Worshipping God with Money

Work hard with your hands so that you can provide for yourself and have something to share with others in need.

So that's there. And yet if that's the sum total of the way that you and I see it, Something that we have to work for, to provide for necessary things. Well, at best, we're missing the forest for the trees. And at worst, I think we're missing God himself. So let's pick up this final passage in the great book of Philippians and think about how knowing Christ transforms our relationship with money. If you're taking notes, I have three points. We'll think about how the gospel transforms, number one, money into ministry, money into ministry. Second, we'll think about how it transforms currency into contentment, currency into contentment. And then third and finally, it transforms wealth into worship, wealth into worship. So money into ministry, currency into contentment. and wealth into worship. It's my prayer that our time would refocus us on how faithfulness to Jesus Christ should reach all the way down to the way we spend our money. So let's think first about how the gospel transforms money into ministry. Cheryl read the text for us. Let's get some handles on the layout of it, the structure of the text. So I hope you're looking at Philippians chapter 4. There are a few Bibles in front of you. Be useful as we kind of walk through this for you to see what we're talking about. But I want you to notice verse 10. On the surface, this is just a thank you letter. Paul says, I rejoiced, you revived your concern for me, meaning you sent me money. Down in verse 18, you can see again, I have received full payment. So he's got the gift, the Philippians sent, and he's thanking them. We can see in those final verses, we have the typical greetings that close a letter, greet everyone for me. But what makes this section longer is that twice in the paragraph he says, not that, and then something. So notice here verse 11, not that I'm speaking of being in need. And then there's a digression down to verse 13. And then he starts to pick up the theme of the gift again, but in verse 17 we have another not that, not that I seek the gift. And then a digression that goes down to verse 20, we can call these not that's disclaimers, okay? We'll think about them more in points two and three, but we can note here that when you start talking about money, you have to work hard to avoid misunderstanding, right? But let's take in the big picture for a moment. Philippians began with Paul telling this church that he's thankful for them and he prays for them with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. That's the key phrase in Philippians, partnership in the gospel. The background here is Paul's second missionary journey. You can read about it in the book of Acts. He comes through Macedonia, that land bridge in between Turkey and Greece. He's only there a few weeks, but the gospel is preached and the church is begun largely because of some pretty amazing women. Lydia is a businesswoman. There's some other key sisters Paul calls fellow workers, Euodia and Syntyche, who are mentioned earlier because of their need to resolve conflict. But just as the church is being founded, persecution makes Paul move on to Thessalonica and then Corinth. And this church in Philippi, because they know Paul and they know the work he's doing, they jump in and want to support it financially. So essentially what we're seeing in this idea of partnership in the gospel is how the Great Commission is to be funded. If Christians understand the command of Jesus as going and making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching and trusting in his presence, then there are practical financial matters to be considered. How can people hear the gospel if nobody takes it to them? And how do they take it if they aren't sent? And how can they be sent if they don't have any resources? It isn't all about money, but it isn't not about money. Can't help quote Lecrae here,

I don't do it for the money, except when I do it for the money.

And we remember that Jesus himself received support from generous women, as described in Luke chapter 8. Doesn't take away from the fact that he was trusting his heavenly father for provision, and he was willing to go without. But the provision was important, and so here. So in supporting Paul, the Philippians are taking their money and funding ministry through what we call partnership in the gospel. And I just want to make three simple observations about what marks that partnership. This is what's useful for you as a church as you think about partnership in the gospel. So three things about partnership in the gospel. First, it's relationally based. It's relationally based. We see that right away in verse 10. Paul says, he rejoiced in the Lord that now at last You have received, you've revived your concern for me." Now that at last sounds a bit awkward in English. He's not saying, finally, it's about time you slackers. No, as he immediately clarifies, the gap in their giving was just because they had no way to get it to Paul until now when he's tied down in prison and they know where he is. But notice he uses that word concern twice. It's a favorite word in the book of Philippians. Ten different times in four chapters. It describes an attitude and a feeling towards someone or something. They're giving to Paul. It's not a fire and forget missile. They don't send some money and go, so glad that's out of the way. We've done our duty. We're done. Rather, they're thinking about him and his work. It's a part of their evaluation about how their own ministry is going. Look down in verse 14 there. He says,

it was kind of you to share in my trouble.

They're not just concerned with Paul's productivity. Like, Paul let us know how many people became Christians, how many churches you've planted. They're sharing in his troubles. There's an affection here and a relationship. It really is just a friendship. And if we pull back the lens a bit, we notice that friendship and relationship is what Paul is constantly trying to build. And we can see that down in those final greetings in verse 21 and 22, those things we usually skip over. But look again at them. He says,

greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

Greet each and every one. He says,

the brothers who are with me greet you.

So I think the fellow members of Paul's missionary team,

All the saints greet you.

I think that's the broader church in Rome, especially those of Caesar's household. These are probably those in service of the emperor, not actually his relatives, but workers in the imperial house who have come to faith. So interesting here that even in a conversation about money, relationships are primary. You know, relationships in this church are primary. You guys know this, but this is not the kind of thing that you come here just to do your duty and walk out the door and be done. This is a place to build thick relationships where you keep trying to open up yourself so that other people can know you. You keep trying to get to know others. I know that can be tiring, especially as there are new people constantly coming through. But friends, notice here that relationships, friendships, are the fabric of gospel community. It's true in your own church, but it's true even more broadly. So I just came from Capitol Hill Baptist Church. That church prays for you. I was in Arlington spending time with Mike Law, the pastor of Arlington Baptist Church. He loves this church. They pray for this church regularly. I had to Louisville, Kentucky, where Third Avenue Baptist Church, similarly. And as pastors, what we want is not just church leaders to know each other. We love it when church members take an interest in other churches, try to get to know other people so that we can build these kind of relationships that can be productive for gospel ministry. Now, turning to think about missions for a moment, Not every church is going to know everyone they support as well as this church knew Paul. And there are lots of considerations to go through with how sending agencies work and funding for missionaries is gathered. But I'm convinced that churches need to double down on the relational side of missions. I mean, your decision to buy the par house for, I know that you use it for other things, you're letting other people stay there right now, but to do that sort of thing for missionaries, that is a huge investment in a relationship with the missionaries that you support. I think that you should endeavor to know all of your missionaries as much as you can. And for some of you who are new, I know that's a challenge. You need to come in asking questions to try to understand what this church is doing, not just in Charlottesville, but around the world. So first of all, partnership in the gospel is relationally based. Notice the second thing. It's church-initiated and sustained. So I'm dropping down to verse 15. Paul says,

and you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only.

That is a truly remarkable verse in my mind. This is very soon after they became believers. We don't know how long he was in Philippi. Acts 16 just says that Paul and his band were there some days. But when he heads on to Thessalonica, It seems from their perspective to have been an obvious, immediate, spontaneous thing to send him financial help. Like they immediately understood the financial implications of a relationship with Christ. So they sent somebody there with money, maybe it was Epaphroditus, the same guy who carried the gift with this letter. We have no record of Paul asking for it. Seems like they just sent it. And I'm not saying it's wrong for a missionary to ever ask for money. I was trained in support raising by a converted Jewish brother, Ellis Goldstein, and he taught us just be straightforward about what you're going to go do and how much it's going to cost. I mean, he demanded that of us. I think that's fine. Being clear is fine. But the orientation here matters. The picture is of a church looking outward, trying to figure out how to use their resources to get the gospel places where it isn't. Now, one church can't do everything, but a healthy church is always looking, always asking, because a healthy church owns the mission. They're like a good financial advisor, looking around for the best place to put your money, so it does something. It doesn't just sit there. And they don't just initiate, they sustain. Repeated gifts to Paul and Thessalonica, and then after a period of lost contact, maybe now a couple years later, a revived connection and support. It's quite remarkable. Because the only thing we know about the economic context of this church is that they were impoverished and persecuted. So it's relationally based. Partnership in the gospel is initiated by the church and sustained by the church. And third and finally, it's strategic. For this one, we need to look a bit beyond our text, but not far. We said Paul, on his second missionary journey, went from Philippi to Thessalonica, where he starts getting support from them. He heads to Corinth after that. And in 2 Corinthians, we get quite a commentary on the effect of this giving. So 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is responding to the charge that some people thought that he wasn't a very good leader because he didn't accept funds for his ministry. He writes this,

or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I didn't burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

" Now the brothers from Macedonia, that means the church in Philippi, that's what he's talking about. Macedonia is the name of the larger region. Paul is saying that they enabled him to minister the gospel in this fresh setting without taking money. from the people he was trying to reach, so that it would be clear to them that he wasn't in it for the money, the way my landlord seems to think. Paul is clear elsewhere that churches should support their pastors financially, but in places where the gospel is still taking root and is challenged and liable to be misunderstood, where people might think that godliness is a means to financial gain, it's huge for Paul that he didn't have to take money or, as he sometimes had to do, work another job. The brothers who came from Macedonia enabled church planting in Corinth. So we've got this kind of three-legged stool that partnership in the gospel rests on. It's relationally based, it's church-initiated and sustained, and it's strategic work. Now, I'm preaching to the choir here, because you guys support work from Sweden to Lisbon to Zambia to where else? Many places all over the world. But I want to remind you that this kind of vision and this kind of energy for missions has to constantly be renewed. It's not something you can rest on. It's not something you can take for granted. Members of JPBC, as you hear about gospel work happening locally or farther afield, interest yourself in it. Find out more about it. If there are several of you in the church that resonate with something, take it to the elders. We as elders love to hear about gospel work going on out there. Don't bring it with an expectation of what the church will do with it. There are a lot of things to consider there. But together, we are trying to find places to invest in gospel work around the world. So partnership in the gospel, it's the funding mechanism of the Great Commission. It's true when a group of Christians come together to start a church like this one, like they did in the 1960s, building a ministry here. It's true when you look around Virginia, start to strategize opportunities for pulpit supply and gospel ministry other places. And it's true when you look at the greater task of taking the gospel to unreached places. So money into ministry, that's our first point. Let's consider secondly how the gospel transforms currency into contentment. And I want to look at that first disclaimer that Paul gives in verse 11. He says,

not that I am speaking of being in need.

My wife knows that I don't like disclaimers in general. So when we have somebody over for dinner, she will often say something like,

this is the first time I've made this meal, I don't know if it's gonna be good.

Or she knows I'm going to talk about this here. But I'm not sure the potatoes cooked long enough. I'm not sure if they're going to be soft. Now, I don't like that because then when I'm eating the potatoes, I'm thinking to myself, are they soft enough? I don't know. So no disclaimers. Just give it straight. And she cooks wonderful meals, so not to worry about that. But I feel like in preaching this kind of a sermon, some disclaimers, did Keith ask me to talk about money? Are we not making budget? I have no idea, by the way. And no, he didn't. Am I sharing this because I need money? So disclaimers, it makes sense when you're talking about money. Let's look at the first one there in verse 11.

Not that I'm speaking of being in need. For I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

" Now, it might sound to our ears like Paul is saying, I didn't really need your gift anyway, which wouldn't be true. We just read in 2 Corinthians, Paul's happy to acknowledge that he had needs that were met by their giving. But he wants them to know he's not money-focused. He's not money-driven. He isn't controlled by money because he's learned the secret of being content. Now, this is a famous verse, an oft-quoted verse. I have to think it's one of the most ripped-out-of-context verses around. I mean, all of us struggle with material contentment. So we come to these verses and go, there's a secret of contentment? Tell me what it is. Well, secret here doesn't mean mystical, but we can actually figure this out. We can get this. So let's follow the text and see the steps that lead to contentment. Step number one, realize that contentment is learned. Did you notice, twice he says, I have learned. And then he talks about the highs and lows of need and plenty, well-fed or hungry. So they cover, in his words, whatever situation he's in. And he says, in any and every circumstance. So Paul isn't saying you need to go searching for this thing. You just have to learn the lessons that the Christian life is teaching you right in the moment that you're in. Now it's worth noting, as I often remind my children, that just sitting in class doesn't mean you're learning anything. You actually have to pay attention. You've got to learn the lesson that's being taught. So I wonder what lesson you're supposed to be learning right now in your situation. There are obvious lessons we might think of when we're in lean times where we have to trust the Lord for daily bread, and that's a real thing, but there are lessons to be learned in times of plenty. That's a great challenge to think about how to steward what God has given us. Is it this or is it this? So I wonder what kind of class you're in right now. But step number one is realize that contentment is learned. Step number two, focus on doing. Focus on doing. Right after the statement about learning contentment, almost in parallel to that statement, he says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Contentment for Paul was not found on a mountain. I went to a pastor's gathering in China a number of years ago that was, we were meeting a group of Christian pastors right next to a Buddhist temple, and the monks that lived up on that mountain, as best as I understand, spend their days meditating. I was struck by the difference between this busy group of pastors, what they were doing, and these monks. For Paul, This secret of being content is found in the context of doing what the Lord had called him to do. The doing led to the learning. Megan and I have often reflected the last three years how difficult it is to lose a clear sense of what you're supposed to be doing in life. Where in our previous life we would often lament our need for a vacation, We've now lamented our longing for work in many ways. For all of us, it's worth remembering that one of the most powerful things we can do when we're struggling with contentment, feeling low, is to find a way to serve. It might take all of the effort you have to think about serving in the church. to be there when someone is moving, to actually step out and ask someone if they're willing to meet up with you to read a book together or to read scripture together. When we feel depressed and struggling, that's a huge ask. But friend, realize that doing transforms, transfers your focus. We go from looking at what we do or don't have where we are versus where we'd like to be, to instead looking at some need, some task worth doing, a worthy work. So contentment, realize it's learned, focus on the do, and then step three, don't forget the through. Verse 13 has to be connected to verse 12. I can't help but remembering there was a guy in college that I would work out with. He had a t-shirt that said,

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

And he was a hugely muscled guy. And I just remember looking at that t-shirt thinking, I don't think that means what you think it means. Because I can't lift what you're lifting because of my new faith in Christ. But what he's talking about here is this contentment-fueled work for the Lord has a reliance on him for the strength that we need. So think about that verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me as a contentment verse, doing what the Lord has called us to do. You know, God simply won't bless the self-sufficient with contentment. When we're focused on doing all things through our superior organizational ability and type A drive or innate talent, we can expect burnout, not contentment. There simply is no substitute for you and I having a close relationship with the Lord, where we're relying on Him, where we're praying each morning for the strength that we need to face the day. It's true in every area. Here, we're meant to specifically apply it to the world of our money. We're to remember that

God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply.

So, a second transformation we're seeing here. Money into ministry was the first, and now currency into contentment. Without contentment, we may give to God's work or engage in God's work, but we'll do it with a miser's anxiety. We could say that the machinery of partnership in the gospel is lubricated with the oil of contentment. We can do all this through Christ who strengthens us. But there's a final transformation that's needed. Let's think third and finally about how the gospel transforms wealth into worship. And we're picking it up in verse 17 here, our second not that. Paul says,

not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I've received full payment, more I'm well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul knows that even saying thank you could be misconstrued as asking for more. So he goes out of his way to say, I'm good, I have plenty. But he wants to make sure that they're thinking about their giving in the right way. So after highlighting it and praising them for it, he says his desire is that more would be credited to their account. That's so interesting. He says, I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. He means here what the New Testament regularly means in language like this. Through what we do, and specifically through what we do with our money, we can lay up treasures in heaven. We can withdraw money from our earthly account. We can deposit it in our heavenly account. That might sound blunt, and you might think, that's open to abuse. Or maybe you've heard a TV preacher say that sort of thing before some sort of an ask, and they did terrible things with it. But that's what the text means us to be thinking about here. Literally, the Greek says, fruit abounding to the account. Fruit, it's pointing to the life-giving nature of a ministry focused on new birth in Christ. But credit points to the fact that it's recorded. It's remembered by God. It will be rewarded. Martin Luther is credited as saying,

I've held many things in my hands, and I've lost them all. But whatever I've placed in God's hands, those I still have.

So Paul wants the church, wants all of us to think about our giving in that way. He's very realistic in that sense, motivating us with the language of banking or investing. We give to the church and we support missions, even when we're generous to support the needs of others around us, we're making a deposit. Then he takes it a step further in verse 18 by calling it not just accredited investment, but an act of worship. He says, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. In the Old Testament, this is the regular language of an offering that God approves of. From Noah's offering after the flood where we're told the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, to the burnt offering in the temple being a pleasing odor to the Lord, The idea is that God sees the offering, he accepts it, and the God who is infinitely happy in himself is in some sense brought even more happiness because of our worship, because of our giving. When we get to the New Testament, Jesus' offering of himself is described in this same language. Ephesians 5, 2 says,

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

And as a response to this, our whole lives are given back to God as an offering acceptable to him, our spiritual service of worship, as Romans 12, 1 and 2 puts it. But here, amazingly, our financial giving is described this way, as worship acceptable to God. Now, if you're here this morning and you're not a believer, it's so essential for you to understand that Christians are not people who think that they are acceptable to God in any way in and of ourselves. Actually, it's quite the opposite. What we understand to be the case is that all of us have gone our own independent way We've done what we've wanted to do with our lives. That's what the Bible calls sin. And the result of that sin is that we owe an incredible debt to God. That the God who is holy must judge sin. He cannot accept it. And yet, because of his great love for us, Because he wanted to make a way of forgiveness, of pardon, of reconciliation, he sent his son to live the life that you and I should have lived, a life that is a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to him. He lived that life that you and I should have lived. And then he died a terrible death, a death in which the Father poured out on him all of his wrath against sin. So that if anybody, any of us here this morning, will acknowledge that we are sinners and that our only hope is that sacrifice of what Christ did on the cross, that if any of us will do that, God will indeed forgive us. That's the most important thing that you could hear this morning. I pray that you will think about that. But more than that, I pray that you'll believe it. You're not going to find hope any other place. So trust in Christ. Trust in what he did on the cross. And then the result, what happens, brothers and sisters, this is our life now, is just one long, offering to Him of thanksgiving and of praise and of love. We just, we're so amazed at what, that's what we've been singing about, right? His goodness to us makes us want to offer ourselves back to Him. And that includes our finances, our financial giving. I think it's one of the reasons that it's important we keep passing the plate in Christian. Most of us give electronically in ways that are beyond me. Our church in Singapore, it's just a QR code that people scan up on the screen. I like it when we keep passing the plate because even if you give electronically or you give kind of in a systematic way, but it's not here on this particular morning. It's important that you remember, as a part of Christian worship, that your finances are included in that. If you're not thinking about married couples, if you're not the one who does the finances, it'd be useful if your spouse leans over and says, we gave this much this month, just so that we can remember that we're giving back to him a portion of all that he's given to us. Even if you're young here, teens, kids, college students, you take that little bit that you make from work, gifts that you receive from family members, and you start giving that back to him, even now. It's a wonderful habit to start, especially if you will connect it to a love for God and a thankfulness for the gospel. So a double motivation here. credit to their eternal account and worship of God. But Paul is so comprehensive as he closes, he immediately anticipates the counterattack of the world, the flesh, and the devil that might make us anxious and go, I could really have used that extra money this month. And so he says in verse 19,

and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The Lord will provide. He will supply every need of yours. Is his supply limited? No. Is it exhaustible? No. It's according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Our union with Christ by faith gives us access to all that is his, which is all that there is. Philippians 419 is not a promise to be claimed, it's a truth to be learned. And so we come finally to a doxology of praise, a prayer really, that in all of the trusting God with finances and giving to the work for the spread of the gospel, that his glory would be forever and ever acknowledged, amen. Knowing Christ transforms our relationship with money. It makes us want to turn money into ministry. We're looking for ways to use the resources we have to spread the gospel to those who don't know it. It transforms currency into contentment. Wherever we're at on the scale of plenty and want, we learn to be content with what we have. And it transforms wealth into worship. Our desire and goal is to lay up treasure in heaven to the glory of God. We trust that our needs will be supplied from the riches of His glory, And we desire to give back to our God and Father glory and forever and forever. I told you in the beginning about my dad's statement that God may do a lot of things, but he won't pay our electric bill. I carried that statement around with me for one year of support raising. And of course, I didn't miss the opportunity to joke with him as he was driving me to my ministry assignment. Dad looks like God is going to pay my electric bill after all. But the truth is God has paid so much more than that, hasn't he?

We know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor so that through his poverty we might become rich.

So we'd like in all the ways we use money to proclaim our faith in the goodness of God and that we believe Jesus paid it all. Let's pray. Father, you've been so good to us in so many ways. We pray now by your spirit that you would help us live faithfully and that you would fill us with joy because of what you've done for us in Christ. We pray in his name, amen.