Giving And Receiving

It's been said that there are two basic problems with money. One is having it. The other is not having it. Both situations can cause anxiety. And neither makes it easy to give – which is our subject this morning.

At this time of year we have a 'Giving Review'. We explain our financial needs as a church. We encourage planned giving to God's work both here and elsewhere. And above all we turn to the Bible to let God speak to this area of our lives. So would you turn to Philippians 1. This letter was written by the apostle Paul. 10 years earlier, he'd taken the gospel to this place Philippi; people came to faith, and a church was born. Paul then moved on, but the Philippians became his missionary supporters. So in 1.4 Paul writes:

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…

'Now,' Paul is in prison for his faith. And the Philippians have just managed to get some financial help through to him. And that comes out in the verses we're going to look at: 4.10-20. And they say three things to this area of money and giving.


First, BE CONTENT IN CHRIST (vv10-13)

Vv10-13 teach us that we are to find our contentment not in our circumstances or standard of living, but in Christ. Paul writes (v10):

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it [presumably because it wasn't easy to get gifts to Paul who was a long way away, and in prison].

But then he realises that could be misunderstood. So he says (v11):

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

You see what he's saying? 'It's not that my contentment is tied to my circumstances or standard of living. It's not that I was miserable until your gifts arrived, but now I've cheered up again.' No, v11, 'I am not saying this because I am in need.' Remarkable! He's in prison, he's facing possible death for his faith, yet he doesn't feel in need. He's content.

I looked up 'content' in the dictionary and it says, 'satisfied, accepting one's situation; desiring nothing more or nothing different.' I wonder if you could say that about yourself? 'Satisfied, accepting my situation, desiring nothing more and nothing different.'

That's certainly not what the world encourages in us. A while back I read a book by an advertising executive and one line stuck in my mind. He wrote, 'Our business is not to match your needs with a product, but to create needs you didn't have before.' And the title of the book was: The Want Makers. There's a whole industry playing on the fact that so long as our contentment is tied to our circumstances and standard of living, we will always want more. And therefore we will always want more money as well. John Paul Getty was once the richest man in the world. He was asked how much money it would take for him to be completely satisfied, and he said, 'Always a little bit more.'

Contrast that with the apostle Paul, in prison, with maybe one change of clothes, subsistence meals, a Bible and some writing materials. No freedom to come and go and travel, no creature comforts, no TV and video and DVD and CD, no house of his own, no holidays. And he says, v12:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want

So contentment is something learned over time – especially when sometimes God causes us to be in want to teach us not to tie our contentment to the plenty we may have had (and may have again) but to him. And here's 'the secret', v13:

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Now there's a great verse for ripping out of context. 'I can pass my exams without doing a shred of work for them, because, v13, 'I can do everything through him who gives me strength.'' 'I can service my own car, because, v13, 'I can do everything through him who gives me strength.'' (That'll be the red Rover on the next pick-up truck you see.) You can make the Bible say anything if you try. But in context, 'I can do everything' can only mean, 'I can live in every circumstance and standard of living the Lord asks me to.' Whether at the moment the Lord has me in plenty or in want, the secret is 'through [or it's better translated in] him who gives me strength', ie, the Lord Jesus.

Imagine a dart-board. In the middle you have the bull's eye – the centre circle. Say that stands for Paul. Then you have the next circle around the bull's eye. Say that stands for the Lord Jesus. And then you have the rest of the board. Say that stands for circumstances. Paul is saying: the secret of contentment is to remember we are in Christ first, and only in our circumstances second. So that whatever our circumstances – want or plenty – we look for our contentment in what we have in Jesus. Look back to 4.5. Here's what we have in Jesus in the present:

The Lord [that is the Lord Jesus] is near.

Although we can't see him yet, he's totally involved with us. Totally in control of our circumstances and totally good towards us. So that if we don't have something in life, it's either because it's not best for us right now, or because it's not necessary for us right now. And then look back to 3.14. Here's what we have in Jesus in the future. Paul says:

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

If we're in Christ, we're going to heaven. This is just the transit lounge. And if you know the destination is going to be brilliant, you can sit loose to conditions in transit.

Do we believe that's what we have in Christ? Is our contentment tied to that inner circle of what we have in him – now and in the future? Or is it tied to that larger circle of circumstances and standard of living?

Some of us this morning will feel ourselves to be 'in want'. I know some of our student brothers and sisters are - especially some of the internationals. A number of them are worst off among our church family. But wider than students, we're not all well-off, or in work. We've had financial reverses and set-backs. And if thats' us, this passage calls on us not to be complaining or self-pitying (those are the temptations), but to find our contentment in what we have in Christ. And only if we learn to do that in want will we also continue to do that in plenty.

But many of us are 'in plenty'. And the temptation for us is to tie our contentment to that plenty. So that we then let our standard of living slide up and up, uncritically. And those of us with families can justify it by saying it's for the children. But it won't actually do the children any spiritual good, either. And the more that happens, the less we'll have to give and the less inclined we'll be to give it anyway. And this passage calls on those of us in plenty also to find our contentment in what we have in Christ.

That's the first thing. Be content in Christ.


Secondly, BE A PARTNER IN THE GOSPEL (vv14-18)

Vv14-18 teach us that if we're Christians, we are partners in the 'business' of getting the gospel to others – and that includes financial partnership.

Paul's just said that his contentment is not tied to circumstances – not even to the arrival of the Philippians gift. And he realises that's open to the misunderstanding that he wasn't grateful. Not true, v14:

Yet it was good of you to share in [literally, to partner 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 [literally, partnered 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.

You remember we began in chapter 1 with Paul saying:

I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now

And we get a snap-shot of that partnership here in vv14-16. Paul was a missionary and church-planter. Sometimes he supported himself financially through tent-making. Sometimes, as with the Philippians, he received financial support from churches - to free him up to invest all his time in the work of the gospel. And that's what happened when, v15, he set off from Macedonia (where Philippi was) to take the gospel elsewhere.

The point is: there are two types of work in this fallen world. There's 'work work' (if I can call it that) – paid and unpaid, everything from chartered accountancy to changing nappies. And there's 'gospel-work': getting the gospel out to people who're not yet Christians, and building up people who are.

So all of us work (unavoidably). But all Christians should also be involved in gospel-work. Eg, it's gospel-work when we bring someone along to an evangelistic event, or have a conversation about Christ with them. It's gospel-work when we come to Home Group or Focus or Monday group or whatever group – to build up our fellow-Christians by contributing in Bible study and prayer.

But then, it furthers the cause of the gospel if some Christians are relieved of having to earn their own living so that they can invest all their time in leading and organising the work of the gospel. So that's the case with the staff here. And that's the case with our JPC missionaries. Which creates a partnership. It's not that the likes of me are employed to evangelise and build up people instead of you; it's a partnership in which the role of the staff is to work so that the whole body of Christ here is spreading the gospel and building itself up. But that role – here or overseas – depends on some Christians being set free from having to earn their own living by other Christians supporting them.

That's the financial side of partnership in the gospel which Paul's on about in vv14-16. The sad example, look at the end of v15, is that often Christians don't realise their responsibility in this: 'not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only.' But the great example, look at the start of v15, is how the Philippians understood right from the start of their Christian lives that to be a Christian is to be a partner in the gospel-business, including a financial partner.

It's been said that the last part of a Christian to be converted is his/her wallet (or purse/handbag). And there's some truth in that. We often encourage new believers in reading their Bibles and praying and so on, but regard giving as a kind of 'spiritual A-level subject', to come to later. Whereas Paul clearly raised it straight away. You can imagine him saying to the Philippians that Jesus being Lord means Jesus having charge of every department of our lives. And if you're a new believer, now's a great time to think for the first time how the Lord wants you to use the money he's put in your pocket.

If we have an income, we're to regard that as God-given giving power. The Bible tells us at least four uses of money that God wants to see in us 1) to meet our needs and the needs of our dependants; 2) to meet the needs of others, especially the poor; 3) to pay taxes and 4) to support the work of the gospel.

The Giving Review is an opportunity to review that last one, especially. In a moment we'll have a presentation explaining the financial needs of the work here. There's literature explaining how to give to the work here, including a suggestion of giving 10% of our income – 5% to support the work here, and 5% to support work overseas. And including a Response Card to return to our Giving Scheme Co-ordinator, Tom Young, and our administrator Barbara Crone - so that we can budget wisely for the year ahead. Incidentally, none of the rest of the staff knows a thing about who gives what.

And can I say on behalf of all the staff that we are very grateful to God for your financial support. But I for one feel a certain awkwardness at this time of year. Because I suppose the world would see a sermon like this as almost singing for my supper. Which makes me so grateful to the apostle Paul for how wise he was in dealing with money matters between him and his supporting congregation. Look at what he says next, v17:

Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

You see what he's saying? 'It's not that I'm fishing for income. But I am looking for what may be credited to your account.' He's imagining a sort of account sheet of how the Philippians are doing spiritually. And he's saying: the number one thing about this gift is not that it pays for me (and might be a sign of more to come). The number one thing about this gift is that it shows genuine spiritual fruit in your lives. Verse 18, changing the picture to offering a sacrifice to God, the number one thing about this gift is that it shows genuine response to God, a genuine sense that all you have and are is his anyway.

On my sabbatical last summer, I met several under-supported Christian workers. They asked me about the staff team here and the support we're given, and they were very struck. But they didn't say to me, 'Lucky you!' - as if the main thing was that I had my needs covered. They said (I quote), 'Godly congregation.' And I want to echo v17 this morning:

Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.

Be content in Christ

Be a partner in the gospel


Thirdly, BE TRUSTING IN GOD (vv19-20)

Vv 19-20 teach us that as we give, there's no call to be anxious about our own needs. Having said, v18, that his needs are, 'amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent' Paul goes on to reassure them about their needs. Verse 19:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Do you remember the picture of the dartboard: us in the bull's eye, in Christ (the next circle), and then surrounded by the rest of the board of circumstances. Well, the non-Christian world doesn't know Christ. So the non-Christian sees him/herself in the bull's eye, immediately surrounded by circumstances – often hostile, often unpredictable. So where do you find security? Our culture's answer is to create around yourself a financial buffer, or security cushion. (Like Equitable life, perhaps, or Enron – just to make the uncomfortable point that they are not ultimately secure because they are part of circumstances. They're not God.)

And if you see things like the world, then giving is crazy. Because giving is depleting your buffer, taking the filling out of your financial cushion. To which Paul says: but we don't see things as the world sees them. We're in Christ. Christ has got us. Verse 19:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Bible often uses that phrase, 'glorious riches' to refer to God giving his Son to die for us on the cross. And Paul wrote elsewhere:

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things [ie, all things we need in life, this side of heaven]? (Romans 8.32)

It doesn't make sense to say I believe God gave his most precious possession (his Son) to meet my greatest need (forgiveness of sins), but then to doubt his willingness or ability to look after my lesser needs.

Do you remember the scene at the beginning of the film Superman, where Lois Lane's helicopter has crashed on top of a skyscraper, and she's hanging on to something for dear life and it suddenly gives way and she's falling freefall towards the horrified crowd? And suddenly Superman streaks up from the pavement and catches her and continues to glide gently back up to the helipad with Lois in his arms. And he says to her, 'Don't worry, Miss. I've got you.' And she takes a look down, swallows hard and says, 'You've got me? But who's got you?' Because she hasn't realised that Superman is (in the Hollywood world-view) ultimate security, his are the ultimate arms to be in.

And the point Paul is making in v19 is: God has got us. And he, in the real world, is ultimate security. It may be that we are in want right now and needing to trust God for receiving. But whether we're in plenty or want, we all need to trust God for this business of giving. Because the temptation is to think that giving is losing my security. Not so, says Paul.

Be content in Christ. Not in circumstances or standard of living.

Be a partner in the gospel. Which includes being a financial partner.

And be trustful in God. 'And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.'