The largest city in our great state of Texas is named after Sam Houston, sixth governor of the state of Texas in 1859. Life on the Texas frontier was rough and rugged. Men molded by the frontier knew how to fight, gamble, drink, curse, and kill. Sam Houston fit the mold as “heavy drinker and brawler.”
On his second marriage, Houston married a devout Baptist wife, who prayed for years that he would be saved and join the church. Late in life, he surrendered his life to Christ, vowing to go all the way with God and join the Baptist church. Houston was baptized on November 19, 1854, in Rocky Creek. Word of his baptism spread throughout the country and over 250 people came to witness it.
According to several accounts, during Houston’s baptism by immersion in Rocky Creek, his pastor noticed he still had his wallet in his pocket and offered to hold it for him. Houston is said to have replied, “No, I think not pastor. I’m afraid it needs baptizing, too”.
The gesture was reportedly followed by a tangible change in Houston’s generosity. Following his baptism:
- He offered to pay half of his local minister’s salary.
- He made significant donations to Baylor University.
Like Sam Houston, has your wallet or bank account been baptized?
It was Martin Luther, the great reformer, who said, there are three conversions that are necessary– the conversion of the heart, the conversion of the mind, and the conversion of what he called the purse, or the wallet, the pocket book. And probably of all three, the third one is the hardest to convert.
The Bible has a lot to say about finances. In fact, it surprises many Christians just how much the New Testament and the Old Testament speak about this topic. Here’s an example. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it’s estimated that one out of every six verses deal somehow with money. Of the 29 parables that Jesus told, 16 deal with the person and their money. Look at it another way. The Bible has 500 verses thereabouts on the topic of prayer, fewer than 500 verses on the topic of faith, 2000 verses on money! Jesus taught more on the topic of money and possessions than all of his teachings on heaven and hell combined.
Jesus said this, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That’s quite a statement. You can tell a lot about a person’s spirituality by what that person does with money. Just take a tour of a person’s finances and find out what is spent, what is important, what are the values.
The church at Philippi was a model of sacrificial, generous giving. To give you the background, they had supported Paul 10 years before. They had supported him on a couple of occasions. They lost touch with him. Now, they hear he’s in Rome in jail. And they send a man by the name of Epaphroditus, 800 miles, from Philippi to Rome with a very lavish gift, a sacrificial gift from that church– once again, some kind of a care package and financial offering. And it gets to Paul. Philippians is a thank you letter!
When it comes to how we are to look at money or deal with money or our financial responsibility, this text is a good one. And it’s interesting that Paul closes out his book with the importance of giving. We’re going to look at verse 10-20.
In looking at these verses, I want to share with you three insights when it comes to our finances, our money. First of all,
- Giving Blesses Others
Paul commends them for their generosity. In verse 14, he says, “Nevertheless, you have done well in that you shared in my distress.” Now, he had just gotten through saying, I am content no matter what I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.
If he would have ended there, maybe they would have thought, well, if he’s content with anything, a lot or a little, why did we just sacrificially give so much money and then send a guy 800 miles to give him this gift? So he closes off by saying nevertheless, I’m content no matter what. Nevertheless, you have done well. He’s commending them. He saying, what you did is good.
Money is not evil. Money is neutral. Money is amoral. That is, it has no moral value attached to it, either good or bad. It all depends on how it is used. Somebody will say, but the Bible says money is the root of all evil. The Bible does not say money is the root of all evil.
1 Timothy Chapter 6 says, “The love of money is a root,” (not the root), “a root of all kinds of evil.” Money is neutral, there were many people in the Bible that were very wealthy and yet very godly. Abraham, Joseph, Job, David, Solomon to name a few. Riches aren’t evil. Wealth isn’t evil. It’s amoral. It has no moral value attached to it. It all depends on how a person uses it. I love what J. Paul Getty said. He said, money is like manure. You stack it up, it stinks. You spread it around, it makes things grow.
Giving for God’s work is good. They had given to Paul. They were giving to God’s work, and it’s good. Paul the Apostle quoted Jesus in Acts Chapter 20 by saying, “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive.” Generosity is a good thing. Be a generous person. It’s a good value to have. And the honest truth is that very few things will ever get done in ministry without the generous support of people.
According to the Gallup organization, in the average church 17% of people say they tithe, but only 3% actually do. 40%, according to Gallup, will give nothing in a year. The same set of Gallup poll statistics, 71% of the pastors believe that church members have changed from stewards into consumers.
Enter the church at Philippi, a refreshing, different animal, giving generously on one and then two and then now, at least– this is the third occasion– generous to Paul. And Paul says, it’s good. Church at Philippi believed what Jim Elliott, that great missionary to Ecuador who was martyred, would later say, when he said, he is no fool who gives away that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose. They were generous. And generosity is commended.
Generosity is good is that it turns people into partners. Back in Chapter 1, Paul begins his book of Philippians. And he says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making my request for you all with joy for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. That’s how Paul viewed them. We are partners in this together. You are there. I am here. You are doing what only you can do. And I am doing what only I could do. We’re partners.
Look at verse 14. “Nevertheless, you have done well that you–” look at the word– “shared in my distress.” And then again in verse 15, “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.” Twice he uses the word shared. And it means to be a partner together in something. So what Paul loves more than the present that they gave to him was the partnership.
We’re partners together. And that’s the way it is in church work, in mission work, in God’s work. Some are goers. Others are senders. But all are partners. It’s a partnership.
2. Giving Blesses Me
Second one, interest is compounded. Now this is where it really gets good. Verse 17. He says, “not that I seek the gift. But I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.” Now we are getting insight in this verse into heavenly accounting procedures. This is how God works the heavenly account books. Because verse 17 is filled with financial language from the ancient money market. And when he says, “not that I want the money or seek the gift. But I seek fruit that abounds to your account,” that literally refers to interest accrued on the credit side of the ledger. Interest accrued on the credit side of the ledger.
Here’s how it works. Paul would go out and preach the gospel. They, in Philippi, would support him. And of all the fruit that came because of Paul’s ministry, they would get the eternal credit. God would accrue that, mark that, on their credit. That’s some wonderful implications with that. That means when you get to heaven, somebody could walk up to you and say, “thank you!” And you go, who are you? I’ve never met you. Why are you thanking me? I know you’ve never met me, but you supported that ministry where I heard the gospel that day or that night or that book or that tract or that crusade or that church. I heard the gospel, and I’m here in part due to your faithfulness. That’s fruit to your account.
How much are you laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven? So generosity is commended. Interest is compounded. That’s a second insight. Third insight is that giving is rewarded, not only there in heaven on your heavenly reward ledger, but here and now.
Verse 19. “And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” What a comforting verse, one that you probably know well. Unfortunately, it’s a greatly misunderstood verse. It has been taken out of context largely. That’s how I’ve heard it over the years, and it has become sort of a blanket promise. And I’ve heard people quote it as if to say, you know, if you’re a Christian, no matter how you live, no matter what you do with your finances, that’s up to you. But God will just automatically care for whatever you need. Well, that’s not what the verse means.
Every text has a context. And I’ve always gone by this rule– any text taken out of context can easily become a pretext. You can make the Bible say anything at all you want to. You can just take it out of context. You can make it say anything that suits your fancy. But every text has a context. And the context of these verses betrays that idea. What Paul is saying to the Philippians is, to you, Philippians, who have been so generous with your finances, my God will supply all your need.
And by the way, just in case you might be thinking, well, Philippi probably was a rich town. And they could– they had a lot. The opposite is true.
Paul bragged about the Philippians to the Corinthians. And this is what he said about them. He said, out of their most severe trial and extreme poverty, they have welled up in rich generosity. He said, they’re a very poor congregation. And yet, they are very generous.
Let’s look at verse 18. He said, “indeed I have all and about.” This is what the offering that they have provided has done. “I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things which are sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma, acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need.” Now there’s two words I want you to join together. In verse 18, the word full and in verse 19, the words supply. I am full. You made me full. Verse 19. God will supply.
Here’s what Paul is saying: You’ve filled me up. My God’s going to fill you up. You made me full. My God will make you full. Beautiful. The principle, then, is God generously treats those who treat others generously. And I hope you know that that is a scriptural principle over and over and over again. Greatest authority we have, the Lord Jesus Christ, himself, said this. Luke Chapter 6 Verse 38. “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be poured into your lap. For with a measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
That agrees with Proverbs 11:25. “The generous soul will be made rich. He who waters will himself also be watered.” And that agrees with Proverbs 22 Verse 9. “A generous man will himself be blessed.” And Proverbs 3 Verse 9. “Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of your increase so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Same principle over and over again. You’ve been so generous. My God will supply all your need. He’ll fill you up. Giving blesses others and it blesses me. Interest is compounded. Giving is rewarded.
Let’s close this off with a last insight.
3. Giving Moves God
“Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” That was always Paul’s end game. Future. Heaven.
As we saw earlier,
Giving pleases God. Look at verse 18. “Indeed I have all and about. I am full because I have received having received from Epaphroditus the things that are sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice–” now look at this last phrase, “well pleasing to God.”
That’s the highest motivation to do anything, to give anything. Because it is well pleasing to God. Did you notice in this verse the language that the apostle uses is the language of the temple? Sweet smelling aroma? If you were to walk in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, it smelled very different than it does today.
First of all, if you walked in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago during the time that they would have morning or evening sacrifices, it would smell like BBQ to you, like a massive BBQ. Because they were taking that animal and putting it on an altar. And the smoke was ascending up to God, and you’d walk through there– oh, man, I’ve got to get some of that. Where’s that? That was going on in the temple. Add to that the incense that was going up that represented their prayer. So the incense and the animals on the altar made this wonderful aroma. And what Paul is saying here is that’s what giving is like to God. It’s like the purest, best sacrifice, it is well pleasing to Him. This ought always to be our highest motivation. It’s not, “I’m giving because the church needs it.” It should be, I’m giving because God is worth it. It is well pleasing to Him. Now notice that he says in this verse, he calls it a sacrifice, an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. Just the fact that he uses the word sacrifice means that the person who offers it has got to feel it.
It’s like David said. I will never offer to the Lord anything that doesn’t cost me something. But I always get asked the question about amount. Well, how much should I give? Are Christians supposed to tithe? And if we tithe, should we tie on the gross or on the net? And we get really complicated about it.
What we need to realize that when it comes to percentages is we don’t own anything. It’s not ours. It all is His. 100%. In the prophet Hosea, God said, all the silver and all the gold is mine, saith the Lord. It’s all His. And then in Deuteronomy 8, the Lord said, for it is God who gives you the power to get wealth. So if God happens to give you anything or let you keep anything that’s already his to begin with, that’s where you thank him for, instead of saying, oh, my goodness. I have to give 10%? How about this? God let you keep 90%! That’s the way you look at it. All belongs to Him.
It would seem that these Old Testament believers who get saved in the New Testament began as the baseline with a 10%. But then Paul said this in 2 Corinthians. Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly nor out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Peter Marshall– former chaplain for the United States Senate– said this, give according to your income less God make your income according to your giving. What if God took your financial offering, multiplied it by 10, and made that your income? How would that be? Would anything change? How much would you make?
There are many things money cannot buy. Money can buy a bed but not sleep. Money can buy books but not brains. Money can buy food but not an appetite. It can buy finery but not beauty. It can buy a house but not a home. It can buy medicine but not health. Pleasures but not peace. It can buy a crucifix but not a Savior. It can buy a church building but not heaven.
We have been given whatever we have been given. We are stewards. God is the Master. God wants us to use wisely what he has placed in our hands. All of it belongs to him. And whatever we place in His hands for His glory, He’ll make sure that he takes care of us now. He’ll supply our needs. And whatever fruit comes out of our investment will be tallied up to our account in heaven. It’s a great way to live, with your eyes fixed on that prize. Like the church in Philippi, do you put your money where your faith is?
Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/leander-campus/watch-now-message-videos
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Read Along Daily Bible Reading: YouVersion (https://www.bible.com/organizations/370f8a6e-16bc-464f-8c43-0b7623fd2952)
Sources:
Also adapted from “Is your Checkbook Converted?” Philippians 9-23 by Skip Heitzig, 2000, Calvary ABQ.
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