Paul’s Gratitude for the Philippians (Phil. 4:14-18)

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Paul’s Gratitude for the Philippians (Phil. 4:14-18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on November 12, 2023

As Christmas was approaching quickly, a young man started thinking about what he could give his father, who lived far away. He wanted to get him something special—something that would manifest how much he valued him. He looked around and found something he thought would be unique, special, and unusual. It was an exotic parakeet. It was so unique that it could speak five different languages and it could sing “The Yellow Rose of Texas” standing on one leg. It was a most unusual bird.

He thought to himself that his father would surely think a bird like this was extra special. In addition, it cost ten thousand dollars. This guy thought for sure that this most unique bird would show his father how much he loved him. He purchased the bird and had it shipped to his father. He couldn’t wait to hear his dad’s response to this most phenomenal gift.

He called his father on Christmas Day. He said, “Dad, did you get my gift?” His father said, “I certainly did, son.” The man said, “Well, Dad, how did you like it?” His dad replied, “Oh, it was delicious!”

His dad obviously missed the point. He didn’t understand the nature of the gift and because he didn’t understand the nature of the gift, he treated it in a way other than how it was to be utilized.

Unfortunately, many Christians miss the point of the gift of giving.350,[1]

Today, we look at a passage in which Paul shows gratitude to the Philippians for their support.

My theme today is:

Paul’s Gratitude for the Philippians

  1. Let’s look at the context:
    1. In the previous verses, Paul wrote about knowing how to live on less. Paul wrote about how he can do all things through Christ Who strengthens him.
    2. In the previous verses, Paul had minimized his dependence on them.
    3. Now, he is sharing how he is grateful for them.
    4. He did not want them to get the wrong idea. He was just saying that the Lord has provided for them.
    5. This is why verse 14 begins with “yet.” He had said that he can do all things through Christ Who strengthens him… Now, he transitions with basically “yet” he is grateful for their concern.
  2. The Philippians supported Paul’s ministry (Phil. 4:14-16).
    1. Philippians 4:14–16 (ESV)
    2. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.
    3. They shared his trouble.
    4. What kind of sharing? I think we will find out in the next few verses. They are sharing in material needs.
    5. Look at verse 15: they were the only church to partner with him.
    6. This was in the beginning of his gospel ministry. He writes, “in the beginning of the gospel” by which I think he means when he left their area of Macedonia.
    7. Macedonia was the broader region around Philippi, Thessalonica, and probably Berea.
    8. He left that area, and the only church to partner in giving, and receiving, was the church at Philippi.
    9. Look at verse 16: Paul gets more specific, “even in Thessalonica you sent help for my needs once and again.”
    10. They sent gifts more than one time.
    11. It seems like this was a big deal. This was significant.
    12. Paul preached in Thessalonica for a few months. This was after he left Philippi. We can see that in Acts 17:1ff.
    13. Their gifts sustained his ministry.
  3. Paul desires to see the fruit from the gift which is a sacrifice to God from them (Phil. 4:17-18).
    1. Philippians 4:17–18 (ESV)
    2. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
    3. Now, Paul is saying that it is not just about money for him.
    4. There will be fruit from the gifts, and that fruit is to their credit.
    5. So now he is saying I am not after your money.
    6. Does it bother us if people think we are just after money? Do we also want to go to great lengths to show we are not after money?
    7. This is what Paul always says.
    8. 1 Thess 2:5; Acts 20:33-34; 2 Cor 2:17; Titus 1:11; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2.[4]
    9. What credit? Piper shares: That love of giving is a credit… presumable an account or credit in Heaven. It is the Greek word “logon” which means “word” but in this case means “account.”[5]
    10. They will be blessed in heaven for their giving.
    11. Do we realize that we are blessed in heaven when we give to the Lord’s ministries?
    12. Do we realize that when we do not give we are robbing God?
    13. Going back to Abraham in Genesis 13, we see the tithe, which is 10%.
    14. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had several tithes to the temple and the community that added up to about 23 and 1/3rd percent of their income. Plus, they had other things like not gleaning the corners of their fields.
    15. In Malachi God rebuked the people for not giving (Malachi 3:8–10).
    16. God owns everything, and when we hold it tight-fisted we are robbing Him because He owns it to begin with.
    17. Then in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 Paul addressed giving.
    18. In 2 Corinthians 8:15 (ESV) it says: 15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
    19. That is a reference to Exodus 16:18. In Exodus, God provided Manna and Quail in the wilderness for people to eat. If people gathered too much and tried to hoard it, it soured.
    20. Paul’s point is that if we try to hoard and sit on our money and not give to the Lord, it will sour our lives.
    21. So, the church at Philippi invested in the Lord’s ministry through Paul, and Paul says there will be fruit and they will be blessed in heaven.
    22. Then, the corollary is true, when we do not invest in the Lord’s work, we are robbing God because He owns it anyway, and we are robbing ourselves of blessings in heaven.
    23. Stealing from God is like robbing the local police station—not a good idea.348,[6]
    24. MacArthur shares: The Philippians were in effect storing up for themselves treasure in heaven (Mt 6:20). The gifts they gave to Paul were accruing eternal dividends to their spiritual account (Pr 11:24, 25; 19:17; Lk 6:38; 2Co 9:6).[7]
    25. So, are we like the Philippians investing in the Lord’s Kingdom at Bethel Friends?
    26. Look at verse 18: Paul says that he has received their gifts in full. He is well-supplied.
    27. They sent their gifts through Epaphroditus, and he has received them.
    28. He compares their gifts to an offering. It is acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.
    29. Paul is gushing with thanks, but also how important their offering is to God.
    30. I like how Piper builds on this:
    31. Paul now returns to his high praise of them. He has now received everything he needs. He is well supplied. Their offering is a “fragrant offering.” There is one other time that is used, which is Ephesians 5:2. So, Paul compares their offering to Christ’s sacrifice. This sacrifice was acceptable and pleasing to God. Sometimes we think nothing can please God but Jesus’ sacrifice, not our works. But this shows that our works can be pleasing to God.
  4.  Applications:
    1. Do we partner with missionaries to give and support them?
    2. Are you partnering with Bethel Friends in your giving?
    3. They partnered with Paul. Do we realize that if they did not partner, it is possible we would never have received the gospel? People were saved because the church at Philippi partnered with him. Are you investing in the Lord’s Kingdom?
    4. They sent gifts multiple times to support him in Thessalonica (Phil. 4:16). Are we investing in God’s kingdom?
    5. When we give to the Lord’s work we will be blessed in heaven (Phil. 4:17). Do we realize this?
    6. Do we realize that when we do not give to the Lord’s work we are robbing God (Mal. 3:8)? How are we robbing God? We are robbing God because He owns our money anyway.
    7. Do we realize that we please the Lord in our offerings (Phil. 4:18)?

There is the story about the guy who was giving and he gave one thousand dollars per week in the offering when he was first saved. Later on in his Christian walk, he went back to his pastor and said, “Pastor, when I was first saved, I was so excited about Jesus Christ—so excited about the Word; I was being so blessed. I was growing so much. There were so many changes taking place in my family when I was first saved and I wanted to thank God with all I had because of the amount of money He allowed me to make. I gave one thousand dollars every week to the offering because I was just so thankful for His goodness. However, the more I grew, the less I gave. Now I’m not appreciating His grace anymore and I only give fifty dollars a week even though I make more money.” He said, “Pastor, pray for me.”

The pastor said, “Heavenly Father, right now my brother is in trouble because You know when he was first saved, he loved You enough to give one thousand dollars. But now he’s going downhill and he only gives You fifty dollars. My prayer right now is that You take him back to when he was making only a few dollars.”345,[8]

A little boy was given the assignment of planting a seed. His project was to then take it home with him so he could watch his plant develop and grow. He placed it carefully in the windowsill in the kitchen. The next morning the boy ran into the kitchen with great excitement only to stop suddenly at the windowsill with a curious frown on his face. Very upset, he questioned his mother about the state of his plant and the fact that nothing appeared to be happening. His mother carefully explained to him that seeds didn’t grow up to plants overnight.

It’s the same way with the principle of sowing and reaping. Reaping doesn’t occur immediately after sowing. Reaping, many times, doesn’t even occur a month after sowing. Reaping occurs when the season is right.343,[9]

Prayer

[1] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 117–118.

52 The grammatical structure does not favor the suggestion that what Paul means is “when you first became acquainted with the gospel,” because surely this began while Paul was with them, but the next clause says “when I left Macedonia” rather than “when I came to Macedonia.” Against Flemming, Philippians, p. 243. But see 1 Clem. 47.2.

53 See Sumney, Philippians, p. 115.

[2] Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2011), 277.

[3] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Php 4:14–16.

[4] https://youtu.be/HPiZdIlZ1Ww

[5] https://youtu.be/XgLmbRNU7So

[6] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 117.

[7] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Php 4:17.

[8] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 116.

[9] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 115–116.

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