The Giving Behind Giving:
To Give God Glory
Philippians 4:10, 14-19
While Annie and I were in the Birthing Center after Evan was born, we were watching some TV. I never watch tv - I don’t even have any channels hooked up - but, we took the time to watch what was happening on cable. No doubt you’ve seen televangelists before yourself, and, one night I found myself watching a tv preacher. “Sow a seed”, or, “God doesn’t want you to struggle financially”, “plant in faith” and so on.
What these luxury-fund raisers say is nothing less than blasphemy of God’s Name. And someday when we arrive to 2 Peter chapter 2 in our preaching we’ll go into more detail on the destiny of these people. But, for now, the point I’d like to make is that these preachers have cast a shadow over the true worshipful act of giving. The rampant greed, manipulation of Scripture, and lustful luxury of so many of these types of preachers have generated such suspicion and such skepticism in the minds of worshipers when it comes to the biblical, worshipful, act of giving.
The motive of these men is their material gain, and the method of their manipulation is to make people believe that by giving to them, then God will give them material gain. They have poisoned the hearts of people when it comes to their purpose in giving. The motive of many of those who would worship have been muddied up with materialism and “what‘s in it for me” mindsets. Someone has said that when it comes to giving, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. And that’s just it. While some people scoff in suspicion at giving to the Church, others have become greedily hopeful that the so-called seed they’ve planted will increase their salary - because that’s the kind of god they’ve bought. But it’s not the God of the Bible. And that’s not the Biblical Christian’s attitude in worshipping God in the matter of giving.
So we ask ourselves, why do we give? What should be my purpose? What is the heart of giving as Christians? We might ask, ‘what is it that is behind our giving?’
I have titled this mornings sermon, “The Giving Behind Giving: To Give God Glory.” The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So, in all that we do we are to glorify God, and this includes in our giving. Where so many tv preachers are in it for their glory, and where many people give to buy their own glory, we as worshiping Christians give for the purpose of glorifying God. That is our ultimate, chief and highest aim.
If you’re visiting with us you should know that we have been going through the book of Philippians verse by verse and you happen to have visited on the day we are studying a passage on giving.
The Bible speaks very plainly about money because our hearts and our wallets are tightly bound up together, and God is after our hearts.
Martin Luther said “There are three conversions a person must experience: a conversion of the head, a conversion of the heart, and a conversion of the pocketbook”
Jesus talked often about money: 16 of His 38 parables deal with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, one out of ten verses (288
in all) deal directly with money. The Bible offers 500 verses on
prayer, 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money
and possessions
Many pastors will apologize for preaching on certain subjects like money, or, sin. But I won’t. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. If God has said something in His Word regarding these matters, who am I to apologize for it?
So this morning we are going to continue our look at Paul’s words of gratitude to the Philippians for their gift. In doing so, I want you to see the goal of giving. I want you to see the real giving behind our giving. I want you to see it is a worshipful act where your intentions must be that you are giving God glory.
Let’s get our context. It has been a long time since the Philippians have given to Paul. But, it’s not because they didn’t want to. They wanted to, but, Paul says in verse 10 that they did not have an opportunity to. It could be that for nearly 10 years they had no idea where Paul was or what circumstances he was in.
But, the eagerness they had to help their beloved friend finally was given a chance when they heard he was in Rome and under house arrest. They took up their offering and sent it - and Paul says by doing this they “renewed” their concern for him again.
The word for renew in verse 10 (or flourish NKJV/ revive NAS) is a horticultural word that means to sprout again, or, to flourish again, or, to be revived again. It gives us the picture of flowers and plants that after lying dormant for the winter sprout up again in the spring time and flourish. The season to be revived has arrived, and Paul is using this word to say the season for them to be able to give has arrived again. And just as you can count on nature to flourish again in spring, so too the loving concern the generous giving by the Philippians flourished when the chance was once again given to them.
But, what does their giving mean? What is it they gave? As Paul expresses his gratitude for their gift, he gives insight into the real giving behind their giving - that they were giving God glory in their gift. Let’s look at Paul’s words to see how it is that we glorify God when we give.
I. Giving so Others Give God Glory (v. 10)
Our Motivation for Giving is that others would give God Glory. Notice verse 10, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me.”
There are all sorts of reasons or motivations why people give. Have you ever considered yours? What I want you to see in this verse is that our purpose is to multiply the praises to God by causing others to praise God when they benefit from our giving. It’s not for our own recognition, or our own sense of “OK I did my part”, or a sense of self-righteousness. Our objective, our goal, our purpose and our inspiration to give is ultimately the glory of God in our lives, and in the lives of others.
Paul speaks of this further in another letter of his. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 9 if you will. In verses 11-13 Paul explicitly gives the reason and the result of Christian giving. (Read verses)
(Turn back to Philippians) Paul gave thanks to God because the gift from the Philippians ultimately was from God. And not only was their gift, but, their concern for him was ultimately God’s concern for him. Who is it that Paul said began a good work in them and is continuing it in chapter 1 verse 6? Who is it that was at work in them to will and to act according to His own purposes according to chapter 2 verse 13? God is the One who is working in them to create the will and the actions that are according to His purposes. Paul knew that their affection and their ambition to give was because God was working in them His own affection and His own ambition for Paul.
The generosity and the goodwill and the goodness we show each other comes from the work of God within us. It is His character that He is working in us - to be worked out of us.
How is God’s work in you coming out? When you give to others, and when you give to the work of God in the Church, is it so that people will glorify God? Is your heart bent on seeing others glorify God? When you give, give glory to God and do so with the goal that others would give glory to God.
II. Giving Strengthens Fellowship (v. 14-16)
“Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.”
Paul gives a brief summary of their past generosity in giving to him, and I want to point out that there are 3 reasons why giving helped strengthen the fellowship between Paul and the Philippians.
First, the Philippians consistency in giving. Paul says that after he left Macedonia -which is the region Philippi is located - they were the only church that shared with him in the matter of giving and receiving. No other church did this except the Philippians. They were regular supporters of Paul and consistently gave to help him in the work of the gospel even after he left their region.
Jesus said in Matthew 6 not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth, but, instead to store up treasures in heaven for ourselves. By giving to the work of the Lord the Philippians were storing up treasures for themselves in heaven. You know what store up means? It means be consistent in packing it away. A good illustration is retirement. Some people have money taken out of their check every week and put into a retirement fund. They save regularly to prepare for retirement. They are consistent in packing it away or storing up in an IRA or 401k. When Jesus says to store up treasures in heaven, it indicates that a person is consistently saving up for their HRA, their heavenly retirement account.
Secondly, the Philippians quickness in giving, contributed to the strong fellowship that grew between them and Paul. Notice verse 16, “for even when I was in Thessalonica you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.” Thessalonica was the next city just west of Philippi, and what Paul is saying is that their love for him, and their love for the Lord, and their support of the gospel sprouted up and flourished so quickly that they began to give to him immediately after he left. There was no time wasted by the Philippians, and Paul in somewhat of amazement says, “Wow! I barely made it out of Philippi and stepped into Thessalonica and you guys were already sending support to me!”
One of the most important spiritual disciplines a new Christian should learn is to give to the work of the Lord. The Philippians modeled this very well since they too were very new to their faith. Their genuine faith, and their genuine love for Paul, and their genuine love for the Lord and the work of spreading the gospel was proven by how quick they were to give, how consistent, and how generous.
And the third reason giving strengthened the fellowship between Paul and the Philippians was the connection. Paul uses the word “share” twice in these verses, and those words in the Greek mean to participate with someone in something. It means to go through the same thing as someone else. To experience and be involved with the same thing.
Paul is saying that the Philippians, by giving him gifts to help him in his ministry, were actually participating with him and ministering alongside of him. They were going through the same thing he was it deepened their connection. It strengthened their fellowship.
One necessary component of strong Fellowship in the Body of Christ is our strong desire and support of one another and the work of the gospel through giving. And when the fellowship of God’s people grows, God is glorified.
III. Giving Counts (v. 17)
IV. Giving is a Spiritual Sacrifice to God (v. 18)
“now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
The Philippians may not have realized it, but, when they helped Paul, it was just as much a spiritual sacrifice as it was a physical. Giving wasn’t just a physical benefit to Paul, it was a spiritual act of worship to God.
Paul describes their gift as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” He’s using OT terms that described the types of sacrifices that worshippers offered to God. They are used in the NT as well. Ephesians 5:2 describes Jesus sacrifice on the cross. It says there, “… just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Jesus loved us, and because of that love He gave up his life for us. Now it says that His death was for us, but, was to God. In other words, He gave himself over to death as an offering made to God on our behalf, and it says that it was “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. The terminology here and in the OT emphasizes the important point that the offering was accepted by God when it was done right.
Our giving can be acceptable or unacceptable offerings. Paul mentions the Philippian’s gift as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice”. What made it acceptable? How can we know when we give that it is an acceptable offering to God?
Passion and Proportion. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 8 please. (Read verses 10-12).
Paul says that “if the willingness is there the gift is acceptable.” That word for willingness is the same word translated “eager willingness” in the previous verse. It means zeal, or a ready mind, or, an inclination. It describes someone who can’t wait to do something and is always ready and prepared and eager to do it. Passionate. Paul says that if the passionate willingness is there the gift is acceptable.
He also says if the gift is proportionate it is acceptable. Verse 11 says “according to your means“ and verse 12 says, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one doesn‘t have.” According to your means means that if don’t have a million dollars don’t get hung up thinking you have to give as if you did. And if you have a million dollars, give as if you do! Give according to your means - give in proportion to your means. The passion for giving will cause proportionate giving.
I think we need to mention something here. Small wages don’t mean small worship. Giving is an act of worship, and a man’s worship is in no way hindered by his lack of a bigger income. His worship is only hindered by his want of a bigger income.
Scripture gives us an illustration of how the poor can give more.
*Mark 12:41-44, How the poor give more: the money may be less, but the sacrifice is more. The rich people’s offering was worth more to the temple, but, the widow’s offering was worth more to her. Her offering cost her more even though it was less than the others.
People sometimes say they wish they had lot’s of money to give to the church, as if the only fragrant, acceptable and pleasing giving includes lots of zero’s in the check.
But, Jesus measures the giving not by how much others receive from us, but, by how much we give of ourselves. God is glorified in the cost to us. Someone said, “If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving.” The widow gave all she had to live on. Do we give until it costs us? Do we give out of our plenty, or, do we give out of our poverty? That’s why it’s called sacrifice. There’s a certain point when giving requires faith. Giving in faith glorifies God.
Your giving is your worship of your God. It is as much of an act of worship as when you sing, or when you pray, or when you study and apply God’s Word, or when you refuse to give into temptation…. It is not a mindless, heartless, act; it is not a tax for being a Christian, it is an act of worship whereby you give glory to God by giving to His purposes in ministering the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.
V. Giving with Confidence in God’s Concern for You (v. 19)
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”
This is one of those verses that needs to become the hood ornament of your heart. Paul is giving the Philippians the assurance that just as they met his needs, God would meet their needs. They no doubt were poor when they gave and it was a sacrifice for them to do so. But, Paul says that God won’t leave them needy. According to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, He will meet their every need. They could be confident that as they gave - at a cost to themselves - that God would be their supply. Giving that glorifies God is sacrificial giving with a confident attitude that God will meet all your needs.
I want to share a story that has stuck with me over the past few years. I wasn’t going hungry or unable to pay the heating bill or anything that serious, but, in this event God clearly provided and I was convinced that if He cares about something smaller like this, He certainly cares about the more serious things.
A bunch of us were going to PK and two guys couldn’t afford the tickets at $90 each. We were all praying that God would provide the money. The day before PK was to start, through an odd situation, an unbeliever who had no idea we were praying and completely for his own different reasons, placed two $100 bills in my hand. Awesome, right?
And, you know, because your pastor was a pious man, you know what my first thoughts were? Man, I’m going to get some new clothes. I’m going to get some new clothes and then I’m going out to eat at Kirby Grill! I’m getting some new clothes, eating at Kirby Grill and then I’m getting a ……
and while I’m thinking of how to spend this gift to me on me, here comes the Holy Spirit. And the thought comes into my mind again that we have been praying for the money to pay for these guys to go, and I thought ….well ….I hope they find the cash. I’m just kidding!
Wow, I’ve got the $180 to pay for these guys now, and I’ve got $20 bucks leftover. That’s like 4 meals at McD’s!! (Hey, when you’re a bachelor, it’s as good as Kirby Grill).
You’re pastor is slow and so the Holy Spirit again has to bring something to my attention. As I was dreaming of milkshakes and Big-Macs, the Holy Spirit put the thought into my mind, “How much is a tithe on $200?” I said, 4 value meals at McD’s. Twenty bucks! God gave me enough money to not only pay for these two guys tickets, but, I had exactly enough money leftover to tithe. He provides precisely what we need in His way and in His time.
Listen, do you believe God will provide for your needs? If you’re like me sometimes you might say you believe God will provide, but, you don’t know how He’s going to do it and so you fret. Our faith needs to move away from the how and into the Who. I find that God‘s promises are always revealed to us, but, His plan for how He will meet those promises aren’t. It’s when a man can say, “I’m not in control of how this is going to work out, but, I know according to your promises God, that you will meet whatever needs I have, and you will do it in your way.”
And that’s just it: when a man let’s go of having to know the way God’s going to do it, and he let’s go of needing to know the ‘how’, then He can have peace just knowing that God is going to do it. He can have peace that someone greater than himself is working it out. And it is the faith of that man in God that glorifies God.
So, the real giving behind giving, is our motivation to glorify God. We want to give God glory in our giving. Giving that glorifies God is giving that:
--causes others to glorify God
--strengthens fellowship in the Church
--is a spiritual act of worship to God in our hearts
--and is done with confidence that God will meet your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
I pray that your heart will be impressed for giving with a sincere concern for worshipping God, the work of the gospel, and the welfare of others. ……………….Let’s Pray
To Give God Glory
Philippians 4:10, 14-19
While Annie and I were in the Birthing Center after Evan was born, we were watching some TV. I never watch tv - I don’t even have any channels hooked up - but, we took the time to watch what was happening on cable. No doubt you’ve seen televangelists before yourself, and, one night I found myself watching a tv preacher. “Sow a seed”, or, “God doesn’t want you to struggle financially”, “plant in faith” and so on.
What these luxury-fund raisers say is nothing less than blasphemy of God’s Name. And someday when we arrive to 2 Peter chapter 2 in our preaching we’ll go into more detail on the destiny of these people. But, for now, the point I’d like to make is that these preachers have cast a shadow over the true worshipful act of giving. The rampant greed, manipulation of Scripture, and lustful luxury of so many of these types of preachers have generated such suspicion and such skepticism in the minds of worshipers when it comes to the biblical, worshipful, act of giving.
The motive of these men is their material gain, and the method of their manipulation is to make people believe that by giving to them, then God will give them material gain. They have poisoned the hearts of people when it comes to their purpose in giving. The motive of many of those who would worship have been muddied up with materialism and “what‘s in it for me” mindsets. Someone has said that when it comes to giving, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. And that’s just it. While some people scoff in suspicion at giving to the Church, others have become greedily hopeful that the so-called seed they’ve planted will increase their salary - because that’s the kind of god they’ve bought. But it’s not the God of the Bible. And that’s not the Biblical Christian’s attitude in worshipping God in the matter of giving.
So we ask ourselves, why do we give? What should be my purpose? What is the heart of giving as Christians? We might ask, ‘what is it that is behind our giving?’
I have titled this mornings sermon, “The Giving Behind Giving: To Give God Glory.” The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So, in all that we do we are to glorify God, and this includes in our giving. Where so many tv preachers are in it for their glory, and where many people give to buy their own glory, we as worshiping Christians give for the purpose of glorifying God. That is our ultimate, chief and highest aim.
If you’re visiting with us you should know that we have been going through the book of Philippians verse by verse and you happen to have visited on the day we are studying a passage on giving.
The Bible speaks very plainly about money because our hearts and our wallets are tightly bound up together, and God is after our hearts.
Martin Luther said “There are three conversions a person must experience: a conversion of the head, a conversion of the heart, and a conversion of the pocketbook”
Jesus talked often about money: 16 of His 38 parables deal with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, one out of ten verses (288
in all) deal directly with money. The Bible offers 500 verses on
prayer, 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money
and possessions
Many pastors will apologize for preaching on certain subjects like money, or, sin. But I won’t. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. If God has said something in His Word regarding these matters, who am I to apologize for it?
So this morning we are going to continue our look at Paul’s words of gratitude to the Philippians for their gift. In doing so, I want you to see the goal of giving. I want you to see the real giving behind our giving. I want you to see it is a worshipful act where your intentions must be that you are giving God glory.
Let’s get our context. It has been a long time since the Philippians have given to Paul. But, it’s not because they didn’t want to. They wanted to, but, Paul says in verse 10 that they did not have an opportunity to. It could be that for nearly 10 years they had no idea where Paul was or what circumstances he was in.
But, the eagerness they had to help their beloved friend finally was given a chance when they heard he was in Rome and under house arrest. They took up their offering and sent it - and Paul says by doing this they “renewed” their concern for him again.
The word for renew in verse 10 (or flourish NKJV/ revive NAS) is a horticultural word that means to sprout again, or, to flourish again, or, to be revived again. It gives us the picture of flowers and plants that after lying dormant for the winter sprout up again in the spring time and flourish. The season to be revived has arrived, and Paul is using this word to say the season for them to be able to give has arrived again. And just as you can count on nature to flourish again in spring, so too the loving concern the generous giving by the Philippians flourished when the chance was once again given to them.
But, what does their giving mean? What is it they gave? As Paul expresses his gratitude for their gift, he gives insight into the real giving behind their giving - that they were giving God glory in their gift. Let’s look at Paul’s words to see how it is that we glorify God when we give.
I. Giving so Others Give God Glory (v. 10)
Our Motivation for Giving is that others would give God Glory. Notice verse 10, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me.”
There are all sorts of reasons or motivations why people give. Have you ever considered yours? What I want you to see in this verse is that our purpose is to multiply the praises to God by causing others to praise God when they benefit from our giving. It’s not for our own recognition, or our own sense of “OK I did my part”, or a sense of self-righteousness. Our objective, our goal, our purpose and our inspiration to give is ultimately the glory of God in our lives, and in the lives of others.
Paul speaks of this further in another letter of his. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 9 if you will. In verses 11-13 Paul explicitly gives the reason and the result of Christian giving. (Read verses)
(Turn back to Philippians) Paul gave thanks to God because the gift from the Philippians ultimately was from God. And not only was their gift, but, their concern for him was ultimately God’s concern for him. Who is it that Paul said began a good work in them and is continuing it in chapter 1 verse 6? Who is it that was at work in them to will and to act according to His own purposes according to chapter 2 verse 13? God is the One who is working in them to create the will and the actions that are according to His purposes. Paul knew that their affection and their ambition to give was because God was working in them His own affection and His own ambition for Paul.
The generosity and the goodwill and the goodness we show each other comes from the work of God within us. It is His character that He is working in us - to be worked out of us.
How is God’s work in you coming out? When you give to others, and when you give to the work of God in the Church, is it so that people will glorify God? Is your heart bent on seeing others glorify God? When you give, give glory to God and do so with the goal that others would give glory to God.
II. Giving Strengthens Fellowship (v. 14-16)
“Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.”
Paul gives a brief summary of their past generosity in giving to him, and I want to point out that there are 3 reasons why giving helped strengthen the fellowship between Paul and the Philippians.
First, the Philippians consistency in giving. Paul says that after he left Macedonia -which is the region Philippi is located - they were the only church that shared with him in the matter of giving and receiving. No other church did this except the Philippians. They were regular supporters of Paul and consistently gave to help him in the work of the gospel even after he left their region.
Jesus said in Matthew 6 not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth, but, instead to store up treasures in heaven for ourselves. By giving to the work of the Lord the Philippians were storing up treasures for themselves in heaven. You know what store up means? It means be consistent in packing it away. A good illustration is retirement. Some people have money taken out of their check every week and put into a retirement fund. They save regularly to prepare for retirement. They are consistent in packing it away or storing up in an IRA or 401k. When Jesus says to store up treasures in heaven, it indicates that a person is consistently saving up for their HRA, their heavenly retirement account.
Secondly, the Philippians quickness in giving, contributed to the strong fellowship that grew between them and Paul. Notice verse 16, “for even when I was in Thessalonica you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.” Thessalonica was the next city just west of Philippi, and what Paul is saying is that their love for him, and their love for the Lord, and their support of the gospel sprouted up and flourished so quickly that they began to give to him immediately after he left. There was no time wasted by the Philippians, and Paul in somewhat of amazement says, “Wow! I barely made it out of Philippi and stepped into Thessalonica and you guys were already sending support to me!”
One of the most important spiritual disciplines a new Christian should learn is to give to the work of the Lord. The Philippians modeled this very well since they too were very new to their faith. Their genuine faith, and their genuine love for Paul, and their genuine love for the Lord and the work of spreading the gospel was proven by how quick they were to give, how consistent, and how generous.
And the third reason giving strengthened the fellowship between Paul and the Philippians was the connection. Paul uses the word “share” twice in these verses, and those words in the Greek mean to participate with someone in something. It means to go through the same thing as someone else. To experience and be involved with the same thing.
Paul is saying that the Philippians, by giving him gifts to help him in his ministry, were actually participating with him and ministering alongside of him. They were going through the same thing he was it deepened their connection. It strengthened their fellowship.
One necessary component of strong Fellowship in the Body of Christ is our strong desire and support of one another and the work of the gospel through giving. And when the fellowship of God’s people grows, God is glorified.
III. Giving Counts (v. 17)
IV. Giving is a Spiritual Sacrifice to God (v. 18)
“now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
The Philippians may not have realized it, but, when they helped Paul, it was just as much a spiritual sacrifice as it was a physical. Giving wasn’t just a physical benefit to Paul, it was a spiritual act of worship to God.
Paul describes their gift as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” He’s using OT terms that described the types of sacrifices that worshippers offered to God. They are used in the NT as well. Ephesians 5:2 describes Jesus sacrifice on the cross. It says there, “… just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Jesus loved us, and because of that love He gave up his life for us. Now it says that His death was for us, but, was to God. In other words, He gave himself over to death as an offering made to God on our behalf, and it says that it was “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. The terminology here and in the OT emphasizes the important point that the offering was accepted by God when it was done right.
Our giving can be acceptable or unacceptable offerings. Paul mentions the Philippian’s gift as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice”. What made it acceptable? How can we know when we give that it is an acceptable offering to God?
Passion and Proportion. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 8 please. (Read verses 10-12).
Paul says that “if the willingness is there the gift is acceptable.” That word for willingness is the same word translated “eager willingness” in the previous verse. It means zeal, or a ready mind, or, an inclination. It describes someone who can’t wait to do something and is always ready and prepared and eager to do it. Passionate. Paul says that if the passionate willingness is there the gift is acceptable.
He also says if the gift is proportionate it is acceptable. Verse 11 says “according to your means“ and verse 12 says, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one doesn‘t have.” According to your means means that if don’t have a million dollars don’t get hung up thinking you have to give as if you did. And if you have a million dollars, give as if you do! Give according to your means - give in proportion to your means. The passion for giving will cause proportionate giving.
I think we need to mention something here. Small wages don’t mean small worship. Giving is an act of worship, and a man’s worship is in no way hindered by his lack of a bigger income. His worship is only hindered by his want of a bigger income.
Scripture gives us an illustration of how the poor can give more.
*Mark 12:41-44, How the poor give more: the money may be less, but the sacrifice is more. The rich people’s offering was worth more to the temple, but, the widow’s offering was worth more to her. Her offering cost her more even though it was less than the others.
People sometimes say they wish they had lot’s of money to give to the church, as if the only fragrant, acceptable and pleasing giving includes lots of zero’s in the check.
But, Jesus measures the giving not by how much others receive from us, but, by how much we give of ourselves. God is glorified in the cost to us. Someone said, “If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving.” The widow gave all she had to live on. Do we give until it costs us? Do we give out of our plenty, or, do we give out of our poverty? That’s why it’s called sacrifice. There’s a certain point when giving requires faith. Giving in faith glorifies God.
Your giving is your worship of your God. It is as much of an act of worship as when you sing, or when you pray, or when you study and apply God’s Word, or when you refuse to give into temptation…. It is not a mindless, heartless, act; it is not a tax for being a Christian, it is an act of worship whereby you give glory to God by giving to His purposes in ministering the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.
V. Giving with Confidence in God’s Concern for You (v. 19)
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”
This is one of those verses that needs to become the hood ornament of your heart. Paul is giving the Philippians the assurance that just as they met his needs, God would meet their needs. They no doubt were poor when they gave and it was a sacrifice for them to do so. But, Paul says that God won’t leave them needy. According to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, He will meet their every need. They could be confident that as they gave - at a cost to themselves - that God would be their supply. Giving that glorifies God is sacrificial giving with a confident attitude that God will meet all your needs.
I want to share a story that has stuck with me over the past few years. I wasn’t going hungry or unable to pay the heating bill or anything that serious, but, in this event God clearly provided and I was convinced that if He cares about something smaller like this, He certainly cares about the more serious things.
A bunch of us were going to PK and two guys couldn’t afford the tickets at $90 each. We were all praying that God would provide the money. The day before PK was to start, through an odd situation, an unbeliever who had no idea we were praying and completely for his own different reasons, placed two $100 bills in my hand. Awesome, right?
And, you know, because your pastor was a pious man, you know what my first thoughts were? Man, I’m going to get some new clothes. I’m going to get some new clothes and then I’m going out to eat at Kirby Grill! I’m getting some new clothes, eating at Kirby Grill and then I’m getting a ……
and while I’m thinking of how to spend this gift to me on me, here comes the Holy Spirit. And the thought comes into my mind again that we have been praying for the money to pay for these guys to go, and I thought ….well ….I hope they find the cash. I’m just kidding!
Wow, I’ve got the $180 to pay for these guys now, and I’ve got $20 bucks leftover. That’s like 4 meals at McD’s!! (Hey, when you’re a bachelor, it’s as good as Kirby Grill).
You’re pastor is slow and so the Holy Spirit again has to bring something to my attention. As I was dreaming of milkshakes and Big-Macs, the Holy Spirit put the thought into my mind, “How much is a tithe on $200?” I said, 4 value meals at McD’s. Twenty bucks! God gave me enough money to not only pay for these two guys tickets, but, I had exactly enough money leftover to tithe. He provides precisely what we need in His way and in His time.
Listen, do you believe God will provide for your needs? If you’re like me sometimes you might say you believe God will provide, but, you don’t know how He’s going to do it and so you fret. Our faith needs to move away from the how and into the Who. I find that God‘s promises are always revealed to us, but, His plan for how He will meet those promises aren’t. It’s when a man can say, “I’m not in control of how this is going to work out, but, I know according to your promises God, that you will meet whatever needs I have, and you will do it in your way.”
And that’s just it: when a man let’s go of having to know the way God’s going to do it, and he let’s go of needing to know the ‘how’, then He can have peace just knowing that God is going to do it. He can have peace that someone greater than himself is working it out. And it is the faith of that man in God that glorifies God.
So, the real giving behind giving, is our motivation to glorify God. We want to give God glory in our giving. Giving that glorifies God is giving that:
--causes others to glorify God
--strengthens fellowship in the Church
--is a spiritual act of worship to God in our hearts
--and is done with confidence that God will meet your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
I pray that your heart will be impressed for giving with a sincere concern for worshipping God, the work of the gospel, and the welfare of others. ……………….Let’s Pray
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