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Five Reasons Why God Wants Me to Give

Philippians 4.10-19a

(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon.)

Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church

Please turn to Philippians 4:10-14 as we continue with our verse by verse expository preaching. As you are turning there, I want to bring something to our attention that some of us here may not really be aware of. You may know what I am talking about, but then again, maybe you haven't put much thought into it even if you do recognize it. What I mean is that in our age, and in our culture with our church expanse, there are few doctrines of the Bible that get so out of hand, and wacky, by media preachers and mega-business-model churches, as the area of giving and receiving gifts of money--especially to support ministers. Like I say, I think most of us here, at least, recognize this trend. And the interesting thing about this phenomenon, is that the teachings have been based upon actual passages of Scripture. They are valid money related passages in the same Bibles that all Christians use; but the problem is that the teachings are given with much (if not most) of it being an erroneous money grab pitch that manipulates you to give based upon emotional appeals, or threats that God is going to curse you if you don't give, or upon some grand prophetic-like guarantee about what God is going to do for you after your immediate obedience to the high pressure sales appeal. This teaching trend is horrible on many fronts. In one particular way that it is bad, is that truly Holy Spirit led, godly, and authentic, Christ like ministry gets eclipsed by an imbalanced church culture that has perverted what Paul calls, "the matter of giving and receiving," in Philippians 4:15. On the other hand, the matter of giving and receiving, in respect to God's will rightly exegeted from Scripture, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is important, good, godly, and well pleasing to the Lord in every respect. This morning, I am going to cover the matter of giving and receiving, and as I do, I want to touch upon Paul's words that express five reasons why God wants us to give. Please read 4:10-23 with me,

"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked [or, had no] opportunity. ... 14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. 15 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; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 18 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. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the set apart ones greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." Philippians 4:10-23

Please prepare your hearts to learn along with me, and be encouraged along with me from God's word in this sermon titled,

Five Reasons Why God Wants Me to Give
[prayer]

We are in a passage this morning that is ripe with doctrinal fruit to glean. Next week, we are going to look at this same passage in respect to learning and living the secret of contentment, God willing. But right now we are on the God glorifying subject of the matter of giving and receiving. As we begin digging into our passage, I want to acquaint all of us with some terminology that has to do with the church in Philippi--very important for our study. Paul mentions it in verse 15 where Paul talks about leaving Macedonia when leaving the Philippians. In Acts, we see a key description about the Philippians' city,

"12 ... Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; ..." Acts 16:12

Whenever we read of the Macedonians being referred to by Paul in his epistles, we are more than likely reading about the Philippian Christians; or at least a mixture of the Philippians among the churches of the district of Macedonia.

Now why would this be important information for us to know right now?

It is important because Paul teaches on the matter of giving and receiving in other areas of the Bible, and in many of the places that Paul does so, he refers to the Macedonians. When Paul refers to the Macedonians, he means he is also talking about Philippians. For example, we learn in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that God does not want us to give grudgingly, or under compulsion, because, he says, God loves a cheerful giver. Paul is teaching on the matter of giving and receiving. In 2 Corinthians 9, and in Paul's previous letter in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul is trying to teach the Corinthians about giving to support ministers whose time is tied up in full time ministry operation, and Paul is also concerned with helping to meet the needs of the saints in general that the ministry involves. Paul tells the Corinthians that giving is their ministry. And in 2 Corinthians, Paul tells the Corinthians that they need to be ready with financial gifts. Now here is where the Philippians come into the picture. When Paul instructs the Corinthians on the matter of giving and receiving, Paul mentions the Macedonians, which are the Philippians. What is going on is that Paul is concerned that if any Philippians happen to come down to the city of Corinth, Paul and the apostolic group do not want to be put to shame if the Philippians find a lack of concern and readiness in the matters of giving and receiving among the Corinthian Christians. Paul does not want to see the Corinthian church put to shame either;

"2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared; 4 otherwise if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to speak of you--will be put to shame by this confidence." 2 Corinthians 9:2-4

You see, out of all the churches mentioned in the Bible, the Philippian Christians of Macedonia are described as one of the most, if not the most, giving churches (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:9). They gave, and gave, and gave; and they were continuously giving out of a cheerful heart. They gave freely according to their own good pleasure. They gave to meet needs. The Philippian Christians are regularly mentioned as supporting Paul financially all throughout his ministry. They had also financially helped out other churches with their needs. In the biblical example, we see the principle demonstrated that God supplies the needs of his people, and God uses other people to do this, and when we examine the record, the Philippians basically supported Paul the apostle's whole ministry. Yes, God did this, but God did this through the body of Christ. These Macedonian Philippians are the same people that Paul is writing this section to in respect to the matter of giving and receiving, and so it is not like they are not familiar with the principles already. Nevertheless, God thinks it is important for Paul to continue to cover the matters of giving and receiving with the most giving churches of that time. Now here is the point:

The same goes for us.

We may be the most giving people around, but this does not mean that we quit having the matter of giving and receiving covered for us to continuously edify us, and ground us in the truth.

In our text, I want you to notice that Paul says he rejoiced greatly concerning the giving of the Philippians, and Paul says he did it in the Lord. The reason that Paul was rejoicing in the Lord, and not according to a fleshly motivated joy, like for example rejoicing in himself, or rejoicing in the Philippians, is because Paul recognized that it was God's work in the Philippians, and it was God's hand of provision through the Philippians that fulfilled this matter of giving and receiving. This is very important. When you give, God is using you. So, when you and I give toward the ministry, we do not rejoice in ourselves--we rejoice in the Lord. In rejoicing in the Lord, Paul also shows that he was more interested in the spiritual progress of the Philippians themselves than the gift itself. Think about this for a moment. Paul is showing that he was more interested in the fact that the Philippian body had cared; that they had given, and that they now had an opportunity to give, than the important fact that Paul actually was getting money for his own needs. Paul says that their gifts, sent through Epaphroditus, testified greatly of their genuine love, authentic care, and true brotherly concern for Paul, and for serving the Lord. This is the way it should be for every member of the body. First of all, we should rejoice in the Lord that God uses us, and that God uses us to supply the needs of ministers. It is God's method, and we are the people of His method. It is our ministry. But secondly, what matters in our giving is the fact that we care. It's the fact that we do it. It's the fact that we look for the opportunity, and we make sure we rise to the occasion. This is a spiritual growth issue, and the matter of giving and receiving is one hard ball arena where this kind of growth becomes evident in your own life. This is why Paul's point is that he is thinking about the Philippians themselves in this matter of giving and receiving.

This leads us to consider five reasons why God wants us to give that can easily be identified from our text. In doing so, I am going to go back and forth from Paul's letter here to the Philippians of Macedonia, and then over to Paul's two epistles to the church in Corinth. The first reason that God wants me to give has to do with being concerned. Paul says,

"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked [or, had no] opportunity. ...' Philippians 4:10

@1 God wants me to give out of ____________.

Paul goes on to say that it is not that Paul has a great need, and so because his needs are so real that this is supposed to be the reason that he points out that the Philippians have revived their concern for him to give. Again, what Paul is doing is thinking about the Philippian Christians themselves and their own spiritual lives. Evidently the Philippians had shown concern before, and at the time, they did not have an opportunity to give. But they remained concerned, and now the opportunity has come, evidently demonstrated through sending Epaphroditus, and so they have given abundantly. What Paul is grateful about, is that these people he has discipled, have true concern for him and the work of the Lord as a manifestation of love for God, and love for others. Paul sees fruit of the Spirit and it makes him happy. Concern is a reason to give because it is a manifestation of our spiritual life in connection with the body. It's body-life, where you have other Christians in mind as more than merely names; You're acting on more than simply religious duty. I said I would be going back and forth from the Corinthian epistles to here in Philippians. I want us to notice that when Paul urged the Corinthians to give in 2 Corinthians 9:12, he appealed to concern, saying,

"12 For the ministry of this service [of giving money] is ... fully supplying the needs of the saints," 2 Corinthians 9:12

Body focus, where concern for supplying the needs of the saints is one of the primary ministries that God has for you and me. There are people in the body that we get around, and we see them, or we know of them, but the question is;

Are we truly concerned for them with the concern of the Holy Spirit?

To be concerned for someone in the body is to manifest the great Law of love that God puts in our hearts in Christ. According to the dictionary, concern has to do with something that interests you. God wants you to be interested in the other members of the body because God is interested in the other members of the body. God wants all of us to be interested in the financial state of our ministers who are serving the Lord. So, God wants us to check ourselves in these same areas to see what interests us. Remember, this is one hard ball arena where spiritual growth becomes evident in your own life. One of the easiest ways to check ourselves on our interests in others, and in ministry needs, is in the area of helping others out; And what God is telling us this morning is that this means being concerned about meeting financial needs through giving. This leads to the second reason for us to give;

"14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction." Philippians 4:14

There is a Greek participle that Paul uses for having shared with him. It expresses that the Philippians, through their gift, jointly participated with Paul in his affliction. Essentially what this means is that the Philippians had accepted Paul's affliction as their own extended experience through his ministry. Look at it this way:

Their active participation was really an extension of co-ministry, where they are co-ministers who are both being led by the Spirit, and are working in the Spirit.

@2 When I give to ministry, I _________ in the ministry and affliction of the one ministering.

The principle here is that when you give to someone as your ministry, and when you give to someone who is in ministry for the Lord, you share with them concerning what they are going through by your involvement. You share in their ministry endeavor, which means, they share in your ministry endeavor, and in a sense, you are sharing in all the consequences that they are going through in serving the Lord. The Philippians are not there in prison with Paul. They are not evangelizing with Paul as room mates in his prison quarters--but that is not the point. The point is that they are experiencing with him in what he is going through by helping out financially. This is the point. Once again, we also find the same thing with the Corinthians. Paul told them that this practice is like sowing bountifully. It is the language of participating in the ministry by planting seeds into the ministry with the view that you are also sharing in the harvest through your financial involvement. This is what you and I need to do. We need to be thinking of giving, in our concern, as if we are sowing bountifully into the lives of other ministers so that we share in the produce of the harvest. When you think of it this way, you understand it as more of a privilege and a blessing for you to give than some kind of duty, or some kind of gimmick for making God begin liking you more so He will give you a bunch of nice stuff. Paul also says to the Corinthians that the financial abundance that they are giving is for every good deed. When you give, it is a good deed that helps advance good deeds that others are working for the Lord, and so you are sharing with them in their good deeds. Let me put it this way:

This means that the good deeds that they are able to do, you are also doing with them.

Again, it's ministry isn't it? The fight against the kingdom of darkness that others are doing with your financial help, becomes your active battle too, because you are involved. All the blessing of the ministry becomes your blessing too. This is how God looks at it, and this is how we should be looking at it too. The body of Christ is meant to function as a whole. We may not all be the same part of the body, or play the same exact role in our gifting and callings in the body, but we can all partake in good deeds by being a part of meeting the needs of the other members around us. This is the role, gifting, and calling that we all have in the matter of giving and receiving. This leads to the third reason why God wants me to give--it is doctrinal:

"15 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; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs." Philippians 4:15-16

Notice that Paul refers to specific terminology. I have mentioned it a few times. It is "the matter of giving and receiving," in respect to ministry. The matter of giving and receiving is what this sermon is about. This matter is God's matter, and so it is doctrinal.

@3 God wants me to give because of the doctrine of the matter of __________ and __________.

So, this third reason is the reason of sound doctrine. It is God's will that we, in the church, be concerned with the various doctrines of the matter of giving and receiving. This is why Paul says to the Corinthians concerning writing to them about giving money,

"it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints; 2 for I know your readiness, ... your previously promised bountiful gift," 2 Corinthians 9:1-2, 5

What Paul is saying is that it is not that he needs to write to ask for the Corinthians to be ready to give. The Corinthians are already knowledgeable about what they are supposed to do. This is why they are already practicing the doctrinal precepts of the matter of giving and receiving. The matter of giving and receiving had already been settled among the Corinthians even though Paul goes on to give them more instruction on it. It is important for us to get the matter of giving and receiving settled doctrinally. How many of you realize that God supplies all our needs? We know this because it is doctrine, right? Paul uses the statement in our passage. God also supplies for the needs of ministers who do the work of the Lord full time. Doctrinally, God has ordained that His provision for full time ministers is provision that comes from the body. We find this once again in Paul's instruction to the Corinthian Christians,

"7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? 9 For it is written ... 'You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.' God is not concerned about oxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ..." 1 Corinthians 9:7-11

[That is Paul's argument, and urging. He goes on]

"... 13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the good news to get their living from the good news." 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 (7-14)

This is the Lords' proclamation and ordination where our giving is our ministry in helping support ministers in their work; but the main point is that we know about it because it is proper doctrine. We operate upon the doctrine and not upon philosophy. This leads to the fourth reason why God wants me to give. Paul says,

"17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. ... 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:17-19

@4 When I give God keeps track of it, and the _________ which _____________ to my account.

@5 God will supply all our __________ according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

There is a very real principle that can not be overlooked in the matter of giving and receiving. That principle is that when you give, you receive back from the Lord. Now I know that it almost seems pious, and it almost seems really holy to not want to mention receiving back from the Lord when we give. I mean, talk about receiving from the Lord because we give to Him, could almost seems like something that is selfish. I also know that carnal ideas of giving to get are wrong motivations. But this subject of receiving from the Lord is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 4:17-19, and Paul is very Holy, pious, and he is not being carnal. This is a Biblical doctrine that God wants us to learn, and so because this is what God is concerned with, we should be concerned with it to the same extent that God is concerned with it. So, if this is a principle, then we should not be ashamed of it, nor diminish it. We should learn it, accept it, and we should even go further and do what Paul is doing, and what I am doing now. We should teach it. But there is something else that is just as important along with teaching this doctrinally; and that is that

your attitude should be that you eagerly and enthusiastically expect to receive back from the Lord when you give.

The reason why I say that you should eagerly and enthusiastically expect it is because, to do so, is a matter of believing a clear promise to you from God that is in His word. You worship God by demonstrating your faith when you expect to receive back from Him according to His word. What we have already been finding going on with Paul here is that Paul is more concerned about the Philippians' right understanding of all of these things in the matter of giving and receiving, than Paul is concerned with getting from them specifically. Paul already knows that God is supplying all of Paul's needs by using the Philippians, but Paul knows that profit increases to the Phillippians' account in the doing of it, and this wonderful fact that Paul is happy about, he wants the Philippians to be happy about too. This goes for all of us.

Something that we must notice is that what Paul is saying is that God really does keep an account for each of us of what we give. So, think about this; Whenever you give, you are increasing profit to your account. It is real profit. Now notice something; Paul gets the gift, right? But the gift is also recorded to the Philippians' account by God. Then, in respect to this, Paul says that "my God" will supply all your needs. Why does Paul say my God? It's strange language isn't it? Paul's God is the Philippians' God. We know that. The Philippians know it. Paul knew it too. But the Philippians are giving to Paul, and Paul wants them to really get the fact that they are giving to Paul's caretaker who is watching over Paul when they give to Paul. Their God will supply all their needs, but Paul is saying, in a sense, My God watches over me and supplies all my needs, and in your giving to God, as He supplies my need through you, my God will supply all your needs too. Paul's point is that their gift is a truly wonderful fragrance as a sacrifice. And because Paul gets the gift himself, he says "my God" to show that the sacrifice and receiving connection goes straight through Paul and to Paul's God which is your God and my God and the Philippians' God. In other words, the minister gets the support, but the minister's God keeps the account of His minister, and God recompenses those who give by keeping their account too. So, Paul says that in this, my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Again, we can look at the Corinthians on this consistent principle. Paul repeated this important principle to them, where he said,

"6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6

[The principle for you and I to glean here is that when you give bountifully, you will receive bountifully, and God is the one who does it in your life. Paul goes on,]

"7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;" 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

[This continues the principle that is so important for us to keep in our hearts. This is a faith building principle. In other words, you can not out give God by thinking you can give out too much. God will make favor abound to you so that you will always have sufficiency in your finances for every good deed. Paul goes on,]

"9 as it is written, 'He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.' 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, ..." 2 Corinthians 9:9-11

It is the same thing. God supplies seed to the sower. God supplies money to the giver who sows bountifully, and so God will multiply your seed for sowing more and more. As a giving, sacrificing, Christian who is in the body of Christ, ministering to the body of Christ, God will profit your account and supply all your needs abundantly according to His riches in glory. Then what happens? He is glorified as the great sovereign supplier. Even after you give, God wants to make sure that we understand that this is not some gimmick to get rich. What God is wanting us to get from this teaching is that we should have faith in the fact that He is really doing this and He gets the glory for it. This is the take home point for all of us on this issue. God is the provider. What you and I need to do in the arena of giving and receiving is make this personal. We need to say,

My God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in the sphere of Christ Jesus, and I believe Him and glorify Him for His miraculous provision.

Finally, a reason why God wants us to give is because it is a well pleasing, and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord. Paul says,

"18 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." Philippians 4:18-19

@6 When I give to the ministry it is like an acceptable, well pleasing sacrifice to ________.

Think about this. Paul is enlightening the Philippians about their gift. He tells them that their gift is so special to God that it is like the pleasing smell of the burnt offerings described in the Old Testament. It is an acceptable sacrifice that God likes. They thought they were just helping out in the ministry as the body. But Paul points out that what happens in the act of giving is actually something that is comparable to the sacred act of what were pleasing offerings to God in the Old Covenant. Yet, the Philippians' money was not burnt on an altar. It was given to Paul to meet his needs and the needs of the apostolic group that was there with him in Rome. Giving to people, then, is equated with a sacrifice to God, and God is well pleased when we count our own financial state, and our own comfort zones as resources to sacrifice, when we could very easily spend our resources on other things. Again, Paul tells those Corinthian Christians,

7 ... God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

@7 God loves a ___________ giver.

Giving to ministry has eternal consequences. It is where we are all involved in a tangible way with the work of the Lord. Work for the Lord requires sacrifice at all levels. Some do the leg work of going out and preaching, teaching, and defending the faith full time. Some do front line missionary work. Some do encouraging prayer and counseling work full time. Some do street evangelism full time. In a lot of ways, such actions are self sacrifices for the Lord, His gospel, and the body. We may not do all of that, but we can support the leg work by financially sacrificing full time for the Lord, the gospel, and the body. This is a fragrant aroma to the Lord. It pleases him immensely when we give self sacrificially in full time worshipful service to Him.

As we wrap up this morning, I want to recap what we have learned from Philippians 4:10-14. God wants us to give because we have true concern for the body, and for ministers, and their ministry. God wants us to give because when we give to someone who is in ministry for the Lord, we share with them concerning what they are going through by our involvement. God wants us to give because it is God's will that we, in the church, be concerned with the doctrines of the matter of giving and receiving. God wants us to give because when we give, the profit increases to our account, and our God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Finally, God wants us to give because it is a fragrant aroma to Him; and acceptable sacrifice that is well pleasing to Him. I urge all of us to be having a cheerful, giving heart with the resources that God blesses us with in our short stay on this earth.


@1. God wants me to give out of ____________.
@2. When I give to ministry, I _________ in the ministry and affliction of the one ministering.
@3. God wants me to give because of the doctrine of the matter of __________ and __________.
@4. When I give God keeps track of it, and the _________ which _____________ to my account.
@5. God will supply all our __________ according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
@6. When I give to the ministry it is like an acceptable, well pleasing sacrifice to ________.
@7. God loves a ___________ giver.