Philippians chapter four, beginning in verse 14, the apostle Paul speaking to the congregation at Philippi, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. And you may be seated. Well, if you've been with us, you know that the Apostle Paul penned these encouraging words under very difficult circumstances. He's in a Roman prison, he's chained to an imperial guard, and he has little or no provisions to his name. But for Paul, of course, this was nothing new. As we've seen, he endured many trials and troubles in the course of his ministry. And yet, it was frequently through those adversities that the gospel triumphed. In other words, this wasn't hampering his ministry. His troubles often provided the avenue for the gospel to advance in remarkable ways. Nonetheless, for Paul, basic necessities were often in short supply. But this never deterred him. As he tells the Philippians, he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. And that's what that verse really means. Well, while Paul is in prison and in this state of deprivation, Epaphroditus, a friendly face, shows up with a generous gift from this congregation. And Paul rejoices greatly in the Lord. He commends these saints, for he says, you did well in sending this gift. But Paul doesn't want them to get the wrong impression. They're under no compulsion to give, nor should they think that Paul's ministry would have somehow failed had they not been able to send this gift. Paul trusts in God. So I might offer a paraphrase of Paul's commendation. this way. I'm not rejoicing because I needed your gift. I'm thankful for it, but I could have gotten along without it. I've survived far more desperate situations than this, and I've learned to be content in every one of them because God supplies all that I truly need in order to fulfill my calling. Nonetheless, you have been faithful partners with me in the gospel from the very start, from day one. You're the only congregation, in fact, who supported me for quite some time. And I'm grateful for your partnership. But please don't mistake my gratitude for an appeal for more money. The gift you sent is more than enough. I have all that I need and more. So consider this letter that I'm writing you, a receipt marked paid in full. Because you see, I'm not rejoicing over this gift, I'm rejoicing over the godly character and the love that motivated you to give this gift. I'm rejoicing because you're thinking and acting like Christ. I'm rejoicing that you are investing in the kingdom of God, and it pays eternal dividends. Such investments yield compound interest, making you rich in godliness. And that's what I want most for you. I think that's the heart of Paul's message here. Now, as we noted last week, it's at this point that the apostle switches from this language of commerce, of giving and investment and return. He switches from that kind of language to the language of sacrifice. Not only was their gift an investment into heavenly treasure, it was a fragrant offering, Paul says, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing unto God. And we know from Paul's other letters that the gifts given by this congregation were costly for them. It truly was a sacrifice. I mean, this was a poor congregation. They had suffered socially and economically because of their commitment to Christ. You know, the Corinthian congregation was much wealthier and a much better place to have supported Paul, but that church was very immature. They were plagued with error. They were infatuated with false apostles who were more eloquent than Paul and seemingly more successful, at least in the eyes of the world. And so they freely gave to those charlatans, but they were suspicious of Paul. Well, the apostle was not about to compromise his witness of Christ by giving immature saints or enemies of the cross an opportunity to accuse him of preaching for profit. And so Paul made tents to take care of the basic necessities. And as he tells the Corinthians, whenever he was with them, he says, and I did need something more than what I was able to provide for myself. It was those Christians from Philippi who supplied that need. You see, this congregation insisted on being Paul's partner in the gospel. Don't turn us away. Let us invest in the gospel. But every gift, make no mistake, it was a real sacrifice. The scripture says they were giving out of their poverty. So yes, they gave sacrificially. But Paul clearly has something more in mind by the word sacrifice. It describes their gift, he describes their gift as a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And these are adjectives used in scripture frequently to modify the sacrifices that God ordained for worship. As we saw last week, a fragrant offering or a sweet-smelling sacrifice is how the Lord referred to all of those sacrifices that were offered to him as he prescribed. It also describes the incense that represented the acceptable prayers of his people. As that incense was burned and that aroma wafted up, as it were, into the nostrils of God, he was well pleased. A fragrant offering then is one that God finds agreeable and accepts as effectual, an offering that covers the stench of rebellion and sin. It's an efficacious offering that elicits God's favor. And as we said last week, scripture often describes God's approval or his disapproval in terms of odor of all things. Of course, we know God doesn't have a nose. Scripture says God is spirit. And so the language is anthropomorphic. In other words, God is describing his reactions with human characteristics so that we can better understand. And this is a particularly poignant way to describe his favor or his disfavor. We can easily relate to this. Because in our experience, rank odors are repulsive, aren't they? And I know that visual images can be offensive too, but we can always close our eyes to those. We can always turn away from those. Not so easy with odors, is it? They linger. And we have to breathe, right? And so offensive odors are often the most intolerable to our senses. It's an apt illustration. And there's also something very distinctive and identifiable about certain aromas. And in the Old Testament then, I believe that's the reason why God reserved particular odors for the practice of worship. There were smells that must be kept holy among the people of Israel, smells intended to draw eyes heavenward, fragrances that were to put the Israelites in a worshipful frame of mind. And of course, all of those Old Testament sacrifices were anticipation of that one ultimate fragrance sacrifice, the sacrifice by which God's wrath is turned away. That very sacrifice that restores our relationship with the Father, it's the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And Ephesians 5.2 says as much. Jesus is that fragrant sacrifice to God. The odor that emanated from the cross, figuratively speaking, that odor emanating from the cross is the unique Fragrance of salvation. Redemption smells like the cross. And so I hope you can see the connection here. How is it then that these Christians and their gift was a fragrant offering? Well, in their act of sacrificial generosity, they were thinking like Christ and they were adopting his attitude of humility and preferring Paul and the gospel over themselves. They were following Christ's example of love and humility. And so to God, their sacrificial gift smelled like Christ and therefore pleasing to God. Well, this morning, we want to consider Paul's follow-up phrase as he describes their gift of sacrifice. Two more adjectives he uses. He says this gift was not only a fragrant offering, it was an acceptable and pleasing sacrifice to God. And those are important adjectives. The word translated acceptable is far stronger in the original Greek than the way we typically use the word acceptable. When we say something is acceptable, we often mean it's passable, merely adequate, good enough, it'll have to do. But at its root, this word in the Greek means that which is welcomed. It carries the notion of hospitality. Come on in and sit and dine and sup with me. It's that which God invites into His presence. And we need to understand just how astounding this is. God is holy. God is perfect. It's a wondrous grace that we can be accepted into His presence. Why? Because as Paul says in Romans, there are none good, no, not one. All have sinned and come up short where God's glory is concerned. And at our best, then we simply can't measure up. We're not only unacceptable in and of ourselves, so is every good work that we attempt on our own. Isaiah 64, six says, our righteousness is as filthy rags. And so it's astounding that we're even permitted in God's presence. And it's an astonishing fact that Paul can refer to this generous gift then as an acceptable sacrifice, one that God welcomes. But that's what he says. Paul also calls the sacrifice pleasing. Like the term acceptable, this word also has a deeper meaning than simply satisfying or appealing. At its root, this word means the approval that's the result of a positive relationship, a relationship in which peace has been made. And that it's an intensified form of the word as well. So it's not just pleasing, and you'll find some translations trying to emphasize this because they will translate it well-pleasing. And so it refers to those things in which God takes pleasure. And again, we need to understand God's holiness and his perfection to truly appreciate what this means. What God considers sufficient is different than what we consider sufficient. We often say that's good enough, don't we? But that doesn't work with God. Where God is concerned, it's never good enough, right? Now, when we're talking about ourselves, that's everything for us, isn't it? I mean, the world in which we live is a world of just good enough. Nothing's perfect in this sin-ridden world. And so for us, good enough is as good as it ever gets. We have to settle for far less than perfection. But here's what you need to know, God doesn't. He does not have to settle for far less than perfection. In fact, he cannot settle for less than perfection. Why? Because of his nature. He is pure and he is holy and he cannot accept anything less than that which is pure and holy. As God tells Moses, flawed human beings can't survive exposure to his unveiled glory. So to say an offering given by a frail and flawed humanity is pleasing to God is nothing short of astounding. For something to truly please God, it must be perfect. And yet we know that even after we come to Christ, sin still dwells in our members, Romans chapter 7. There is a corrupting aspect to the very best of our efforts. So what gives? In ourselves, we're not pleasing to God, much less whatever we might offer to Him. So how can we welcome, or how can God welcome and approve anything we ever bring to Him? Why doesn't He reject everything we bring to Him? How could it possibly be acceptable and pleasing to Him? Well, you know the short answer, don't you? It's the same thing that makes our offering a fragrant sacrifice. It's because we are in Christ. It all begins with that one sacrifice we could never make, that sacrifice we could never offer to God. Before we can bring anything to God that he will accept, before we can bring anything to God that will please him, there must be atonement. There must be reconciliation. There must be redemption. There must be cleansing from sin. Our offerings can only be fragrant, acceptable, and pleasing to God because Christ has offered Himself to God as the spotless Lamb who takes away our sins. It can only be acceptable and pleasing and fragrant to God because Christ unites us to Himself. It can only be fragrant and acceptable and pleasing because God then presents us to the Father clothed in His righteousness. And this is the pattern throughout scripture, by the way. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, there were sacrifices of praises, sacrifices of thanksgivings, sacrifices of consecrations to God, but all of those sacrifices were after the fact. Sacrifices offered following the atoning sacrifices. In other words, the Lord will only accept those responsory offerings to him from those whose sin had been atoned for by a sacrifice for sin. Those sacrifices on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, the lambs that were slain and consumed at Passover, the burnt offerings, these were the sin offerings. And sin had to be dealt with first. And of course, as Hebrews tells us, Those animal sacrifices never actually took away sin. They foreshadowed the one true sacrificing to come, the one true sacrifice who would bring atonement to all of God's people, the one through whom we are finally made acceptable unto God. He is the one who provides us now access to the throne of grace. It's Christ who makes us fit then. to offer the sacrifices of the redeemed. He's the great high priest, and he alone can atone for sin. Our redemption is paid for, paid in full, the scripture says. Jesus took the debt of sin against us. He nailed it to the cross. And in those days, you took a debt, and when you drove a nail through it there at the city gate, everyone knows now that that debt is paid. And that's what Christ was doing on the cross. So he is the great high priest, the only one who could offer this sacrifice that would cleanse us from all unrighteousness and bring us into the presence of God. But as Peter says, through that sacrifice of Christ, through his great high priestly work, we have been made a kingdom of priests. That's what the scripture says. And so there are now sacrifices that we're privileged to present, but they are all sacrificial responses to that once for all atoning work of our Savior Jesus Christ. There are sacrifices the Bible calls praise sacrifices, sacrifices of devotion that declare our fidelity to the God whom we once refused to glorify. And so as Hebrews 13, verses 15 through 16, you can read that later. But it's very important passage for what it tells us is that it's through Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross that we're now able to offer up a true sacrifice of praise, good works, and generosity. That's what he says. These, he says, are all sacrifices that are pleasing to God. Why? Because we come to him with these sacrifices through Christ. It all begins with that once-for-all sacrifice that could never be repeated, that once-for-all sacrifice that cleanses the sin of His people past, present, and future. And without the work of our Savior, then, we have no access to the throne of grace. You can't just barge in on God anytime you like. You know, we learn all kinds of things from stories in the Scripture. But if you'll remember the story of Esther and the king, when she is compelled to go before the king, an audience with him to try and plead for the sparing of life among the Israelites. What did she say? I can't enter his presence unless he bids me come. Anyone who dared to just approach the king on their own without an invitation was put to death. That gives us a picture of God. Not that God is just waiting to put to death anybody that comes to him and is not atoned for. It's that they will perish in his presence because he is holy, he is just, and human beings in our sinful condition cannot survive that glory. So this is the point. Without the work of our Savior, we have no access to the throne of grace. No means of offering anything to God. But when Jesus was crucified, and I love this, that veil in the temple, that veil that separated us from that holy presence of God, it was torn in two, ripped in two. And so Christ on the cross opened the way for us into the Father's presence. And it's only through Him that we can truly ascribe to Him the glory to His name. It's only in Christ that we can finally learn who God really is. Jesus is the full and final revelation of the omnipotent God who dwells in unapproachable light. And so Hebrews goes on to say, a sacrifice of praise then should be continually on our lips. I love that. Continually on our lips. Listen, if we were to begin thanking God at this moment and didn't cease, didn't sleep, didn't eat for as long as we lived, we wouldn't begin to be able to ascribe to him the glory actually do his name. Eternity is not enough. And so we've been given an eternity to praise him. So a sacrifice of praise should continually be on our lips. Our lives should be filled with sacrifices of good works, not to attain salvation, but because we have been saved. You see, that's important. Not a single thing we do will save us. We have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. And because we have been saved, then we offer these good works, a sacrifice to him. Whatever good works we offer to God, by the way, are those already prepared for us in Christ Jesus. That's what Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 says. So that means you don't even come up with what you bring to God. The sacrifice has already been planned by Him. And what you bring to Him is all His work in you anyway. And then, because of Christ's generosity and His humbling of Himself, that we might be redeemed, generosity should now characterize our lives. There should be sacrifices of generosity. These are the sacrifices talked about in Hebrews 13 that we are allowed to give. Those are the fragrant, acceptable, and well-pleasing sacrifices. And it is for this sacrifice of generosity that in our passage, the Apostle Paul is commending these saints at Philippi. This is why God has redeemed us, that we might be conformed to the image of our Savior. And I love Romans chapter 12, verse one. It sums it up well. In Romans 12, one, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Now that we have been redeemed, Paul appeals to us on the basis of the many and abundant acts of mercy from God that we have received. We were once dead in trespasses and sins, but he made us alive. We were once in bondage to sin, but he set us free. We were once estranged from God, alone in this world, but he chose us in Christ and adopted us as his children. We owe him everything. So how do we respond to a love so great, a grace so rich, a salvation so free? There's only one reasonable response, and Paul says it's here. To present yourselves living sacrifices unto God. In other words, we're to present our whole being to him, our complete selves, all that we are. He doesn't just want our minds. He doesn't just want our money. He doesn't just want our time. No, the Apostle Paul is urging us to hold nothing back. We're to lay everything that we are and everything that we have on this altar, and we're to do so as living sacrifices. Now, I don't know how that strikes you, but when we read that phrase, living sacrifice, that's a bit of a conundrum. I mean, after all, a sacrifice that's been offered is dead, right? So what's a living sacrifice? Well, I think Paul sheds light on this in Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, it is Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, but my life isn't mine anymore. My life is devoted to Christ. Or as he says in Romans chapter six, we were united with Christ in his death and raised with him that we might walk in newness of life. So now Paul says, since this is true, we must consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. This is what scripture means when we're told to put off the old man and to put on the new, to mortify the deeds of the flesh. We're offering ourselves living sacrifices as we pursue godliness and holiness. And the means by which this is done We need not guess. The apostle Paul doesn't pause. The very next verse, he says, it's the process of transformation that occurs through the renewing of the mind. It's the means of grace. It is our worshiping together as we hear the word of God preached. It is our study of his word, our prayer time with God, our communion with him, where we pray his word, where we hear his word back to us. This is what renews our minds, and this is what causes our transformation. God's word is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the joints in the marrow, right? It separates soul from spirit, the inseparable. It separates the inseparable. It's living and powerful. Well, this is how we become a living sacrifice then, how we're conformed to the image of Christ through the powerful word of our God. And this, Paul says, when we present ourselves as living sacrifices, it's only our reasonable service. It is our true worship. And notice, it's a sacrifice presented unto God. You know, this is what Paul says about the Philippians sacrificial gift. You know, they sent the gift to the apostle, didn't they? But Paul says it's a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. It was a sacrifice to God. So while they gave it to Paul, it was a sacrifice they offered to the Almighty. You know, we often get so engrossed in this life and the horizontal plane of things, that we're oblivious to the vertical dimension that is far more important. In other words, we easily lose sight of the fact that our lives are truly lived quorum Deo, before the face of God. It is God who gives us life and breath and everything else. The scripture says, in Him we move and live and have our being. And whether we're regenerate or redeemed, everything we do is first and foremost with reference to the God who gives us life and breath at every moment. You know, that's why in Psalm 51, David could say, against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. You know, when I read that passage, I'm tempted to say, what? David, come on, you can't be serious. Think of all the people you wronged. You sinned against Bathsheba, drawing her into adultery. You committed multiple sins against her husband Uriah by defiling his wife, abusing his loyalty, and then sending him to his death. You sinned against your General Joab by making him complicit in your wickedness. And then you sinned against the whole nation because you are the king. David, what's wrong with you? You have a laundry list of people you have sinned against. But still, David claims against God and God only has he sinned. How could he say that? because all of those people were images of God. And David's transgressions were against the law of God. All these people were collateral damage from his rebellion against God. Every time we sin, it is first and foremost against the God who gives us life and breath at every moment. He didn't give us life and breath to sin. He gave us life and breath to glorify Him. So this is the point. How we treat others is first and foremost either a sin against God or it is an honoring of God by obedience to His will. Whenever Paul was a violent persecutor of Christians and Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus, he didn't say, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting my people? No, he said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Do you remember what Jesus says in Matthew 25? The end of the age when he returns, he says, I will say to the righteous, I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick. and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And then, as we read on, the righteous saints are puzzled by this. Lord, when did we feed you? When did we give you drink? When did we welcome you? When did we clothe you and visit you when you were sick? When did we come to you when you were in prison? And Jesus answered, truly I say to you, As much as you did it unto one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it unto me." Well, when the Philippian congregation sent this gift to Paul, they were doing so as unto the Lord. You know, keeping this in mind would really help us when we struggle on a day-to-day basis to obey God. I mean, how many of you struggle to obey God? I mean, I have to lift my hand, right? There are times when I say, Lord, did you really mean that? Circumstances just don't seem appropriate, right? No, no. Scripture commands us many things. Let me just take a few. Scripture commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Right? For wives to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord. For children to obey their parents in the Lord. For all of us to work for our masters as unto the Lord. God commands us to be humble. He commands us to be meek and to be patient. To put up with one another and forgive even if we have a legitimate complaint. It's that last part we don't like, isn't it? even if we have a legitimate complaint. Now, our first response is, Lord, but they don't deserve it. So, neither do you, right? None of us deserve the grace of God. That's why it's grace. In each case, when we obey what God commands, we are doing it unto Him. All of those phrases, I emphasize them for a reason. We're to love our wives as Christ loved the church, wives to submit as unto the Lord, right? Children to obey their parents in the Lord. It is all directed to God. It is our sacrifice of praise and adoration and devotion when we do. And this is our calling, to live a transformed life that's ever being conformed to Christ's image. I know we have a long way to go. I have a long way to go. But we are living sacrifices whenever we begin to think like Christ. We are living sacrifices when we begin to adopt his posture of humility. We are living sacrifices when we lay aside selfish ambition and empty conceit, when we consider others more important than ourselves, whenever we look not only to our own interests, but to the interests of others as well. This is how we present God with fragrant offerings that are acceptable and pleasing unto him. And so my prayer for you and for me, for all of us, may our God grant to us the grace needed to pursue his will as those who have died to sin and are now alive unto God. that we might be living sacrifices to the praise of His glorious grace. And to our God be glory forever and ever. Amen.