Textual Idea
Paul praised the Philippians for their sacrificial giving, not as something that he needed, but as a credit to their account with God, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God, that opened up the heavens to meet their needs.
Sermon Idea
When we give, not just out of our wealth, but as a sacrifice it counts as a credit with God, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God, that opens up God’s riches to meet our needs.
Introduction
A little girl told an older friend that she was going to give her daddy a pair of slippers for his birthday. "Where will you get your money?" asked the friend. She opened her eyes wide, smiled, and said, "Why, Father will give me the money." For a moment the friend was silent as he thought that the father would buy his own birthday present. And the father loved the little girl and appreciated the gift, even though he paid for it himself. If you really think about it, we have nothing of our own to give to God. He owns it all.
Text
Please turn in your Bible to Philippians 4:14-20
14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 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; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. 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. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Bible is full of examples of sacrificial giving. In 1 Kings 17:13, the widow at Zarephath first made Elijah, the prophet, a cake with everything she had left. As a result, God provided enough oil and meal for Elijah, the widow woman, and her son to survive throughout the drought. In Matthew 26:7, a woman poured her very expensive perfume from the alabaster jar over Jesus’ head. In Luke 21, Jesus recognized the poor widow woman’s tiny gift as more than the large gifts from the rich. In Acts 2:44, the early church members sold their property and possessions to give to anyone in need. In Acts 4:32, again the early church shared everything they had. In 2 Corinthians 8:2, Paul writes of the Macedonian churches giving out of their extreme poverty, beyond their ability.
We all have needs in our life from time to time. Sometimes, it might be a monetary need, but at other times it is a physical healing, a spiritual healing, or just the need for peace in our lives.
Our heavenly Father loves to give good gifts to his children. Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
God loves to give to you. God loves to meet all of your needs. However, as believers in Christ, we must follow Christ’s example and give sacrificially.
What happens when we give sacrificially?
When we give sacrificially, it does three things.
Body
I. GIVING SACRIFICIALLY PUTS CREDITS IN YOUR ACCOUNT IN HEAVEN
Look with me at Versus 15-17. Paul writes, “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. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.”
Their gift brought Paul joy not because of its personal material benefit to him, but because of its spiritual benefit to them. The principle that those who give generously will be blessed is taught repeatedly in Scripture. Solomon wrote, "There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered" (Prov. 11:24-25). Later in Proverbs he added, "One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed" (Prov. 19:17), "He who is generous will be blessed" (Prov. 22:9), and "He who gives to the poor will never want" (Prov. 28:27). In Luke 6:38 Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (MacArthur, 307)
The farmer knows a lot about sowing and reaping. A farmer acquires land and seed, tills the ground, and plants. He works long, hard days preparing the soil. He takes his money and invests it in seed. He then takes that investment in seed and plants it. If the droughts come, the farmer must ensure the seeds still get plenty of moisture. When the plants sprout, the farmer must protect those small plants from animals and pests to ensure they grow fully. After all the hard work and sacrifice, the farmer finally is able to reap the crop.
Like the farmer, the followers of Christ must also sow and invest what we have. However, when we invest in the kingdom of God it is a credit to us with God. Of course, we do not earn our way to heaven. That is not what Paul means. He is speaking to those who have already received God’s free gift of salvation. Paul is speaking to the believers in Philippi who have a generous heart and who give out of their poverty. The Philippian church practiced sacrificial giving, putting credits into their spiritual account in heaven.
Like the Philippian church, we too need to practice sacrificial giving. You may have very little to give, but the amount of the gift is not what matters for God. God loves a cheerful giver. God recognizes when we give out of our poverty.
We’ve established that sacrificial giving puts credits in your account in heaven.
II. GIVING SACRIFICIALLY IS A FRAGRANT OFFERING, AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE, PLEASING TO GOD
In verse 18, Paul uses some Old Testament terms to describe the sacrificial gift given by the Philippians. It says, “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.
Genesis 8:20-21 says, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”
Exodus 29:18 says, “Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD.
Leviticus 19:5 says, “When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.”
Psalm 51:19 says, “Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.”
I love the aroma of fresh popped popcorn. The buttery smell fills the room. Movie theaters and other vendors know this, and are sure to keep it popping when there is a crowd. Even if I’ve just eaten lunch or dinner, I cannot pass up freshly popped buttery popcorn. Smelling and eating freshly popped, buttery popcorn pleases me. In fact, if I had some freshly popped, butter popcorn right now, at least some of your mouths would be watering. Like me, at least some of you cannot pass up a bag. Maybe, for you, it is a freshly baked apple pie or a fresh baked pizza or something else. But we all know that fresh aroma of one of our favorite foods and can almost smell it right now.
However, if the popcorn is cooked too long it burns and creates a horrible smell. Burnt popcorn is terrible. No matter how much good, buttery popcorn is there, just a little burnt popcorn spoils the whole batch.
Paul saw the Philippians' gift as a sacrificial act of worship to God. Such spiritual sacrifices are required of New Covenant believers instead of the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant. In Romans 12:1 Paul commands believers, "Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." The writer of Hebrews exhorts, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Heb. 13:15-16). Peter reminds believers that they are "a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). Paul's joy that the Philippians would make such an acceptable sacrifice to God far surpassed his joy at receiving their gift. (MacArthur, 307)
God sees a cheerful giver who sacrificially gives as as “A fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” much like I enjoy and am pleased with that freshly popped buttery popcorn.
We’ve established that sacrificial giving (1) puts credits in your account in heaven and (2) is a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
III. GIVING SACRIFICIALLY ALLOWS GOD TO MEET OUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS RICHES IN CHRIST JESUS
Paul knew that the Philippians would not only receive spiritual blessings in heaven for their generosity, but also that God would supply all their physical needs in this life. The Philippians had sacrificially (2 Cor. 8:1-3) given of their earthly possessions to support God's servant, Paul. In return, God would amply supply their needs; Paul would not be in their debt. Having sown bountifully, they would reap bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6); having "honor[ed] the Lord from [their] wealth and from the first of all [their] produce... [their] barns will be filled with plenty and [their] vats will overflow with new wine" (Prov. 3:9-10). They would discover that it is impossible to out give God.
The phrase according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus reveals the extent to which God would supply the Philippians' needs. He would do so according to His riches, not out of them; His giving to them would be relative to the immensity of His eternal wealth, that is, as generously as is consistent with His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The New Testament repeatedly presents Christ Jesus as the source of all of God's riches. In Ephesians 1:23 the apostle described Jesus as "Him who fills all in all." Peter wrote, "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3).
Sacrificial giving is like a key to a treasure chest in the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus describes the value of the kingdom of heaven. He says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Jesus has already given us the kingdom of heaven. When we give sacrificially, it is like a key to the treasures in heaven. It opens up God to give to us, not out of his wealth, but as large as his wealth. According to the Apostle Paul, when we give sacrificially, “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
I challenge you to give sacrificially to God. Give of your money, your time, your resources, your life. You can never out give God!
Sacrificial giving (1) puts credits in your account in heaven and (2) is a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God, and (3) allows God to meet our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
Close your eyes and just imagine God’s glorious riches. The Bible says he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything is God’s. Everything we have is His. Everything good thing comes from our Father in heaven. How much more does our father want to give good gifts to his children. If you are a believer, you are a king’s kid. You are adopted into God’s family.
As believers, we should give sacrificially. It puts credits in our account in heaven, is a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God, and allows God to meet our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Again, we cannot out give God.
Action
If God has been dealing with you about a sacrificial gift he wants you to give, I challenge you to give it. Don’t hesitate. Ask God to help you to give cheerfully when you give sacrificially. Ask God to give you the faith to give sacrificially.
