I. Intro
A. According to the WASHINGTON POST, a church ordered a pizza from Domino’s during a church service. What happened next drew national attention:?
“The driver brought the $5.99 pizza to Sycamore Creek Church in Pickerington in suburban Columbus on Oct. 4. The Rev. Steve Markle brought her onstage and asked her the biggest tip she’d ever received. She said about $10.
That’s when Markle told her the teaching at the church had been about generosity so the congregation had taken up an offering for the driver. She broke into tears.?
The young woman was moved to tears because the congregation tipped her more than $1,000 from the offering. (from illustrationexchange.com)
B. Paul is capping off this chapter—and book—with making sure the Philippians know that, regardless of how both contented and empowered he is in Christ, he is still very thankful to this body of believers for their remarkable kindness to him, and that it didn’t go unnoticed?
II. There’s No Such Things as “Too Kind” (vv.14-16)
A. Kindness Starts with Relating, not Convenience (vv.14-15a)
1. “Share” (v.14)—or, “have fellowship in,” “join in a partnership with someone”—Paul saw their gift not as addressing his problem, but their problem
2. Their faithfulness went all the way back to when he first preached there (Acts 16:13) to when he left (Acts 16:40)
B. Kindness Continues in Love, not Popularity (v.15b)
1. Paul uses three business terms:
a. “Entered in partnership”—this implies a accounting aspect—it’s as if they chose to share their bank accounts with him
b. “Giving and receiving”—expenditures and receipts, debits and credits: Paul had dutifully kept up with his income—and who that income came from
2. Of all the churches he’d ministered to, only the Philippians made the point of providing for his needs
C. Kindness Isn’t Limited to “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” (v.16)
1. After his ministry in Philippi, Paul went on to Thessalonica
2. According to Paul, they kept sending him money
III. Kindness is a Deposit, not a Waste (vv.17-19)
A. Kindness is Done for Its Own Sake (v.17)
1. “Seek the gift”—or, “I seek the profit that accrues to your account”
2. God is keeping an account of those who are faithful with the resources He has given them
3. Paul is saying they are storing “up for themselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:20)
Proverbers 11:24,25--"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. ?Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,? and one who waters will himself be watered."
Luke 6:38--“…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
B. Kindness Is Limited to How Much We Want to Please God (v.18)
1. “Full payment, and more”—their generosity was more than reasonable, it was extravagant
2. Epaphroditus gets thumbs up for accomplishing his mission, even with its difficulties
3. “Fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable to God”—a reference to the OT sacrificial system, which had as much to do with the spirit and attitude of the worshiper as the strictness of the obedience; this sacrifice pleased God
C. Kindness Is Eventually Reciprocated (v.19)
1. Kindness Meets Needs (v.19)
a. For their faithful care of Paul, he affirms that God will return their kindness to them
b. “According to His riches”—God’s blessings are proportionate to His resources, not ours
IV. Kindness Tends to Get Loud, not Stay Soft (vv.20-23)
A. “Every saint”—not “you all,” but “each individual believer”
B. “Brethren… with me”—Timothy and Epaphroditus, and others from Rome, such as Tychicus, Aristarchus, Onesimus, and Jesus Justus
Philippians 1:12-14--"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."
C. “Caesar’s household”—not just members of his staff and court, but possibly even Caesar’s family members; also the soldiers he shared “barracks” with
D. “With your spirit”—Gr. “pneuma,” or “breath”—Paul is probably saying Christ’s grace be with our souls / lives… or he could be saying “with your breath”—with your every word!
V. Conclusion
A. Margaret Craven, in her novel I Heard the Owl Call My Name, tells the story of a young missionary who ministered to the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia. As he lived among this tribal group he found them to be a very kind and generous people. He was therefore surprised to find that they had no word to express gratitude in their native tongue—no “thank you.” It was only as he learned their customs that his curiosity was answered.?
The Kwakiutl believed that every act of KINDNESS should be returned with an equal or greater act of KINDNESS in return. In fact, according to anthropologist Franz Boas, wealth and status in the Kwakiutl culture was not determined by how much you "had" but by how much you "had to give away."?
The art of giving was a mainstay of their society. It was how they chose to express their gratitude. (IllustrationExchange.com)
B. Don’t let your kindness to others be limited to what you think you’ll get back from them for it. God is keeping score.
C. Don’t assume that when you do a kindness, that’s the end of it—even if the recipient of your kindness never does anything for you in return. God is keeping score.
D. Don’t forget that the church, and the world, are watching. If we live out the grace in us, even in secret, understand that someone knows about it—and God is keeping score.
E. Remember the kindness Jesus showed us by giving His own life on the cross—Paul told us in 2:9 how God kept score!
