalonica, he says. You Philippians, you sent a gift more than once for my needs. What I find to be so amazing about this is that here are some Philippian believers who have intimate knowledge of Paul and his needs. It goes both ways. It goes on the part of the missionary to make the needs known, and it goes on the part of the church to supply and to give and to meet those needs. It reflects the abiding interest the Philippian church had in Paul's gospel proclamation efforts. And he says in verse 15, I left Macedonia and no church shared with me in the. matter of giving and receiving. Now that little phrase, the matter of giving and receiving, it's commercial banking terms in the Greek. It's like Paul says, you've entered into a partnership of sharing with me. It's talking about settling accounts with me. Paul's going back to the reminder that Philippian church, you've participated with me in the gospel missionary work through your giving. Which if you remember back to Philippians one, that was one of the themes of Philippians one partnership in the gospel. You are partakers in the gospel with me. You are sharers in the gospel with me. The local church gave to Paul. That's what Paul says elsewhere in first Corinthians chapter 16, that we are to set aside money on the first of each week and we are to give to the Lord. What does that mean? Not give him the leftovers, but give him the first fruits of what he entrusts to us. So I think a principle for us from these verses is to give to your local church. And quite frankly, the, the shepherds, the, the leaders, the elders are accountable to God. The leaders are accountable to God, to wisely and regularly and faithfully and intentionally be stewards to give God's resources to advance the gospel work across the world. That's what Paul says in second Corinthians eight and verse seven. He tells the Corinthian church, I want you to abound in this gracious work. Also what gracious work, the work of giving the work of joyful giving as a, as a church family to abound in this work. I think the first principle that we can glean from these couple of verses here is to give to the local church primarily and to give to the local church regularly. Because here is the Philippian church that shared with him in the matter of giving and receiving. And they received the gift from the local, Paul received the gift from the local church. A second principle that I want to bring out from verse 17 and a little bit in verse 18 is this give, give knowing that it's a spiritual act of worship. It might not seem all that spiritual when you're writing a check or when you're giving a payment online, I suppose. but it's a spiritual act of worship. Notice verse 17, not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit, which increases to your account. But I've received everything in full and I have an abundance and I'm amply supplied having received from a path for Titus. What you have sent end of verse 18, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, which is well pleasing to God. Now, Now in verse 17, Paul is such a wise writer. He's such a godly man that in affirming the church that they gave to his ministry needs, notice how quick he is in verse 17 to clear himself. He doesn't want to come across as being a greedy guy. He doesn't want to come across as being in it for the money. He's not trying to butter them up and thank them for giving so that he can just get more. Paul wants to clear himself of that misunderstanding. So verse 17, he says, not that I seek the gift. I'm not in it for your money. I'm not thanking you because I want more money. That's not the point. But I seek for the profit, which increases to your count. What does that mean? Paul is not overjoyed because he's received a bunch of funds. What has made Paul so joyful is what the gift shows about the believers themselves. It's the heart behind the gift. It's kind of like a father. If a young child were to go to a store and buy a $1 gift for the dad, the dad may not be all that excited about the gift. But what the dad is excited about is the heart behind the gift that my son was generous enough to love me and to give of his own resources for my happiness and for my wellbeing. That's the idea of what Paul's bringing out here. I'm not wanting your money. I'm not overjoyed because of the money. I'm overjoyed because of what it reveals about your spiritual condition. That's what Paul's saying. Many years ago, There was a wise preacher that counseled some young preachers once. And he said, he said, Satan has three hounds, three hounds with which he pursues men in ministry. The first hound is that of pride. The second hound is that of sex. The third hound is that of money. Money is surely not the least of these. And yet we see how, how sensitive Paul is to the matter. He, he can barely talk about the money and yet, and yet he's especially receiving it without saying, I'm, I'm not in it for your money. I'm thankful for it, but I'm not in it for your money. He says in verse 17, I seek the profit, which increases to your account. Now we've got to camp here for a minute. The word profit. It's actually the Greek word that means fruit. Paul says, I want the fruit that comes to your account through your generous giving. You see, when they give to Paul, there is profit, there's fruit that increases to their account. Which teaches us this, that money that is given to help another Christian, Or money that is given to advance the gospel is called fruit. And that's a good thing. Money that is given to help another Christian to advance the gospel is called fruit. You see, you give and God benefits you and God rewards you. You give monetarily and you reap spiritually. And remember such an attitude of liberality and financial giving, it pays great dividends in the lives of those who give. Just read second Corinthians chapters eight and nine on that. You say, okay, Jeff, so what, what kind of profit, what, what, what fruit, what kind of profit increases to my account? What do you mean, Jeff? Well, maybe it's the fruit of a good conscience. Maybe it's the fruit of a heavenly mindset. Maybe the fruit that Paul's talking about is a spirit given assurance of salvation that you're not worshiping money, but your heart is focused upon God. Maybe part of the fruit that Paul is thankful for is a greater and enriched fellowship with believers, or maybe a broader outlook on the ministry of the church or a greater passion for worldwide missions or increased joy. or a greater love for one another, or a higher degree of responsibility and joy in heaven and storing up treasures there by sending our money on ahead. Paul is just amazing and brilliant the way that he brings this out. He says, church, you've supplied all my needs, but I'm not in it for your money. I want you to know that in supplying all of my needs, I'm overjoyed because of the fruit and the profit and the benefit that comes to your account. Now, notice how Paul continues at the end of verse 18. At the very end of verse 18, Paul's going to transition. This is not uncommon for Paul. He gets a little bit, he shifts his metaphors from time to time. He's going to turn from a banking metaphor to now sacrificial metaphors. End of verse 18. He says, I've received from Epaphroditus what you've sent. I've got the gift, but I want you to know it's a fragrant aroma. It is an acceptable sacrifice and it is well pleasing to God. Let's talk about high praise for the Philippians. This is language of Exodus and Leviticus. That when the priest would offer the sacrifice in the tabernacle, and that aroma, that incense, that sacrifice would go up. It would be a sweet smell in the nostrils of God, as it were. And Paul says, that's the language I want to use for your financial gift. That your financial giving is like God taking pleasure in what you've given and in how you have given. What an amazing thought. It's not only a fragrant aroma to God, but it's also an acceptable sacrifice and it's well-pleasing to God. This is one way to please God. But to give, to give, to give. Christian, ponder this. Your giving brings pleasure to God. Let me say it again. Your financial giving gives pleasure to God. What a thought that, that our giving, there's no, there's no amount here. It doesn't matter if it's a little bit for somebody that makes a little bit, or if it's somebody that gives however much they want to give and they're able to give and above and beyond even. Oh, what a pleasure. To God, this is. We can bring pleasure to God and the sweet smell of our heartfelt, regular, sacrificial, worshipful giving. Christian, what a, what, what an opportunity we have to please God. What an opportunity we have to, to bring pleasure to God in the financial gifts of his people. And third, another principle that we see in our outline in verse 18, the beginning of verse 18 is this, give for the advancement of the gospel. Now this is great. Paul says in verse 18, but I have received everything in full and I have an abundance and I am amply supplied having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent. Paul says, you know what Philippians, I'm supplied. More than that, I'm, I'm overflowing. I'm overflowing. You, you have generously met my needs. It's an interesting word that Paul uses when he says, I have received everything in verse 18. I've received, it's a banking term. That's like, it's like the man lifting up his arm saying, I've got my receipt. It's done. It's, it's paid for all the needs are met. You, you, you have, you have given exactly what's needed. and even more so. This is how God works. God uses believers to supply and equip and send other believers to do the gospel work locally and globally. We all have our part to play in the great commission. We are all laborers together, but some send and some go. We all serve in the advancement of the gospel together. That's why third John, we're going to look at this in a few weeks when we come here on Sundays, but in third John verse eight, therefore we ought to support such men so that we might be fellow workers with the truth. Some are going far and wide and others are sending, but we are all fellow workers with the truth together. Some stay local and hold the rope. Others go global and go down into the deep dark recesses of the well. But we all advance together. We all charge on together. Not everybody's called to cross oceans, but we're all called to serve in the advancement of the gospel together. And let it just be a good reminder for us that the contribution of the money that God has given to us is not any less spiritual than another activity you could do. It's not less spiritual than singing. It's not less spiritual than praying. It's not less spiritual than hospitality. It's not less spiritual than discipleship. Financial giving for the Christian is an act of worship. It is an act of worship. Paul's needs have been filled, and now what he's going to do is he's going to turn to encourage them with something that, quite frankly, might just be the greatest promise in the entire Bible. Philippians 4.19 is a verse I will never forget. Being utterly and desperately in need in seminary. I was making a few hundred dollars. I didn't have much more than that. That was it. The little place that I was working, I had no money for seminary tuition. I remember sitting in the office of the dean saying, I can't make the payment. I can't do it. And that week I heard a chapel sermon on Philippians 4.19. And that week God provided for my needs. Here it is, verse 19, my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Here's number four in your outline. Give as you trust God to supply all your needs. I think James Montgomery Boyce is spot on. When he says the greatest promise in the entire Bible is this verse, because it includes all other promises. D.A. Carson is right when he says in your generous giving, you can rely on God to meet your needs. Christian, have we ever given so much till it hurts that God has to provide? And he does. Where we've given generously, we give sacrificially, we give till it hurts. We're, we're, we're not testing God. We're, we're, we're not, we're not trying to find a sign from God. We're not, we're not trying to trick or manipulate God, but we're saying, God, I want to give so much for the cause of the gospel. I want to see you provide for me. I came across something this week in my reading. It was from a missionary who said sometimes what people, Christians in the Western world need to do is just give their entire retirement or bank account to missions. then just see God provide, just see how God's going to provide. Interesting thought. God does provide. And here's verse 19. My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory will. That's a promise. That's a promise. There's no way around it. The Greek is the future. He will provide. It doesn't say God might. It doesn't say he'll think about it. It doesn't say that he may provide. He will provide. And then this little phrase, all your needs. You see the plenteousness of God. Maybe there's somebody that needs salvation. God can give it. Maybe there's somebody in need of forgiveness. God can give it. Maybe there's somebody in need of strength and weakness. God can give it. Maybe there's somebody who needs growth through testings. God can give it. Maybe there's somebody who needs food and clothing and daily needs. God can give it. God makes a promise through the Holy Spirit guiding pen. Paul, as he says, my God will supply. You've given generously to me. My God is going to supply all your needs. And I bet, I bet we could all raise our hand and give story after story of how God has provided for us in ways that we didn't know how he was going to follow through, but he's faithful, but he's faithful. A quick little comment on the end of verse 19. My God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches. It doesn't say out of his riches. God's not like a millionaire who just gives a dollar here or there. And you know, that's not the point. If you look at the preposition, he gives according to. Now here's, this is like mind blowing. Because what that means is that God gives in proportion to his infinite resources to supply our needs. It means that God not only supplies from his wealth, but God supplies in proportion to his wealth. According to the immensity of his wealth, he gives to his people. What an amazing thought. What a kind God. But let it be said, that promise is only for those, end of verse 19, who are in Christ Jesus. It's a promise for believers. It's a promise for those who are in Christ. You see, every person in the world who is either in the kingdom of darkness or in the kingdom of the beloved son. And Paul has brought out over and over again that there's one way to be saved from punishment, one way to be saved from hell. And that's to be in Christ. It's to be united to Christ. It's to be joined to Christ. And that is through faith alone. In this one whom God has sent the Lord Jesus, it's available to anyone and everyone by faith alone, where you can be united to God in Christ Jesus. Well, in all of this leads Paul to worship. This is number five in your outline. Give to the glory of our eternal God. Give to the glory of God. Paul says in verse 20, now to our God and father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. This is the only response that Paul has to the theology of God's provision and the practical outworking of God's supplying all of his needs to Philippians. What does he do? He says not to our God and father. Be the glory forever and ever. By the way, isn't it neat how Paul changes in verse 19 from my God to now verse 20, he's our God. There's a partnership in this gospel. Paul includes the Philippians in this doxology. He is our God. He's our father and he is glorious and he is worthy of praise forever and ever. A number of helpful lessons for us, I think, right? For, for, for learning from the heart of Paul, from the pen of Paul about giving. What a privilege that we get to serve God and be partakers with him in the cause of the gospel. We're not all called to be full-time missionaries. We're not all called to go across oceans, but, but God has given us resources. that really belong to God, that we can use to help those who are called to do such work. And that's the partnership of the gospel. A few centuries ago, a very generous and a very wealthy man approached Charles Spurgeon. And the man said this to Spurgeon. He said, he said, I shovel out But God shovels in and God has a bigger shovel than I do. And he went on to say, while the return may or may not be monetary, I want you to know that the giver's heart will overflow with the joy of giving generously and seeing the kingdom of God prosper. One of the ways to increase our joy and to be more missions minded is to give, is to give. When we realize that we give God's money to do God's work, to advance God's gospel, we receive great peace. We receive great joy all while depending upon God's promises to provide. for all of our needs, all of our needs along the way. What a faithful God we have. Amen. Father, thank you for this brief and yet such a practical word for us in Philippians four. Lord, you don't tell us in the New Testament that we have to give a certain percentage. That's, that's not a New Testament concept for us as the church. We really, the standard for giving is to look at Christ. who, though he was rich, made himself poor for our sakes so that we, through his poverty, might become rich. Oh, Lord Jesus, you gave so much for us. You gave everything for us. Oh, may we remember that we are your money managers, called to care for and manage your money. That belongs to you. Maybe do it faithfully. May the church do that faithfully. May the leadership do that faithfully. May we, as every Christian give generously and may you be faithful. Oh God, to provide for all of our needs, according to your glorious riches in Jesus name. Amen.