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SERIES: |
Technicolor Joy: A Study through Philippians |
MESSAGE: |
Is Your Checkbook Converted? |
SPEAKER: |
Skip Heitzig |
SCRIPTURE: |
Philippians 4:14-23 |
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MESSAGE SUMMARY
It’s a strange title for a sermon, I know. Yet it seems many of us try to separate what we believe in our hearts from how we behave with our finances. In these closing verses of this letter to the Philippians, Paul thanks the church that supported his ministry for putting their money where their faith is. This paragraph is one of the clearest theological statements about how money can become a tool for God’s glory and a gauge of spiritual maturity.
STUDY GUIDE
Connect Recap Notes: January 7, 2018
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: "Is Your Checkbook Converted?"
Text: Philippians 4:14-23
Path
Martin Luther noted that three conversions are necessary for each person: heart, mind, and purse (wallet). It seems many of us try to separate what we believe in our hearts from how we behave with our finances. In the closing verses of Philippians, Paul thanked the church that supported his ministry for putting their money where their faith was. Pastor Skip unpacked one of the clearest theological statements about how money can become a tool for God’s glory and a gauge of spiritual maturity:
- Generosity Is Commended (vv. 14-16, 18)
- Interest Is Compounded (v. 17)
- Giving Is Rewarded (v. 19)
- Family Is Extended (vv. 20-23)
Points
Generosity Is Commended
- The Bible has roughly 2,000 verses that deal with money. That’s more than the topics of prayer and faith combined.
- Largely, one can tell a lot about a person’s spirituality by what he or she does with money.
- The church at Philippi is a model for us: to them, giving was an act of worship.
- Paul noted that the Philippians’ giving was good: “you have done well” (v. 14).
- Paul understood that money is not evil; it’s neutral. It’s what we do with money that provides the barometer of our spiritual growth.
- Note the word shared (see vv. 14-15). One reason generosity is good is because it turns people into partners.
- Another reason generosity is good is because it pleases God (see v. 18). Paul used temple language in his letter by comparing giving to a temple sacrifice: an aroma (incense) that is pleasing to God.
- Probe: As Pastor Skip noted, our highest motivation for giving shouldn’t be the church’s needs, but because God deserves it. How does giving to a church or ministry make you a partner in ministry? Why is giving not so much about a particular need but a powerful God?
Interest Is Compounded
- In verse 17, we get insight into heavenly accounting. Paul preached the gospel and the Philippian supporters would get credit.
- Paul’s end desire was for the fruit of the ministry, not the funds. Principle: God tallies the fruit from ministry and credits it to the supporters’ account. When we get to heaven, we may meet people that benefited from our provision.
- We need to be careful how we invest our money. The important question is not, “Is there a proclaimed need?” but “Is the ministry producing fruit?”
- Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). Always invest with heaven and God’s kingdom in mind.
- Probe: How can giving to fruitful ministries transform your idea of giving? Would you support a business that was about to go bankrupt? Ask yourself: Is where you are currently giving money being fruitful? Are lives being changed? Are you making a heavenly impact?
Giving Is Rewarded
- Verse 19 is frequently misunderstood as “If you’re a Christian, no matter how you live, God will automatically give you what you need.” This is taking the text out of context and making it a pretext for incorrect interpretation. It should be understood as “To you who are generous, God will supply your need.” God blesses those that bless God and others.
- Note some key words: full and supply (see vv. 18-19). Both words are the same in Greek. Paul was saying “You filled me up for God’s glory, so He will fill you up.”
- God’s generosity extends to people who extend their generosity to others (see Proverbs 3:9; Proverbs 11:25; Proverbs 22:9; Luke 6:38).
- Probe: Since we can’t out-give God, share about a time when your giving was rewarded by a person being served or saved. Without sharing the details, discuss the ministries you support that produce physical rewards (relief or aid) or spiritual rewards (church or ministry)? Why do you give to these ministries?
Family Is Extended
- Verses 20-23 imply that Paul was able to reach the unreachable. “Caesar’s household” (v. 22) likely referred to members of the imperial home, including the Praetorian Guard, Caesar’s personal bodyguards.
- The Praetorian Guards were chained to Paul twenty-four hours per day, over six shifts. Paul had ample time to share the gospel with a captive audience.
- In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus taught a parable in which the lesson was to use possessions for eternal dividends.
This truth can be summarized as follows: money can buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not an appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; pleasures but not peace; a crucifix but not a Savior; a church building but not heaven.1- Probe: Have you ever been “chained” to someone (e.g. on an airplane or in a car) where you were able to have a conversation about Christ? If you haven’t, share about a time when your material giving (money, food, etc.) led to someone hearing the gospel.
Practice
Connect Up: Since God doesn’t need our money (He created and owns all good things), why do you think He commands Christians to give? Discuss these responses:2
Our giving changes us.Our giving brings God glory.Our giving blesses us and othersConnect In: How does generous giving strengthen and support the family of God? Talk about this quote by J. Paul Getty: “Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.” How can the support of productive ministries be likened to the spread of manure, the fuel for things to grow?
Connect Out: Why should the heart of giving be the salvation of people and the consummation of God’s kingdom (peace, justice, etc.)? Can you think of any other reasons to give?
1 Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart: And 1,501 Other Stories, Nashville, Word Publishing, Inc., 1998.
2 Cortni Marrazzo, “Why Does God Want Me to Give?” November 15, 2013, https://www.crosswalk.com/family/finances/why-does-god-want-me-to-give.html, accessed 1/7/18.
DETAILED NOTES
- Introduction
- Money is a driving issue for most people
- The Bible speaks about money frequently
- About one out of every six verses in Matthew, Mark, and Luke deals with money in some way
- Of the twenty-nine parables Jesus told, sixteen of them deal with money
- More than 2,000 verses in the entire Bible about money
- You can tell a lot about a person's spirituality by what they do with their money (see Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34)
- The church at Philippi was a model of sacrificial, generous giving
- They had supported Paul on several occasions
- They heard Paul was in prison in Rome and sent Epaphroditus with a very lavish gift for him
- Generosity Is Commended (vv. 14-16, 18)
- Money is not evil; it depends on how it is used (see 1 Timothy 6:10)
- There were many people in the Bible who were very wealthy but also very godly
- Abraham had 318 servants (see Genesis 14:14)
- His wealth was on par with that of the kings of Canaan
- He often interacted with those kings
- Though Job lost all his wealth, God blessed his later years with more than in the beginning (see Job 1:3; 42:12)
- Joseph ended up being the prime minister of Egypt (see Genesis 37-46)
- Money has no moral value attached to it; it all depends on how one uses it (see Proverbs 24:3)
- Giving for God's work is good
- Examples
- God called David's amassing of wealth and property to build the temple a good work (see 1 Kings 8:18)
- John commended Gaius for taking care of traveling strangers (see 3 John 1:5)
- It is more blessed to give than to receive (see Acts 20:35)
- Very few things get done in ministry without the support of generous people
- Generosity is good because it turns people into partners (see Philippians 1:2-5)
- Sugkoinóneó= to have fellowship with
- Paul valued the partnership more than the present
- In God's work, some are goers, some are senders, but all are partners (see 3 John 1:8)
- Generosity is good because it pleases God
- This is our highest motivation to do anything
- "Sweet-smelling aroma" (v. 18)
- Language of the temple
- That is what giving is like to God
- Giving is a sacrifice (see 2 Samuel 24:24)
- Tithing is an Old Testament concept
- Israel had two annual tithes plus a third one every third year
- They also paid a temple tax
- They gave around 25-30 percent of their annual income
- God owns 100 percent of all your money (see Haggai 2:8)
- He gives us the power to amass wealth (see Deuteronomy 8:18)
- Don't complain about tithing 10 percent; God lets you keep 90 percent
- We should not give grudgingly (see 2 Corinthians 9:7)
- The only thing the New Testament says about how much we should give is that we should give in proportion to our income
- Interest Is Compounded (v. 17)
- When the church gave generously to fund Paul's mission, they would receive the eternal credit of the fruit of his labor
- We need to be careful where we invest our finances
- Is the ministry producing fruit?
- Matthew 6:20
- Giving Is Rewarded (v. 19)
- Though the Philippian church gave generously, it was not wealthy (see 2 Corinthians 8:2; 11:8)
- "Full" (v. 18) and "supply" (v. 19)
- The word pléroó is used for both these words
- It means to make full, to complete
- God generously treats those who generously treat others (see Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:25; 22:9; Luke 6:38)
- Family Is Extended (vv. 20-23)
- The Philippians' generosity enabled Paul to reach unreachable people
- Members of Caesar's household were coming to Christ
- The Philippians had probably been praying for these people, not completely believing any of them would ever come to Christ
- The unreachable people were reached because of their generosity and Paul's preaching
- Luke 16:1-13
- Use your financial possessions for eternal dividends
- Souls won to Christ
- Be shrewd to use what you have to bring others to the kingdom
Figures referenced: Jim Elliot, J. Paul Getty, Martin Luther, Peter Marshall, Charles Spurgeon, George Truett, Mark Twain
Greek words: pléroó, sugkoinóneó
Cross references: Genesis 14:14; 37-46; Deuteronomy 8:18; 2 Samuel 24:24; 1 Kings 8:18; Job 1:3; 42:12; Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:25; 22:9; 24:3; Haggai 2:8; Matthew 6:20, 21; Luke 6:38; 12:34; 16:1-13; Acts 20:35; 2 Corinthians 8:2; 9:7; 11:8; Philippians 1:2-5; 1 Timothy 6:10; 3 John 1:5, 8
Topic: Giving
Keywords: tithing, giving, generosity, money, wealth, sacrifice, fruit, possessions