LIVING TOGETHER IN PERSONAL THANKSGIVING
Philippians 4:10-20
INTRODUCTION
A. We have much to be thankful for in America, yet we are not always thankful.
1. "If the rich young ruler was rich, what am I?" by William Boice.
Dear Lord,
I have been re-reading the record of the Rich Young Ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me to thinking.
No matter how much wealth he had, he could not --
ride in a car,
have any surgery,
turn on a light,
buy penicillin,
hear a pipe organ,
watch TV,
wash dishes in running water,
type a letter,
mow a lawn,
fly in an airplane,
sleep on an innerspring mattress,
or talk on the phone.
If he was rich, then what am I?
- William Boice
Phoenix, Arizona
in The Christian Standard
2. We have many reasons to be thankful as Christians:
a. I have spent my entire adult life working for organizations and churches that are dependent on volunteer giving for them to succeed and for me to be paid..
b. We in the church should be thankful because of those who give to the church, so that the many ministries of the church are available to us.
c. We have all been affected by institutions such as the church that are the result of giving people. We ought to be thankful.
3. Yet we are not always thankful:
The post office maintains a "dead letter office." To it come all the letters that cannot be delivered. At Christmas many write to Santa Claus, especially children.
One employee of the post office was very interested to see how many people ask for things and how many people thank others for giving them things.
In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him.
B. Our text calls for us to live together in personal thanksgiving.
1. Paul found himself in a situation demanding personal thanksgiving, and he expresses it here to the Philippian church for their support of his ministry.
a. They had a history of giving Paul help, having done so over and over. They were not just concerned for him; they had an active interest in him.
b. Now they had gone for sometime without helping him; perhaps they had lost track of him, but there had certainly been no opportunity to help.
c. Now, while Paul was in prison, they had heard of his need, and sent him aid again. It had been some years since Paul had begun the Philippian church, but when they heard of his need, they responded with a gift.
d. Now Paul marvels at their new interest in him, as he records for them his personal thanksgiving for their gift.
2. These verses are Paul’s thank you note he sent to the Philippian church, but they are more than that; they are a call for us to live together in personal thanksgiving as Paul did in his life.
KEY STATEMENT
Paul cites for us one attitude and one action that enable us to live together in personal thanksgiving.
LIVE TOGETHER IN PERSONAL THANKSGIVING BY...
I. ...DEVELOPING AN ATTITUDE OF CONTENTMENT – Vss. 10-13.
A. What is this attitude of contentment?
• While Robert Woods, senior minister of Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, was out of town, his associate, Timothy Heaton, preached on spiritual uplift. His sermon title was "I Need a Raise." When Woods returned the next Sunday, he preached on the topic, "The Answer Is No."
1. It is not expressing thanks because you have another need.
a. Mike Nauman told me about receiving an appeal letter from President Letcher at Midwest Christian College. He said it was the first letter he had received from him not asking for more money.
b. Paul was not writing like that. He was not saying thank you to ask for more.
c. Paul was not concerned for his own welfare, but for other’s welfare.
d. The Philippians had expressed genuine generosity, for which Paul was expressing his thanks.
2. It is being content in every situation, Paul says.
a. He emphasized "I" have learned this – vs. 11.
b. The word for "learn" in vs. 11 means "to learn by experience."
c. The word for "learn" in vs. 12 refers to initiation. It was used in the Greek mystery religions to describe people who had worked their way up through the various degrees and had finally been admitted into full possession of all the religion’s secrets. Paul is saying he had made his way up through a variety of experiences until he had reached contentment.
d. He had disciplined himself to be independent of his circumstances – vs. 12. He simply gives thanks for everything.
e. The word contentment had been used by Stoic philosophers to describe the man of emotionless, wooden impassivity, the man whom nothing could touch because in himself he had found a completely satisfying world. Paul rescued the word and made it mean the restful contentment of the Christian, the opposite of the desire for more.
3. Some people never figure out contentment:
Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Tina Sinatra, recalls her father’s unceasing drive to succeed and make money, even when his health was at risk:
His health was in tatters and his life mired in financial wrangles, but my father refused to stop giving concerts, "I’ve just got to earn more money," he said.
His performances, sad to say, were becoming more and more uneven. Uncertain of his memory, he became dependant on tele-prompters. When I saw him at Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he struggled through the show and felt so sick at the end that he needed oxygen from a tank that he kept on hand. At another show he forgot the lyrics to "Second Time Around," a ballad he had sung a thousand times. His adoring audience finished it for him.
I couldn’t bear to see Dad struggle. I remembered all the times he repeated the old boxing maxim "You gotta get out before you hit the mat." He wanted to retire at the top of his game, and I always thought he would know when his time came, but pushing 80 he lost track of when to quit. After seeing one too many of these fiascos, I told him, "Pop, you can stop now; you don’t have to stay on the road."
With a stricken expression he said, "No, I’ve got to earn more money. I have to make sure everyone is taken care of."
Since his death there have been constant family wrangles over his fortune.
4. Contrast that with this account. In his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalls a story demonstrating contentment:
Some years ago Ruth and I had a vivid illustration of this on an island in the Caribbean. One of the wealthiest men in the world had asked us to come to his lavish home for lunch. He was 75 years old, and throughout the entire meal he seemed close to tears. "I am the most miserable man in the world," he said. "Out there is my yacht. I can go anywhere I want to. I have my private plane, my helicopters. I have everything I want to make my life happy, yet I am as miserable as hell." We talked to him and prayed with him, trying to point him to Christ, who alone gives lasting meaning to life.
Then we went down the hill to a small cottage where we were staying. That afternoon the pastor of the local Baptist church came to call. He was an Englishman, and he too was 75-a widower who spent most of his time taking care of his two invalid sisters. He was full of enthusiasm and love for Christ and others. "I don’t have two pounds to my name," he said with a smile, "but I am the happiest man on this island."
Billy Graham relates how he asked his wife Ruth after they left, "Who do you think is the richer man?" She didn’t have to reply because they both already knew the answer.
B. What, then, is the source of contentment?
1. God gives it – vs. 13. This is the same God who worked through the O.T. and who raised Jesus from the dead.
2. Even God’s weakness is stronger than our strength. God has chosen weak vessels to demonstrate his strength.
3. Paul’s thorn in the flesh demonstrated this.
4. This power is continually available to the one who trusts in Jesus.
5. Ephesians 3:20,21 describes God’s power.
6. Are you discontent with what God has given you and therefore unable to express personal thanksgiving? We have the distinct impression in America that it is how much you have determines how you can do and how successful you are. Paul turns the tables to tell us it is how much you trust God.
7. In Decision, Joni Earickson Tada writes:
Honesty is always the best policy, but especially when you’re surrounded by a crowd of women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women’s conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, "Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy!" Several women around her nodded. "How do you do it?" she asked as she capped her lipstick.
"I don’t do it," I said. "In fact, may I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?"
"This is an average day," I breathed deeply. "After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6:00 A.M., I’m alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 A.M. That’s when a friend arrives to get me up.
"While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, ’Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don’t have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don’t have a smile to take into the day. But you do. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately.’"
"So, what happens when your friend comes through the bedroom door?" one of them asked.
"I turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It’s not mine. It’s God’s. And so," I said, gesturing to my paralyzed legs, "whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning."
I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we discover him to be.
II. ...DEVELOPING THE ACTION OF GIVING – Vss. 14-20.
A. The process of excessive giving.
1. Paul tells the Philippians that even though he was content it was good of them to give.
a. M.C.C. students took an offering for Troy Clapp’s artificial leg even though Bud was it was unnecessary. Bud was content, yet the students responded properly.
b. The Philippians had responded properly to Paul’s need even though he was content.
c. The Philippians even shared in Paul’s troubles – vs. 14.
d. We ought to give no matter how content others are.
2. How the Philippians expressed this attitude:
a. They aided Paul over and over again when others would not.
b. They had done this for the churches in Judea, even pleading with Paul for the privilege of taking part in the offering.
c. I have seen some excellent examples of Faith Promise giving: Town and Country Christian Church in Okmulgee, Oklahoma had an attendance of 100, but gave $40,000 a year to missions. Footville Church of Christ has an attendance of 130, but gives $60,000 a year to missions.
d. I have seen this with individuals: I had breakfast one morning with a friend, Larry Girdwood. During the course of our breakfast, he handed me a substantial check ($3,300) for WCMA. He told me he was making more money than at any time in his life. He and his wife had determined to use only what they needed, and to give the rest to various ministries.
e. Now Paul had received full payment and even more. This is a business term denoting that they not only paid their bill; they overpaid it – vs. 18.
f. Paul encouraged such giving not because he was looking for a gift, but because he was looking for interest that could be credited to their account – vs. 17.
3. We need this kind of giving.
a. James Montgomery Boice says that one of the best things a believer could do is to be led to give away, all at one time, a substantial part of his savings.
b. Louis Cassels of UPI: If every church member went on welfare and tithed, church income would increase by 35%.
4. Such giving is pleasing to God – vs. 18.
a. Paul turns from business language to religious language.
b. O.T. sacrifices and offerings were pleasing to God.
c. Jesus’ death was pleasing to God – Ephesians 5:2.
d. Our offerings have that blessing from God.
B. The result of excessive giving:
1 This is the supreme reason for such giving: God meets all our needs – vs. 19. This was true even though the Philippians were left in need because they gave so much.
2. This is among the greatest promises of the Bible.
3. It is God who supplies those who give.
a. This is the God of creation and history.
b. It is "my God" -- he is personal.
c. He meets our needs from his glorious riches.
d. He makes us gloriously rich, not materially rich, through his son.
4. Bill Conklin of First Christian Church in Clearwater, Florida, told, in an article in their church paper, told why he tithed:
He said one reason in particular was how the church had helped himself and several others he knew to face personal trials. He fought in Viet Nam during some of the heaviest fighting of the war, flying over 140 missions. Some of his missions were called "milk runs." that was a term used by pilots to denote a mission on which you encounter very little or no resistance. There is no fear on such a mission and you can perform well. At the other extreme was the mission called a "heavy threat," a mission on which you could expect enemy missiles, fighter planes, and heavy losses. Those who had to bail out were captured and put in POW camps. Some of those who were capable of the milk runs could not handle the heavy threat missions. Some who had no faith in God turned to alcohol or drugs to escape. Conklin’s faith and trust in God, developed through his early years in the church, got him through. He says life may not always give us the milk runs, so we need to develop a faith and trust in God that will allow us to meet the real threats of life. Giving is an investment to strengthen ourselves and others.
CONCLUSION
A. It comes down to this: Is this God your God? You see, as Aslan demonstrated to Jill in The Chronicles of Narnia:
"Are you not thirsty?" said the lion.
"I’m dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I -- could I -- would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
"Will you promise not to -- do anything to me, if I do come? Said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"Do you eat girls? she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren’t come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.
B. If this God is our God, we can live together in personal thanksgiving.
