rejoice

Rejoice | Part 13 | Philippians 4:14-23 | How to Get God to Supply All Your Needs

We are in Philippians 4 and we are finishing our series today. I’ve reminded you that this book is about joy and learning how to rejoice in Jesus. The word joy appears six different times and the word rejoice appears ten different times in this book. So we’re learning about how to rejoice and today we’re coming to the very end. We spent a lot of time thoroughly going through these chapters and going through these verses and we’re going to finish up this morning.

Here at the end of Philippians 4, we have the Apostle Paul in verses 14-23 giving us information in these 10 verses. We already covered verse 10 but I want you to see the context. Philippians 4:10 “¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.”. The Apostle Paul is writing to the Church at Philippi and he is telling them that one thing that he’s rejoiced about is the fact that they are caring for him. He says your care of me hath flourished again. He says wherein ye were also careful but ye lacked opportunity. The idea here that Paul is saying is that he is glad that they’ve been providing for his needs.

And what the Church at Philippi has done is that they’ve financially given to the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He tells them that he is rejoicing that their care for him hath flourished again. He is thankful that they have provided his physical needs and ministry needs. Verse 11 “¹¹ Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. ¹² I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”. And we went through and looked at those verses in detail last week.

Then he says this “¹⁴ Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.”. So here’s what he’s saying. He’s saying that he is glad that they provided for his needs through giving and this special offering. That’s where we get the passage in verses 11, 12 and 13. That great passage on contentment. He says I’m not speaking in respect of want. He is content or happy. Then he says “¹⁴ Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.”. So he’s telling them it’s a good thing that they have given to the work of the Lord.

Then he says this in verse 15 “¹⁵ Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. What the Apostle Paul is talking to them about is the fact that they have given to him. They’ve given to his ministry. He ends this book of Philippians by having a discussion about money. As we end the book of Philippians, we’re going to look at four reasons the Apostle Paul brings up to the Church at Philippi why it was good that they gave to his ministry and the work of God. 4 reasons why we should give or financially support the ministry.

As a disclaimer, we have spent 15 sermons going through the book of Philippians. We’ve been going verse by verse and covering everything in this book. If you come to our Church, you know that money is not something that we often bring up. When the word of God brings it up, we’re going to bring it up. And I’m giving you a disclaimer but I’m not giving you an apology. I’m not apologizing for preaching the word of God. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians so this is what we’re going to deal with in the book of Philippians. But I do just want to give some context that this is not something we talk a lot about but it is something the Bible talks about and it’s something that the Apostle Paul deals with here in the book of Philippians. This idea of concerning giving and receiving, why it was good. He said I rejoice that they supported his ministry. I want to give you this morning four thoughts in regards to why you should financially support the work of God, why you should get financially invest in the work of God.

Verse 16 “¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.”. You might wonder why a Bible-believing Christian should not only be faithful to the house of God, serving, soulwinning and those things but also get financially invested in the work of God. Why should we give towards the work of the Lord? And quite frankly or practically you should give because there’s a necessity for giving. There are needs that need to be met. The Apostle Paul said “sent once and again unto my necessity”. One reason you should give is because there is a financial need to have the work of God. And you know we could spiritualize it and we will and I’ll give you some spiritual reasons here in a minute. But that’s not the first thing that the Apostle Paul brought up. He said I’m glad that you gave because there is a necessity.

Acts 20:33 “³³ I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.”. Covet means to great desire or to envy or lust. Paul said that he wasn’t coveting because his own hands have ministered. The Apostle Paul was what you would call bi-vocational. Sometimes Churches would support him financially but sometimes they didn’t. And when they did not support him, he didn’t just go home and quit the ministry. He would make tents and he worked and provided for his own needs. He says that he didn’t covet any man’s silver or gold or apparel. He said that his hands have ministered unto his necessities.

Today at Verity Baptist Church, we have a full-time minister of the word and we’ve got several staff that work full-time for the Church. But for some of you that maybe are newer to our Church or you weren’t here from the very beginning, I would like to let you know or maybe just remind you that the first 4.5 years of this Church, there was no full-time staff. I worked a full-time job. I worked a full-time job as we started this Church. My wife and I started this Church in our living room 11 years ago. And I’m thankful to be able to say to some extent like the Apostle Paul “I have coveted no man’s silver or gold or apparel. My own hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me”.

Notice verse 35 “³⁵ I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”. The Apostle Paul is saying that he doesn’t want their money. He is saying that he worked a secular job in order to do the ministry. Paul is saying that he didn’t get into the ministry for the purposes of making money. That is what I would like to echo as well. But Paul says that it is good that they gave. Why? The last part of verse 35 “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”. Why should we give to the work of God? Because it’s a good thing. It’s good to give to the work of God. It’s more blessed to give than to receive. Why? Because there is a need in ministry. There is a need for the work of God to go forth. You say what kind of need? You give to the house of God because of the necessity for giving. What is it? Well here’s the necessity. You give to pay for the ministry. There are costs associated with ministry.

Turn to Malachi 3:10. This is one of the famous tithing passages. “¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,…”. I want you to notice that word “house” there. “into the storehouse”. He’s talking about bringing the tithe into the storehouse. And of old testacourse in the Old Testament this was more of an agricultural society. So when they gave 10% of their increase, they weren’t bringing checks and cash. They were literally bringing 10 percent of whatever grew or 10 percent of whatever cattle they had. And here he says “¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,…”. Why did God want us to bring the tithe into the storehouse? He says “¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,”. The word meat means food. God is saying that there is cost associated with the ministry.

He says “¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”. You say why should we give? Here’s why. Because there’s a necessity for giving. You say what’s the necessity? When you give, you pay to support the ministry. Do you know that it costs money to turn these lights on? It’s not like we show up here at six in the morning on a Sunday morning and say “Lord, please turn these lights on”. There’s a company that charges us to turn the lights on. There’s a company that charges us to be able to meet in this facility. There are costs associated.

You say “I thought we’d get a little more spiritual”. We’ll get a little spiritual but sometimes we need to get just a little practical. Do you know that there are costs associated with the ministry? It costs money to rent a building. It costs money to turn the lights on. It costs money to run the air conditioner. It costs money. We’re going to celebrate next week our family and friend day and after family and friend day we’re going to have hamburgers and hot dogs. We’re going to grill back here and we’re going to provide a free lunch for everybody. But let me tell you something; that’s not just going to fall out of the air. It costs if somebody has to go to Costco and buy those things and purchase those things. We’re going to give out mugs. We’re going to give out suckers. We give out all sorts of things. We have all sorts of activities around here all the time. We never charge for any of them. How do we pay for it? From the giving of God’s people. Why give? When you give, you supply the needs of the ministry. It costs money to run a Church. It costs money to reach people with the gospel.

We go out and preach the gospel and give out these DVDs and booklets and nice invitations. It costs money to print those things. Paul tells us that we should give to the work of God. And if they don’t then that’s ok because “I have coveted no man’s silver or gold or apparel”. He said that he had learned to be content. But he says we should give because of the necessity. There is a cost associated with running ministry. It costs money to run the Church and that’s how it is paid. God says “¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,…”. We give to pay for the ministry.

I preach a sermon like this once or twice a year. Every time I preach them, I always say the same thing. Now when I was a younger preacher, I used to be a little more hesitant about preaching about money. I don’t preach about money a lot. In fact it’s very rare that we preach about money around here at all. I would say in comparison to most preachers, we very rarely preach on it. You go to the average Church and they’re talking about it as a point in every sermon. Every single sermon they’re talking about money and every time that they take an offering they’re giving a little mini sermon on money. We don’t get that here. Now I used to be a little more hesitant about preaching about money. Because if you’re preaching on money, it seems a little self-serving. If you are on staff and getting paid by the Church and then preaching how the Church ought to give then it seems self-serving. But what I’ve realized is that as a Pastor of the Church, it is my job to teach the whole counsel of God. And if I don’t teach you what the Bible expects of you then who is going to teach you? If the Pastor fails to teach you the word of God then who’s going to preach to you the word of God and teach you the word of God. Why should we give? To pay for the ministry.

1^st Corinthians 9:9 “⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?”. What he is saying is that if an ox is out doing the work then you also let him eat while he’s performing the work. God is saying that you don’t put an ox in the field and then cover his mouth. Why would God say that? Is he some animal rights activist? No. He says at the end of the verse “Doth God take care for oxen?”. Obviously the Bible teaches that we shouldn’t abuse animals. But Paul is quoting from the Mosaic Law and he says this in verse 10.

“¹⁰ Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.”. God gave this principle but not just to help the ox but to help all of us. Notice verse 11 “¹¹ If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?”. Here is what I want you to understand. Not muzzling the oz is an example to state that if people work then they should get paid. If someone’s working then you ought to pay them. If someone’s working then you ought to provide for their needs. If the ox is out there and he benefits you through his world then let him partake of the harvest.

If somebody goes out and starts a business, they put in a lot of hours and a lot of personal risk financially to get things going. Why do they do it? In hopes of a big reward. That is why it says in verse 10 “¹⁰ Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.”. If somebody goes out and starts a business and starts working and starts a lot of risks to themselves and a lot of financial sacrifice for themselves, there’s a hope or an expectation that when they start to be successful then the business will be able to provide for their needs. And what God is saying is that it works the same way with spiritual work.

Paul is saying that as a spiritual leader, “¹¹ If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?”. If a man is sowing spiritually, it’s not a great thing that he should reap your carnal things. What does that mean? If the Pastor is providing for your spiritual needs, the Church should provide for his physical needs. You say “I don’t think you should say that as the Pastor”. In verse 12 and 13 he explained about how this is how it worked in the Old Testament. The Old Testament Priests lived off of the tithes that came into the house of God. Then in verse 14 he says that in the same way they lived off of the tithes, the spiritual leadership should live off the tithe that comes into the house of God in the New Testament. He says “¹⁴ Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

Look, the Bible teaches that if a minister is providing your spiritual needs, if there is staff providing for the spiritual needs, it’s not a great thing that their physical needs would be paid for. And by the way, you’ve heard me say this before but I’m going to say it again. You don’t pay the Pastor to do spiritual work. You don’t pay the Pastor to preach. What is the proof of that? Here’s a proof. 4 years of preaching Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night where I didn’t get paid a dime. I did it for free. You say “But Pastor, we pay you to preach now.”. You don’t pay the Pastor to preach. You don’t pay the Pastor to do counseling all week long. I do counseling. I’m happy to do counseling. You don’t pay me to do counseling. I’m not like some secular therapist.

And by the way, there are Churches where you want to counsel with the Pastor and it’s fifty dollars a session. 1 hour a week, $50 minimum session. I don’t charge for counseling. Some Pastors charge for wedding. I’ve done 4 weddings this fall and 15 overall without getting paid. For some Pastors, weddings are a part-time job. I get calls from people sometimes asking if I could do their wedding. I constantly tell people that I only do weddings for Church people. I don’t charge for weddings. I don’t charge for funerals. I don’t charge for counseling. I don’t charge to go pray with you at the hospital. Why? Because you don’t pay the Pastor to do spiritual work.

If the Word of God transforms your life, you can’t put a price on that. You can’t pay it back. You don’t pay the Pastor. You provide for his physical needs. If he is out there doing a spiritual work and he’s investing in you and he’s helping you then is it a great thing if he shall reap? Look, if you’ve been coming to Verity Baptist Church and you’ve been learning, your life has been changing, you’ve been transformed, you’re a better wife, better husband, better dad, better mom, better employee; is it a great thing that we shall reap your carnal things? “even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel”.

Why should you give to the work of God? Because of the necessity. There’s a need to pay for the ministry and there’s a need to pay for the ministers. You provide for the needs of the minister that he might be able to do the work of God. And by the way, that includes the staff. I won’t take the time to show it to you but you can go to Acts chapter 7 and see how the spiritual leadership was overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done. It wasn’t spiritual work but secular work of dealing with tables, making sure that the widows were being dealt with and all those things. And what did they do? They hired seven full-time staff people to work, to do the daily administration. You say why do we pay the staff to come in here and set up for family and friend day and do inventory and purchase supplies and buy the toilet paper and buy the paper towels and make sure the buildings are clean and post the sermons? Why do we pay them to do all those things?

Here’s the bottom line, and again maybe you want a spiritual answer but I’ll just give you the real answer. So that I don’t have to do it. I mean you can get mad at that but I’m counseling you on Monday to help with your marriage. My wife spends time each week helping people with counseling. Nobody pays her. Nobody gives her a paycheck to meet with ladies and talk to ladies. And look, we love to do it. I’m not complaining. I’m just explaining to you that if you expect somebody to be there to help you with your life and spiritual needs, then help them with their physical needs. That’s what the Bible says.

1^st Timothy 5:17 “¹⁷ Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”. By the way, don’t get this idea that the Pastor needs to just be living at poverty level. Now obviously false prophets take advantage of people when they have Ferraris, are flying private jets, etc…That’s obviously covetousness. But the Bible says that the elders that rule well are to be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. Pretty similar to “thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn”. Look, if the ox is working then feed the ox. What am I saying? The labourer is worthy of his reward. Why did they hire the staff people in Acts 7? The reason given is the Apostles could give themselves unto prayer and the ministry of the word of God.

Why should we give financially to the work of God? You should give because of the necessity of giving. It costs money to run a ministry. There are bills associated with running a ministry. But you should also give to pay for the needs of the ministry. If people are working spiritually to help you then you should provide for their physical needs. You might ask why I have to make that point first. If I was preaching topically then I probably wouldn’t. However, this is expository preaching through the book of Philippians and that’s what Paul said first. He said you gave to my necessity first.

But then he gives a 2^nd reason. Not only should we give because of the necessity of the staff, Pastors, Evangelists and people that are full time but you should give because of the investment of giving. Notice what Paul says in verse 17. “¹⁷ Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.”. He saying that he doesn’t need their money. He has learned to be content. But he desires fruit abounding to their account. There is an investment in giving when you give to a soulwinning, Bible believing Church. You are investing in the work and in the fruit of that Church. He says I don’t desire a gift but I do desire fruit that may abound to your account.

You might say “Pastor you get up and you preach these sermons and they go on YouTube and sometimes they get a thousand views or 5,000 views or 20,000 views and they’re helping people and you’re going to get rewarded for that in heaven.”. But when the Church provides for the needs of the staff to be able to minister in that way, Paul says “I don’t desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account”. You get to partake in that. You get to partake and invest into that. The fact that 11 years ago there was no Church in this area that was preaching the gospel, that was sold out for soulwinning but now 11 years later we’ve got a hundred soulwinners each week. Yesterday 94 soulwinners went up and knocked doors and preached the gospel. And the fact that you financially invest into that you financially invest into a Church that has motivated and mobilized an army of soul winners to go up and preach the gospel, you get rewarded for that. Fruit is abounding to your account.

Matthew 6:19 “¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”. The Bible is not against you having nice things. I want you to have nice things. I hope that your soul will be in health and prosper like John the Apostle said. I don’t think there is anything wrong with you running businesses and investing and doing those things. But here’s what he’s saying. Don’t make that your life’s focus. Don’t make your life focus about laying up treasures on earth. Why? Because that is temporal. It’s going to be destroyed. “where moth and rust does corrupt and where thieves break through and steal”. He says “²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”. Paul said that when you invest into the work of God, it is fruit that will abound to your account.

Our Church supports Brother Stucky out in the Philippines full time. He started two Churches and is kind of in the process of laying the foundation for a possible 3^rd Church. He’s putting it together and trying to help and organize them for soulwinning. You might think that Brother Stucky is all the way in the Philippines but when this Church supported him financially and continue to support him financially, we get rewarded for that in heaven. That’s fruit that may abound to your account, to your account in heaven. Because there is not only a necessity for giving but also an investment when you give. We are laying up treasures in heaven.

There is a story of a Pastor who lived in the late 1800s all the way to the mid-1900s by the name of George Truitt. He had a ministry in Dallas, Texas. A lot of rich ranchers went to his Baptist Church that he Pastored. There is a story that he was out to dinner with one of the rich ranchers from his Church and the ranchers took him out to the balcony of his house. They told him to look in a direction as far as your eye can see and he looked in that direction. He then told him that he owned all of that. Then he told him to look in another direction as far as his eye could see and he looked in that direction. He told him that he owned all of that. The Pastor told him to look up to heaven and asked how much he owned in that direction. The Bible says “²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”.

1^st Timothy 6:17 “¹⁷ Charge them that are rich in this world,” By the way that’s you if you’re an America in 2021. “that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”. It’ll change your view on giving when you realize that it is the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Everything you have, God gave you. It is God that gives us the power to get wealth. Verse 18 “¹⁸ That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;”. Distribute means to deal out or to give out. This is not some sort of Liberal Democratic Socialist system. The word communicate means to share our wealth and our possessions.

Verse 19 “¹⁹ Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”. The purpose of this is store away rewards up in heaven. You can invest in that which is eternal or spiritual and will last forever. There was a Missionary named Jim Elliott who was martyred and he said “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”. You say why should I give?  Because of the necessity. Practically speaking, it costs money to run a Church. Why should you give? Because of the investment. When you invest yourself in the work of God, the Bible says there is fruit abounding to your account up in heaven. God is keeping track of everything that was done in your body, the work that was done in your body. And he’s going to reward you for that in the millennial reign. Part of that is going to be what you did physically by going soul winning and preaching the gospel. But part of that also has to do with you supporting the work of God and getting dividends based off spiritual investment in the things of God. The truth is that when you give to the work of God on earth, you get credit in heaven. And the work of God is furthered on earth when you support the Church financially. The work of God is moved forward here on earth but you’re the one that gets credit in heaven. Paul says not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

A 3^rd reason you should give is because of the sacrifice of giving. Paul says that giving is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. Notice verse 18. “¹⁸ But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”. Remember that we learned that Epaphroditus almost died on the way to see Paul. Paul had to send him back. See, when you give to support the work of God according to verse 18, that gift is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. It’s a sacrifice that you give to God. You say “I’m giving to this Church.”. No, you are giving to God through this Church.

By the way, let me just say that God does everything on earth through his local New Testament Church. If you want to serve God, you serve God through his Church. If you want to be faithful to God, you’re faithful to God through his Church. If you want to give to God, you give to God through his local New Testament Church. Paul said that they gave to God when they gave money to support the work he was doing. I want to point out the fact that it was a sacrifice. And by the way, let me just say this. Giving is a sacrifice when you start. Look at 2^nd Corinthians 8:1.

2^nd Corinthians 8:1 “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;” Now Macedonia is a location where the city of Philippi is located. We’re literally talking about the Church of Philippi. “² How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”. These people were poor when they gave. They had a great trial of affliction. They were poor but they were generous.

Notice verse 3 “³ For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; ⁴ Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”. It is true that when you give it is a sacrifice. By the way, God is a God that desires sacrifices. Throughout the Old Testament you see sacrifices. You might say “We don’t live in the Old Testament”. Yes, which is why we don’t sacrifice oxen and cattle. God desires a difference sacrifice today. He says “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice”. He doesn’t want you to sacrifice your ox today. This also includes our finances. Giving to God is a sacrifice.

1st chronicles 29:3 “³ Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.”. See, here’s the point. Giving is a sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. You say why is it well pleasing to God? Here’s why. We should give because of the necessity, because of the investment and because of the sacrifice. You say “Why would I want to sacrifice?”. Because when you sacrifice to God, you give an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. You say what does that do? It proves your love for God. Have you ever heard “Put your money where your mouth is.”? If you love God, your checkbook and bank account should show that. The Bible says “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”. You can tell me all day long you love God. But when you choose to prioritize the work of God, your finances will show that.

First, you give proportionally a percentage to the Lord. Let me show you that in the Bible. Remember in 2^nd Corinthians 8:1-4, they gave beyond their power. 2nd Corinthians 8:5 “⁵ And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”. Here’s the truth. You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving. In fact, love is always represented in a gift. John 3:16 says “¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”. When we give, it is the proof of our love.

2^nd Corinthians 8:6 “⁶ Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. ⁷ Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”. He said don’t do all of these things but then not give. Verse 8 “⁸ I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.”. So why should you give? Because it’s the way that God said that you prove that you love him. It is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. Why? Because it proves your love for God. Where you invest your money tells us what you love. So make sure that God is the priority. Make sure that God gets his proportion. Make sure that God gets his percentage.

You might say “Are you preaching this sermon because we are in trouble financially?”. I’m just preaching through Philippians. If you don’t like it then you can take it up with Paul. We spent 15 sermons going verse by verse through Philippians and we’re going to finish up the chapter and the book right now. Why should you give? Because of the necessity of giving. Why should you give? Because of the investment of giving. Why should you give? Because of the sacrifice of giving. See, there’s financial need for the ministry and the ministers of the house of God. And there’s an investment you invest into the gospel and you invest eternally and you get credit in heaven and there’s fruit that may bound to your account. And it’s a sacrifice that proves your love.

But there’s a fourth reason and Paul left this one at the end. Now I would have put this one first but Paul is smarter than I am. Because this is kind of a selfish reason. Paul tries to convince through logic of the money cost to run a Church. And Paul is saying that if that doesn’t work then he tries to convince spiritually by talking about the investment. It’s a spiritual investment. Fruit that may abound to your account. But then Paul tries to appeal through emotion by talking about the sacrifice. Paul ends up appealing to our flesh and talking about the promise of giving. Now remember, in verse 18 he talked about the sacrifice of giving. But this connects to verse 19.

Philippians 4:19 “¹⁹ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”. Now here is the thing. This verse is not a blanket promise to every Christian. There are some promises made to every believer such as “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”. But this promise is not a promise he made to every believer. This is a promise that he made to believers who support his work, who financially give to support the ministry. God promises to meet the needs of givers.

Now remember in Matthew 6 that he talked about not laying up treasures on Earth in verses 19 and 20. But then in verse 31 the Bible says “³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”. Now again, this verse is not just for every believer. This is speaking to the person who is laying up treasures in heaven. Verse 32 “³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. ³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”.

God makes a promise that when you give to the work of God, he promises to meet the needs of the giver. In Malachi 3 he talks about proving or testing God and God will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing. God says I promise to meet your needs if you put me first. “³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”. Look, you can’t out-give God. God promises to surpass whatever generosity you give.

Luke 6:38 “³⁸ Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”. God says that the same measuring cup that you take to give to me, with that same cup it will be measured to you again. God is saying that you can’t out-give God. He will surpass our generosity.

I always find it funny when people say there is no tithing in the New Testament. Those same people will say “Just give out of your heart and you might give more.”. But those same people that say tithing doesn’t exist give less than 10%. Last time I checked, everything got harder in the New Testament. Remember Jesus said that just looking on a woman with lust in your heart means you’ve committed adultery in your heart. So if you don’t want to tithe then give more than 10%. Because God promises to measure to you again. He says that he will surpass your generosity.

I’m not a prosperity preacher telling you up here that if you give $1,000 then God will give you $10,000. That’s a lie. God doesn’t care about money because he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the gold that pave the roads in heaven. That’s how much he cares about money. But God knows that we care about money because we are Gentiles in the flesh. We’re saved people but even in our flesh, we worry about money. We have need of money for certain things like food and drink, clothing, etc… God says that he doesn’t care about money. He can control some things that money can’t give.

Here’s what I’m telling you. When you give to God, he promises to surpass your generosity. Now he may surpass that financially and bless you financially. God does that all throughout the Bible. We see where God blesses people financially. I think that those are very unique people that God blesses financially because to bless you financially he has to be able to trust you financially. Sometimes people get money and as soon as they get money, they forget God. Right when they get a job, they stop coming to Church. God says to put him first and he will provide our needs. Sometimes we get money and we forget God. But maybe God will bless your marriage, your children, your testimony, your legacy. See, there are some things that money can’t buy.

2^nd Corinthians 9:6 “⁶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”. I find it funny that people don’t like it when you preach on money but the Bible talks about money a lot. This verse is showing us that if you are generous then God will be generous with you. If you are not generous then God won’t be generous with you. “⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”. Don’t give with a bad attitude.

Proverbs 11:24 “²⁴ There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.”. Sometimes I watch people who are really generous with their finances and it seems like God keeps blessing them. Even though they give and give and give, they are doing great financially. The Bible shows us that in Proverbs 11:24. To some extend we all withhold some money but you shouldn’t do it more than is suitable or proper. Why? It tends toward poverty. God says that if you are like this then you end up being poor. Yet you watch people that they just scatter, they’re generous with their time, treasure and talent and God seems to just bless them. Proverbs 11:25 “²⁵ The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”.

Why give to the work of God? Let me appeal to your logical side. Because there is a financial need. We give to support the ministry and we give to provide for the needs of the ministers. Let me appeal to your spiritual side. Because there’s a spiritual investment. Because there’s fruit that may abound to your account. Because when you give to the work of God on earth, the work of God continues on earth and you get the credit in heaven. Let me appeal to your emotional side. Because there’s a sacrifice to giving. Because our sacrifice is acceptable and well-pleasing gift unto the Lord that proves our love for God. But when all else fails, let me just tell you what Paul said. You should give because there’s a promise to giving. Because God promises to meet the needs of all givers. And in fact not only does he promise to meet the needs, he promises to surpass your generosity. “Because my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory”.

So here’s the question I have for you. Do you give to the work of God? Do you have a plan to systematically, regularly prioritize a percentage of your income to God to support the ministry? If you don’t, you should. God says “I will supply your needs. I will surpass your generosity. I will make sure you’re taken care of and I will meet and bless you in ways that you couldn’t even imagine. Then the Apostle Paul ends the book in verses 20 through 23.

Philippians 4:20 “²⁰ Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. ²¹ Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. ²² All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.”. Paul was in prison but yet while in prison he had gotten Caesar’s household saved and that was fruit that may abound to their account. Then he ends and says “²³ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”.

Let’s pray.