“Investing in
Philippians 4:10-20
Today’s Focus: Stewardship Ministry (Stewardship of Wealth)
Food for Thought: “People of Faith Invest in Eternity”
Forward
in Faith . . .
F ocusing
on the needs of others
A cknowledging the gifts of God’s people
I nvesting
in Kingdom building
T eaching
the Word of Life
H onoring
God through passionate worship
Malachi 3:6-17 says:
6 "I the LORD do
not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7
Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees
and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the
LORD Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you
are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the
storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the
LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven
and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the
vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours
will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
13 "You have said harsh things against me," says the
LORD.
"Yet you ask, 'What have we said
against you?'”
14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did
we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before
the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant
blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God
escape.' "
16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and
the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his
presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty,
"in the day when I make up my treasured possession. [a] I will spare them, just as in
compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And
you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked,
between those who serve God and those who do not.
·
THERE IS ONLY
ONE TIME IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE WHERE WE ARE TOLD TO TEST GOD AND THAT IS IN REGARDS
TO MONEY.
·
MOST OF THE TIME
WE TEST GOD IN EVERY OTHER AREA OF OUR LIVES EXCEPT MONEY.
Malachi
10 Bring the whole tithe into
the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. “Test me in this,"
says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for
it.”
·
WE TEST GOD
IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS.
·
WE TEST GOD
IN OUR JOBS AND OCCUPATIONS.
·
WE TEST GOD
IN NUMEROUS WAYS, BUT WE HARDLY EVER TEST HIM WITH OUR MONEY.
·
TODAY THERE
ARE SECULAR BUSINESS BOOKS THAT TEACH PEOPLE TO TITHE, NOT BECAUSE THEY LOVE
GOD, BUT BECAUSE BUSINESS MEN AND WOMEN HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE MORE THEY GIVE
AWAY, THE MORE THEY RECEIVE BACK.
·
THAT IS HOW
LIFE OPERATES – WE REAP WHAT WE SOW – WE GET WHAT WE GIVE.
·
HOW MUCH MORE
NOBLE THOUGH IS TO GIVE NOT BECAUSE WE MAY RECEIVE MORE MONEY, BUT BECAUSE YOU
LOVE GOD ENOUGH TO OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS.
Opening
Illustration: The story is told of a mother who wanted to teach her daughter a
lesson in giving. She handed the girl a quarter and a dollar for church with
these words, “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the
other for yourself.” As they left the church, the mother asked her daughter
which amount she put in the plate. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going
to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said
we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave
the quarter, so I did.”
·
You and I
know better. We are more blessed—and happier—when we give generously to the
Kingdom.
·
Is money
standing between you and a blessing? Give it away!
ILLUSTRATION:
A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive few
visitors and was not to be excited. While he was in the hospital a rich uncle
died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news
with the least amount of excitement. They decided to ask the preacher if he
would share the news of the inheritance with the ailing man. The preacher agreed
and visited the man. They chatted for a while, and finally the preacher asked
the man, “What would you do if you inherited a million dollars?” The sick man
replied, “I think I would give half to the church.” The preacher dropped dead.
·
Money is
usually a sore subject in the church world. It seems we either talk about it
too much, which is wrong, or not enough, which is even worse!
·
Jesus wasn’t
afraid of the subject, however. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, one of every six
verses deals with money.
·
Of the 29
parables Christ told, 16 deal with people and their money.
·
This doesn’t
mean His followers necessarily got the message.
·
Studies show
the average church member contributes between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent of
his or her total income specifically to the Lord’s work (average household
income – $41,000).
·
The better
off or more educated we are, the less likely we are to contribute to the Lord’s
work.
·
Nearly half
of all contributions to charity in the
·
Often, we
think giving to the Lord’s work is a chore, simply a duty we must perform.
·
In fact,
supporting the Lord’s mission is one of the greatest privileges we have.
·
When we give,
we are blessed twice—first because God has provided more than we need to live
on, and second because we have the joy of investing in something eternal—God’s
work.
·
People of
faith invest in the eternal. Where is your treasure right now?
People of Faith Invest in the Eternal (Verses 10-16)
Phillippians
4:10-20 says: “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. 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. 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.”
Illustration:
Martin Luther said, “Take a look at your own heart, and you will soon find out
what has stuck to it and where your treasure is. It is easy to determine
whether hearing the Word of God, living according to it, and achieving such a
life gives you as much enjoyment and calls forth as much diligence from you as
does accumulating and saving money and property.”
1. Giving
is rooted in the heart and nature of God.
John
“For God
so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
2. Giving
is an act of worship.
Matthew
6:19-33
19"Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do
not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are
good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if
your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light
within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the
one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.”
25"Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body
more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the
air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who
of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?”
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies
of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I
tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not
worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we
wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.”
3. Giving
tithes and offerings is sowing into the work of God.
Galatians
6:7-10 says:
7”Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one
who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who
belong to the family of believers.”
“When you
support the Lord’s work, you demonstrate that you value the eternal” (Larry
Wilson).
Everything Invested in the Work of God Pays Dividends
Philippians 4:17-18
“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.”
THE BIBLE TELLS US TO:
1. Put God
first in your finances.
1
Corinthians 16:1-10 says:
1”Now about the collection for
God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to
do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you
should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so
that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3Then,
when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and
send them with your gift to
5After I go through
10If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear
while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.”
·
Pick up a
complimentary box of tithe envelopes at the
Illustration:
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops”
(Proverbs 3:9).
2. Put God
first in everything.
Matthew
“But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well.”
3. Through
giving we achieve spiritual growth and development.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 says:
“And now,
brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian
churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme
poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as
they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they
urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the
saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to
the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.”
4. God
pours blessings into the lives of those who give.
Luke
6:36-38 says:
“Be
merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be
judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be
forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
“We make a
living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” (Winston Churchill).
God Meets the Needs of Those Who Invest in
Philippians 4:19-20
“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.”
Illustration:
Anne Frank said, “No one ever became poor by giving.”
·
In fact, we
become rich when we give. We discover a joy that comes from being in tune with
God and His will.
1. We reap
what we sow.
Proverbs
“The
wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure
reward.”
·
Tithing is
often misrepresented as a duty.
·
In fact,
giving is a source of joy.
·
People who
give little resent it, as they do when forced to leave a tip.
·
People who
give much enjoy it, because they know they’re doing something important.
2. We
always reap more than we sow.
Matthew
13:8 says:
“Still
other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or
thirty times what was sown.”
3. We help
others when we give.
Philippians
8”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.”
Souls will
be saved.
Illustration:
In this passage the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians that their giving had
made it possible to change the world. The investment of the Philippians had
paid eternal dividends through the penetration of the
Conclusion:
Someone said, “Money is like fertilizer—it’s not worth a thing unless it’s
spread around encouraging young things to grow.” I think that’s true. Too
often, we hoard what we have. We think by holding on to it we will improve our
lives somehow.
·
Nothing could
be further from the truth. Jesus showed us wealth, like everything else in this
world, will someday fade away. The only way it can do us any good is when we
give it away.
·
As a follower
of Jesus Christ, you have an awesome privilege. First, you have been blessed by
God’s provision to you. You have all you need and more. Beyond that, you have
the privilege of investing in the eternal. Nonbelievers, even charitable
people, can only hope to give their money away. You can invest it in something
of value.
·
What do you
value? What does your use of money say about your values?
·
What good
thing do you want to do with your life? Are you giving in order to do it?
·
Do you have
joy about your involvement in the Kingdom? Will you give in order to find it?