Give 'till it Helps: Philippians 4:14-23 Neil Ryan

Date: November 5, 2005
Passage: Philippians 4:14-23
Message: Give - till it Helps
Series in Philippians [15]

There are some things in life that are hard to talk about.
They're just awkward no matter which way you approach them.

Eg.
I remember the day my Dad felt I should have THE chat.
Man, I thought he was going to pass out!
This was the worst moment of his life and yet it was supposed to be the ultimate bonding time of father and son!
I remember wondering how long to let him go on before I put him out of his misery!!

Some things are tough to talk about.
Some things are tough to preach about, doesn't matter which way you come at them.

Money is one of those things!
The American industrialist, Henry Ford, was once asked to donate money for the construction of a new medical facility. The billionaire pledged to donate $5,000. The next day in the newspaper, the headline read, "Henry Ford contributes $50,000 to the local hospital."

The irate Ford was on the phone immediately to complain to the fund-raiser that he had been misunderstood. The fund-raiser replied that they would print a retraction in the paper the following day to read,
"Henry Ford reduces his donation by $45,000." Realising the poor publicity that would result, the industrialist agreed to the $50,000

We don't like being taken for a ride.
We don't like being talked into something by a slick phone salesman.
We don't like the thought of not having enough ..whatever that is!!

As Christians we wrestle with two contrasting realities -
(a) What I work for is rightfully mine.
(b) What is mine is actually God's!

As you may well know, Paul was not on salary from any church or missionary board. He spent his life travelling from city to city preaching and planting churches with only the resources he was able to pick up along the way; as well as doing some part-time tent-making.

From time to time he was given aid by a church he established. The Philippian church is one such example.
Even that support had dried up for a while but lately they had taken it up again.

This whole letter is actually Paul's way of saying THANKYOU for their gift!
But still there is a bit of an edge to his words? Paul almost trips over himself trying to make it clear that while he appreciates their money, his work is in no way compromised by it, nor is he grovelling for it.

He wants them to understand beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is not driven by financial concerns first and foremost.
Paul knows this is a touchy subject.
But he doesn't shy away from it!

I hope I don't talk you to this morning like my Dad did with the birds and the bees because there is some really important teaching here about giving! It is clear and specific!

1. Read v14-17
Paul makes it clear that the true beneficiary in this matter of giving is not the receiver but the giver!
Paul uses terms that we can relate to very easily.
When we give, God adds to our account.

I love going to Bank SA.com and finding out that there is more in my account than I realised!
Doesn't happen very often!!

So, is Paul into a bit of prosperity preaching here.
If you give $1000 God will credit your account with $1000 plus some dividends!

Is the whole point of giving really about getting!
You know I got a letter from Readers Digest again recently.
I am such a valued customer.
I am so important to them!.
I have bought one book in the last 8 years, but I am SO SPECIAL to them ..and to reward me they want to give me all sorts of things.

All I have to do is sign up for some CD's or books.
Letter is clear .if I give them a little, they will give me a lot!

Sometimes, whether it is intentional or un-intentional, that is the message of the Church.
We almost need to entice people to give with promises of great returns!
We give, give, give so we can get, get, get!

Listen, we give because of what we've already got!
We are blessed beyond measure.
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!

We don't give because God has some moral obligation to reward our generosity!
Our generosity is at best a fickle response to the indescribable grace and generosity of God that has been shown to us in Christ!

The credit . We have the priceless joy of partnering others in ministry that has eternal dividends!
Paul reminds these people that they have not just given up money they have become involved in ministry!
That is the heart of giving!!

2. Read v18
Paul talks about giving as an act of worship
Here Paul digs way back into the Old Testament and the whole Jewish system of offerings and sacrifices that the people sent up to the Lord.
Paul is talking about the sacrifices, offerings, made in thanksgiving and praise; offerings of produce and animals in order to say a deliberate and strong "THANK YOU" to the Lord for His care and mercy and many, many blessings in the necessities of life day after day.

And He, the Heavenly Father,
received them,
savoured them,
enjoyed them.
He loved to receive them.

When I was in High School I had to do woodwork.
I was not gifted in carpentry.
We had to set ourselves to a project for the year.
I decided to make a coffee table.

Let me tell you it was an original.
Nothing finished up quite square.
The legs were almost even.
The bevelled edges kind of didn't look bevelled.
The whole thing didn't hold together with a great deal of certainty.
But I varnished it and took it home to Mum and dad.

I can still remember my Mum.
You would have thought she had just been given some rare and valuable antique!
I told her she could have it but I didn't recommend she put coffee on it!

How have we worshipped our God this morning?
What have we brought to Him?
How have we brought it to Him?
Is it a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God?
Our heavenly father loves to receive our gifts of worship!

There is an old story about a conversation between a $1 coin and a $50 note who met up in a supermarket cash register.
The coin says,
'Hey, where have you been? I haven't seen you around here much.'

The fifty answered, 'I've been hanging out at the clubs, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship. I just got back into the country recently, went to a couple of shows, to the mall with all those mid-year sales, that kind of stuff. How about you?'

The one dollar coin said, 'You know, same old stuff - church, church, church.'

Listen to Proverbs 3.9-10:
"Honour the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops ..

Know what 'firstfruits' are?
It's a phrase from the farming world.
The firstfruits are the crops taken right after the harvest,
the best crops
the unblemished crops
the richest and most perfect crops
the best of the harvest.

God says to us,
When you get your pay -
Give God the firstfruits of it.

Before mortgage payments
Before what we set aside for the bills.
Before the Christian School tuition,
Before the house keeping and
Before the spending money.

Give God the first of it!
Firstfruits:
Do you have a paper run? Give God the best!
Part time job at McDonald's? Give God the best!
Been working 24 years? Give God the best!
Pensioned off? Yes, then too, the best to God!

I told you these things are awkward!
I can hear a hundred questions, but somehow we cannot get away from this one thing that God wants our firstfruit as a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice.

You know something strange happened to me during the week.
I went to the Dentist and he put injection in gum and froze my whole jaw for about 4 hours!!
When I was trying to eat lunch I couldn't feel what I was biting and I think I bit my tongue a few times!
Then I became aware of an ITCH on my chin.
I scratched it.

Do you know you cannot scratch an itch when it is numb!!
It didn't matter what I did, I couldn't get rid of it.
Just about drove me crazy!

I had an epiphany there and then.
Sometimes we can get rid of our itch too soon!
God speaks to us about money and we get a bit itchy and we scratch it and it goes away.

What if it didn't?
What if that conviction, that compulsion, stayed with us and we could shake it off.
What if we couldn't walk out of Church and make out we have never heard anything about what God requires of us!

3. Read v19
In some way this verse troubles me and in another way it just amazes me.
It troubles me because my earthy, pragmatic mind can't help thinking earthy and pragmatic objections to this.

Cynics love to quickly point out that this is one of the great soft spots to Christian faith.
This is our great Achilles heel.
God doesn't always seem to meet our needs!
God is not always there when we need him!

Such is the teaching these days that many Christians have come to believe that something is wrong if our world collapses and God doesn't bail us out of it!

We haven't progressed from the book of Job!
Job never satisfies the question of WHY we suffer, it satisfies the question of WHO we need when we suffer!

That's why this verse amazes me, because in the end, it is all about WHO is meeting my needs Christ Jesus
His inexhaustible resources are there at every point of my life.

At my lowest HE digs deepest
At my worst failure HE is my best friend
In my confusion HE is my certainty
In my topsy turvy world HE is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In my fear HE is my hope
In my shame, HE is my saviour and great deliverer.

..to our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.