Being strengthened & sharing in Paul's ministry #2
Philippians 4:13-17 · JD McCulley · Sep 30, 2012
Philippians (2012), No. 38
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926328541311

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Alright, so continuing with the book of Philippians, chapter 4, 15-17. This is a continuation of some of the things that Jeremy touched on last week. So, since there's three verses, I thought we'd just get a running start and go right on into it rather than spend much time in review. I saw that Jeremy took some time to review and recap on chapter 4, so that was good that you were able to do that last week. The title of this lesson, Being Strengthened and Sharing in Paul's Ministry, Part 2. So we're going to read verses 15, 16, and 17, and then we'll break it down and get into the good stuff.

So let me read for you, and you can follow along up on the PowerPoint if you like. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone. But even in Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

So just in kind of first glance here, what are some of the teachings or the themes that we see in these three verses? We've seen them in Philippians before. We're seeing them again. It's part of Paul's ministry. But what are we seeing specifically? What words are repeating? Gifts. Sharing, receiving, giving. So these are words that we know, right? Sharing, giving, receiving. These are all words that we've seen in the book of Philippians and we also think about. We talk a lot about that, especially when we're raising little ones.

Even when we get older, we still think about gifts and sharing and giving and receiving and the process that's involved there. It seems like we throw a holiday out just about once a month if not more just so we can have something to give gifts or receive something or give something or do something. This idea of having something and receiving something is pretty common even in our own society. It just so happens that it's for a different cause and it's for a totally different reason. So when we think about words like gift and and receiving and giving and sharing. These are all words that mean something totally different to the world than they do to the believer. And we're going to take a deeper look at that.

But Paul did not have in mind the common word or the common understanding that would have been the case for the Philippians. The Greek perception of giving and receiving and this idea of having something returned to you based on what you do. We're going to talk about that. So even the Philippians would have been challenged to make sure that they understood what Paul was meaning biblically versus what their culture meant by these same terms. And so we want to be careful about how we interpret them. Again, the Webster's Dictionary isn't going to help you arrive at a clear understanding of these verses. And so that's why we look at it a little deeper, and I'm glad we do. So first of all, Paul wanted to be very careful about the support from the Philippians. There's a, watch out, be careful, this is important to me.

I don't want you to misunderstand the way I perceive gift giving and receiving and the way that you perceive it. I want to make sure that we got our gift giving thing figured out here from both sides of the table. So he wanted to make sure he gracefully acknowledged their generous gifts so he's thankful, right? Second of all, he did not want to come across as begging, pleading, threatening, or badgering them for funds.

The Philippian church seems to have had a fairly unique relationship of support for Paul based on verse 15 that we did a few weeks ago. I covered that. And then plus there was another aspect to Paul's concern about his support, which we're going to look at. The way that we're going to do that is we're going to go back to 2 Corinthians and get a bigger picture on the perception that Paul had about gift giving.

To be clear, what we're talking about is ministry. We're talking about ministry being sent out from a church and having a missionary working and doing the work of God, in this case preaching the gospel. Specifically, it had that task associated with it. So we're talking about one that is sent out, that is preaching the gospel, one that is receiving gifts from a body of believers, and how that process is going.

And there are specific and unique teachings that we gather from these verses that help us understand this doctrine of missionary support, if you want to call it that. You know, we look to attach the word doctrine to everything, so why not attach a doctrine of missionary support? There is one. If we just use the word doctrine to mean teaching, There's a way that we would want to perceive how we support missionaries and how a missionary might go about communicating needs and so forth.

So we're going to look at that a little bit. It was a different approach. I think that having been through some of the mission training and those of you that have also been through this, each organization kind of has its own unique approach to how they do this. and they do it based on the culture that they live in.

They're looking to communicate to a Western people, people that are American or North American mostly, and they respond and understand things much like a manager or a high-level executive needs to be told what it is that's going on in the organization.

Hit the high points. You know, you have a few minutes, hit the high points and move on. And so you've got this kind of restriction of time that you've got to deal with. You've got people that are busier than they've ever been in life. And so there's all these unique cultural things that are attached to communicating support and raising support and communicating need and entrusting that to fellow believers. So you've got cultural things. Now, we're not talking about the cultural aspects to the ministry support side of things. What we're talking about is the heart of the matter and the approach. Let's say the heart of it, you know, the underlying attitude towards it.

And there would definitely be some, be careful here and watch out for this and don't let cells be syncretized up with raising support, right? Because it's very easy to manipulate someone. with a sales approach and we've seen, if you've been on the receiving end of that, it's a very awkward situation to feel like I've got to make a donation here or else I'm just not going to be feeling good about my being and who I am. I mean that's ultimately what sales do, right? Is communicate to the emotional perspective of a man or to the human nature so that you do something.

And Paul said, I'm going to turn that upside down, there's a different approach that may be culturally communicated differently in our day, but still has the same heart of the message in mind. So in 2 Corinthians 2, 17 through 3.1, we see these different aspects of the approach that should underlie anything that we even do today. For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again, or do we need as some letters of commendation to you or from you?" So here we start to see the idea that in Paul's day there were those that peddled. salesman, you know, the slicked-back approach to peddling the Word of God.

There was that even then. It's nothing new. So the concept of being put under pressure and feeling like there needs to be some kind of a give-and-take relationship going between the one who's communicating and the one who's receiving was very common even in Paul's day and for the Philippians and for the Corinthians in this particular context. He goes on to talk about this different approach in 2 Corinthians 4.

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we receive mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced, and this is the important part, the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God. But by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." So there's some things going on here. There's an approach that has a perspective, right? We see that they're not interested in the craftiness.

And I have to be careful about these kinds of things because I'm in the business of branding. I'm in the business of marketing. And so when I start to think about communicating things to people, I often think about, well, what's the emotional point of contact here? What is going to hit them where they are?

But with the Word of God, it's a much different perspective. You see, it's not about craftiness of speech. It's not about branding to the emotion of a person. Turns out, that's how many churches are built today. is with marketing, with branding. But Paul reminds me and he reminds us that in this area of support and ministry and communicating God's Word, that there is a visibility, a transparency. And he even talks about it, man's conscience in the sight of God. You see, I'm not looking to get a response from you. and that being a success and I can kind of carve out the notch in my belt. And Paul wasn't either. He said, in the sight of God, I can't be responsible for crafting something that sounds so good to you that you buy it. I have to be very careful about what I'm saying.

And do you think Paul was pretty good at communicating? Do you think he was a good teacher? Yeah, I mean, he came from some of the most crafty people with words there are. I mean, the Jews are... by culture, an amazing group of communicators. They have the ability to persuade. Have you ever been in a transaction with a Jew? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about? It's a negotiation and you can be convinced fairly quickly. And I'm not trying to stereotype.

I'm just saying they had to scrap for their land for years and years and years. And then when they got dispersed, they had to scrap for their identity for years and years and years. They're scrappers and they know how to deal with diversity and frustration and being able to get the things that they need to survive. They're survivors and that's what they are. And so when we think about their ability to communicate, Paul would have had to set a lot of things aside that he had his teaching growing up, and the rabbinical perspective of things, and as a Jew.

And he said, you know, this is a totally different ballgame. When I get to the Word of God, now that I know about this relationship with Christ, this is totally different. You know, I don't communicate things in the way that I did. And for those of us that have been in education, some of you have been in education, been trained in that, you've been trained to speak and to teach and communicate in a certain way. But it's much different when we get to the Word of God, because now you're not introducing concepts for the brain to attach on, you're actually teaching a worldview, and that worldview is a person. And so what you're communicating is radically different from any other educational perspective that you could ever teach. And in fact, it's empowered by a person and made possible by a person, it's not made possible by a textbook and a PhD. It's totally different. So there's no craftiness, there's no adulterating the word of God.

He had a different approach. Ultimately, we'll see how that works with making his needs known. He didn't slack in that area. So it wasn't as though he operated in a corner and never talked or never communicated. There was still communication. But he wanted to make sure that he didn't fall into the misunderstanding of what was going around them in their culture.

And that being the Sophists were orators, they were tutors, they were teachers. So not only were the Jews known for their ability to communicate and to teach and so forth, here the Gentiles, if you will, the Greeks were also known for their ability to communicate and to speak well and to philosophize about, is that a word? It is now, and I like to make up words, so I have to be careful. But these guys were traveling orators, they were traveling tutors. They went around and they were regularly seen teaching for fees. And so they would receive for their knowledge, money. That's what was going on in Philippi, right around these Philippian believers.

And so you can see the sharp contrast of what Paul's painting. You know, here I have something that is far greater than whatever these sophists would have ever been able to communicate to you, but yet I do not require a fee for it. It's a radically different perspective.

In fact, how do you get an education? It's interesting to me, you can actually go on your phone and listen to an entire set of university courses on your phone. You can listen to, you know, PhD level courses. But if you actually want to be credited for it, you have to pay a large sum of money for the same exact information.

It's quite interesting. So the information hasn't changed much, or the approach rather hasn't changed much. And I'm not discrediting the fact that there are those that need to be paid for their job. So I'm not discrediting that there's a balance there. But what I am saying is that Paul was not wanting to confuse his message and his approach with the message of the Greek philosophers and the sophists of the day.

And that would have been one of his difficulties to be careful of. So these guys, and I mention here that they could have ranged from honorable communicators to swindlers. You just never know who you're going to get at any given point in time. So some of the negative things that we see from the 2 Corinthians passage that we're looking at. that like many peddling the Word of God there was there were those that were doing that also they're they're not looking to commend themselves or be commended okay and that there are there were letters of commendation and that that they were they were believers who had a message and that that they could be a be communicating the word of God and that their body of believers could accept them as the apostles that they were, but they were not coming from the perspective of trying to peddle it in the way that others had been doing. In the book of Philippians, were there those that were not doing this and that Paul even talked about, hey look, there are those that are preaching it and I'm just glad that it's being preached, but were they peddling? They would have fallen under that category of peddling. There's also the things that were hidden because of shame, the walking in the craftiness, the adulterating the Word of God. And so these were common approaches of building oneself up and literally peddling out this message.

And Paul is trying to compare himself in sharp contrast to these that did that as being different, as being unique, having a totally different approach. Yeah, so we use the sophists of the New Testament times to help give that contrast there. But here's a little cultural surprise. Paul was writing to the Philippians to express an emotional connection with them for something that they had done. He has a relationship with them.

In fact, in the book of Philippians, we see him talking to the Philippians as a close group of friends unlike we see in any other of his letters or his epistles. There are some things that he still would have avoided because of culture, and that's what we're looking at here.

That in the Greek and Roman world of the New Testament times, it was not the cultural norm to say thank you. They didn't say Thank you, brother, for sending a gift. It hit me right at the perfect time. They didn't communicate that way. They didn't go into this very thankful kind of terminology. An example in the New Testament, the only thank you's are a few in the gospel speaking with thanks to God. Thanks be to God.

So when Paul wanted to express his appreciation to the believers in Philippi, he had to do so in a way that would be understood. And so if you look back to Philippians 1, we've covered this at the beginning of the course, he says, I thank my God and all my remembrance of you. And so it's almost as though in their culture they say thank you by going through God. I thank God in remembrance of what you have done for me.

And so the perspective of God being a part of it is a part of his thankfulness, which is really kind of neat. It's not, I thank you, it's I thank God in remembrance of you or in view of the things that you have done. So it's almost like a abide above perspective or a mindset above perspective, even on thankfulness. And another thing is, what's kind of neat about that is, When we are on the receiving end of thankfulness, it definitely is a good thing. I mean, we like to be, we enjoy being appreciated for the things that we do, right? In fact, when we train the kids, anytime we're doing something, it's a thank you, you know, you're welcome, thank you, so we're always talking about being thankful.

But here is a different perspective. I thank God for what you were doing for me. It's just a different perspective. In fact, it reminds me of probably some nuances of adjustment to how we teach thankfulness. Because even though it was a cultural thing here, I think it was a perspective thing. I think it was pretty neat.

Does that make sense? Do you think the unbelievers had that in mind before? When they thanked somebody, they did it on the basis of, I thank God Zeus for you, or something like that? I don't know for sure if that... Well, you said it was a cultural thing, that's why I asked.

Well, it was a cultural thing not to say thank you at all. So not to be thankful. So in order to get around that, Paul would thank God, because it was very... Christian, to be thankful, but culturally, from a Greek perspective, it was just not They wouldn't thank Zeus or anyone else, they just wouldn't thank you. The appreciation factor wasn't there for them in that same way. And they may appreciate it, it just wasn't cultural to say so. Probably related to a weakness, probably related to some sort of kink in the armor if you were to get all thankful. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Philippians 4, 15 through 17 is what we're looking at here. In the second portion of verse 15, he says, you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, what was that? It's written at the bottom there, but don't look and try to think. What would have been the first preaching of the gospel for the Philippians? By the river where Lydia was. Okay. Acts... Mmm. Chapter mmm. I'm just kidding. In the book of Acts. In the book of Acts. It was actually around 80-50 in Acts 16 and I had to look it up. So kudos to you.

Yeah, it would have been Paul's first missionary journey as he worked through Philippi. But this would have been the time that he would have been calling back their minds back to remember back then. when I first shared with you the message of salvation with you." And he says, after I left Macedonia, which was that Roman province that Philippi was within, he says, after I left that area, no church shared with me in a matter of giving and receiving but you alone. That was a lot. I mean, that's a lot to say.

It's interesting, I think Paul is really wanting to connect giving with maturity. Because here's Philippi, he's written a letter, we've almost worked all the way through this letter. These Philippians, man, they got a lot going for them. Not by virtue of works, but by virtue of trusting Christ and trusting in the life of Christ. They actually are pretty mature. The few things that Paul calls out are small in comparison to some of the other letters. You think about, you know, the Corinthians and you compare that to the body of believers at Philippi. But this idea of sharing and joy and giving and supporting are just all through the fabric of Philippians.

And here they're expressing, Paul expresses so much maturity in this group of believers. I want to make this connection to the fact that they're Their approach to giving, which we're going to clarify a little bit more as we move on, their approach to giving gave them an opportunity to be far more mature than many other bodies of believers in the New Testament. Period. Why? You know, it's interesting. I don't know, but I think that Paul brings it, he's brought this thing up a number of times.

Why does he keep repeating this thing? about them supporting him, them giving, them supporting, them being there, them being partners, partnership in the gospel, support. And he does it in this verse 15 in a way that says, no one else did it, but you did. And then he goes on to talk about their maturity and the things that he is excited to hear about, about them walking in the Lord.

I think it ultimately has to do with the person of Christ. We've talked about that, that each one of these qualities, these tall orders, because Philippians is full of things that you can pull law out of. So those aren't tall orders. Those aren't tasks lists to keep yourself in line with. Rather, those are the things that come out of walking in a relationship, in a rich fellowship with the Lord, with Christ Himself.

And so, because these Philippians understood about fellowship with Christ, giving was a natural inclination to them. It's something that came out of the life of Christ, and I think that's interesting. We're going to talk about that some more. Jim, I have a question. So, we know from other passages that Paul talked about he had this tip-making to support his ministry.

He didn't want there to be a hindrance by asking people for financial support, even though, I forget what passage it is, but he says Do you think, well first of all, this is a very good explanation of gracious giving. He did not ask of it all the time, but they gave. Because like you said, they understood the fellowship.

But do you think he's necessarily drawing a negative contrast with those who didn't give? Is he saying, okay, these people are not mature or they're not where they should be because they didn't give. Is he just simply praising them because his ministry, and the other churches that did it, that's not necessarily reflecting badly on them. It's just he's drawing them out as an extra example of the Christ-sourced life. I think that that's the case. So I don't think that he's looking to draw a negative point of contrast for teaching's sake.

I think he is, and he'll go on to relate further in this passage, what it is that their giving produced in them. And I think that he is being very clear about what gracious giving produces in these three verses. And so we're gonna clarify a lot of that even from the perspective of his tent making and his approach. So very good questions and I think you're right on the money and we'll expand on that as we go here.

So this idea of shared, that they shared, it's based in that root word koinonia, the fellowship word that we've talked about in the past. And so to share in one's possessions that they were sharing, and in this case it is specific to sharing material things. It's not the noun fellowship, it's the verb sharing of material things.

In the noun form though, we see at Philippians 2.1, if there is any fellowship of spirit, so they talk about the koinonia, the fellowship, the unique fellowship with the spirit and the believer.

And in 3.10, the fellowship of his sufferings. So this same idea of sharing and suffering, which is critical to understanding this entire book. is that sufferings are shared. We share in the sufferings of Christ. And that is a, for lack of a better way of coming to mind with the way of saying it, it's a badge of honor for the believer to share in the sufferings with Christ. It is a, even though it is not experientially good for us in the way that we experience suffering, From a flesh perspective and from a human nature perspective and just from having pain that is associated with suffering, from a positional perspective, it is an honorable thing to suffer with Christ. It is a joyful thing to suffer on behalf of the intimate Savior or the intimate relationship that we have with our Savior. So that word there is used as a noun in many instances, but here it's used in terms of sharing material things between believers. It reminds me of that verse in chapter 1, verse 29. It's been given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.

And having 3.10 in mind ties that sharing concept, that koinonia, that fellowship concept right back together. So that passage that Roy just read to us very clearly elaborates and sets a foundation for 3.10. It's really critical, I think, to just a mature perspective on this book. I've talked about that a little bit. I think that the suffering concept and the fellowship concept of suffering is a theme that could have been possibly brought out a little bit better as we went through this book, especially in the first portion of it. We talked about it, but you talk about growing and having intimacy and how that goes back to continually suffering, suffering. You think, well, that's awfully morbid. No, it's not. It's an honorable thing to suffer. in fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Because it does what? Last portion of that verse? Conforms you. Who wants to be conformed? We all do.

Philippians 4.15, we're talking about giving and receiving.

So this term was an accounting phrase. It had to do with money, crediting, debiting, giving, receiving. And Paul, in this case, uses it in Philippians. And from a financial perspective, he was talking about the Philippians that they were giving, and Paul was on the receiving side of it. So there was records, there was accounting records of this giving and this receiving that was going back and forth so that Paul could do this giving and the ones with whom he had ministry could do the receiving. Okay, so not gonna spend a whole lot of time on giving and receiving, but that the transaction and the sharing and the fellowship is all being done in verse 15. And a few cultural insights here. It's not only a counting phrase, but it was also used culturally to convey a relationship.

You ever get into a conversation with a friend and say, hey, it's give and take, buddy. You can't just take from me, you gotta give. You're talking about that, maybe you said that with your significant other at some point. Hey, it's give and take. That probably wouldn't be ideal, but it's metaphorical for the way that we have relationships with people. It's a give and take thing. And in the same way, that metaphorically was conveyed at that point in time as well. So by this, Paul may have been simply referring to the interactions, the actual material things that had been taking place as far as transactional. But he also would have no doubt, because of the cultural understanding of that day as well, that this would have had to do with friendship with them as well. You've given and you've taken, and the giving and receiving.

This has been friendship at its purest form. You haven't forgot me. Here I am and you've remembered me. And this is what friends do. Again, I'm not I think Jeremy brought up a good point earlier He's not I don't think Paul is trying to call out the fact we don't give so we're not friends.

That's not what he's doing. He is simply enjoying the the fellowship that he has with these believers because of the deep-seated and maturity that they have in Christ. He's enjoying seeing them walk in the Lord, and he's encouraging them for doing it.

And so, by encouragement, can sometimes when someone is encouraged, can not another person hear that and say, well, I never did that, and they get, you know, see that from a negative perspective? Sure, that happens. And sure, it could happen, but I don't think that that was Paul's initiative here.

He was focusing on what had taken place in the Philippians' mind as they had been giving, and he had been receiving, and there had been this koinonia, or not necessarily the noun form, but the verb form of sharing in material things. They had given possessions to make his well-being a little easier for the ministry of the gospel. And we talked about they didn't accommodate a thank you, but Paul was very thankful to the Lord and to them for their support of his ministry, whether he was in prison or free to travel for a wider ministry. So, though it wasn't culturally ideal to be thankful, Paul was. It was just that Paul did it in Paul's way. He did it through the Lord. And only the Philippians had been supporting Paul as he went to the other places outside of Macedonia and so forth. So their relationship was special and unique. I think that's pretty cool.

I think it's neat to see a missionary have a special relationship with a body of believers. And I know what it looks like to see a missionary without a body of believers behind him. They may have a random person here and a random person there, but they don't have a relationship. And more than that, they don't have the perspective of a body of believers. When we say body, we're talking about hands, feet, the eyes, the nose, the toes, and the warps too, right? All the different things that make up a body that's being conformed to the image of Christ.

You know, when a missionary gets kind of lost out on an island and doesn't have that connection back, it can be quite a lonely place. And I've seen it quite a bit, and honestly, it happens a lot. In fact, a lot of missionaries today travel around and gain support from churches that they literally know very little, if not anything, about. And the bulk of their support is made up of non-home churches, but supposedly denominational members. I gotta look up and see who is a first or a second, you know, this, first church of this, second church of that, and then go hit them all, but you don't have this knowledge of who they are in the body perspective.

But Paul's saying, I do with you and it's special and it's unique. Paul's relationship with the believers in Philippi was not just a business and a funding relationship. In other words, he wasn't just interested in going there to communicate things to get support. He had a rich set of truths that he shared with them, and this letter is evidence of that. It was a fellowship, and it was personal, and it was a spiritual intimacy. He shared in his fellowship with Christ alongside these believers, the way that a body does with one another.

Now, I realize that not every missionary can enjoy these kinds of things. However, from a biblical perspective, it is ideal that it works this way. And the ideal situation doesn't always come to pass. We were in a situation where we had a really good home church that we, at the time, we were close to and we had the body.

And as we left, that body dissipated and fell apart. And it diversified and the elders changed seats and the doctrines started to change. And you know what happened to our intimacy with that body? Crumbled completely away. Now, there are individuals that we still know and keep in contact with and we're so thankful for, but as far as that special, unique, biblical body of believers that was there, that met and supported us and prayed for us, it dissipated. It was gone.

And so, I think Paul, having this group of believers in Philippi that had remained in Christ and had remained together and had kept their focus on the Gospel and their participation in the Gospel as co-partners in it, I think just encouraged him to know in. I think it's pretty neat to see that. Jim, I know I've been in a lot of churches where it is a business relationship. You have a missionary come in and although it's not explicitly stated, it's basically an investment program.

And it just completely devalues that spiritual intimacy and the fellowship that should be the center of all our relationships within the body. And it only comes down to what you've been talking about, spiritual maturity, understanding grace, understanding this is a fellowship that God desires we have. And that's what He wants. Yes, there is material needs. And yes, there's a big place for that. that should stem out of our walk and our sores in Christ. That's just one of the many things so many churches don't quite have yet. It is that business relationship.

I can imagine for missionaries it would be frustrating. Yes, you need the money, but you also need to have Especially for a church I went to before, we had a missionary in Japan, and they're fairly isolated there. You have missionaries in China and stuff where they may have one convert in two or three years, and it's just very isolated. They need to have that spiritual fellowship more than anything else. It's a shame so many churches don't quite understand that yet.

I think you're right, Jeremy. It's become a philanthropic effort as opposed to a living, breathing message that is uniquely ours to communicate. And I talk about the message of the Gospel, and so many think about that as a duty, but it's the privilege of being able to focus full time on the sharing, whether it be with children or whether it be with those in remote locations in North Canada or Uganda or wherever it may be, China. The privilege it is to be able to share that message and have a group of believers that are not thinking philanthropically and how can I get a break on my taxes?

But I love this person and I love their message and no matter how many notches they get on their belt and have to report in their newsletter back to me, I got their back in prayer and in whatever it is that you feel that of the Lord to do beyond that.

And we don't need to go into those things because that's between you and God. That's what grace-based giving is, right? And you're probably going to go there that the Lord, from His perspective, loves a cheerful giver. Well, let's talk about God's perspective. And I think that's probably a good idea. Let's move on to that because what is produced out of this giving?

We're going to get there in just a minute, but to touch here on, so thank you for pointing us back in the direction we need to go. Ephesians 4, 11 through 16, those verses make it very clear that the relationship we have as believers are intended to be such that we are intimately connected.

This isn't a financial or a business relationship where I send you a newsletter and you send in your envelope. That's not what's going on here. There's a spiritual intimacy that I'm seeking to have with you, and not all believers want that. And some believers will support your ministry and be not interested in the intimacy that they want with you. You move on. They're being conformed too, right?

But the goal of being both a body and a missionary, or those that are out communicating the gospel on a full-time basis, is to have intimacy with both sides. And spiritual intimacy. When we welcome in a missionary back to the church, or back to the physical location, rather, of this building, there should be a joy in the Word of God and seeing how each of us have grown in that intimacy with Christ. That's what's supposed to be going on there, not, I've got to make sure I talk to Him, and I've got to make sure I talk to Him. And there may be an agenda, Ultimately, that agenda should be found in intimacy with one another as the body, because it's an organism. It's not an organization. So different.

Philippians 4.16. This is the second verse of the three. I've got to get on the move.

For even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. So sent here, pretty basic stuff. Dispatched, it was sent to them for a purpose. But the idea here is that it's not just sent randomly, but it has a purpose. What do you think that their gift's purpose was? To meet his needs.

Do you think, I want to make sure that my dollar goes to the exact moment when he shares with the Philippian jailer or the Roman Praetorian guard? No, it was more practical because in those days I think they all knew that somebody had to provide their food and clothing or they wouldn't have any. Have you sensed or been around or maybe you've been in this place? I mean, not to say that I haven't ever considered it.

It's the flesh that works at you. Where's my dollar going? What's it doing for the Lord, you know? Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, okay. So everybody's like, yeah. Raise your hand if you've been... No, I'm just kidding. That's right. Where's my dollar going? I want to see a bar chart, graph chart, pie chart. You know you want to see it.

We're Greek. We want to see empirical data coming back and forth. We want the logic of it all to work out. I think we all are. Do you have a question? On the receiving end, and this is pretty basic, not only are his physical needs met, but that's an encouragement to them as well. I mean, these people care enough to send something. Yeah, it was material.

It's interesting what Paul's perspective was on it. And there's no doubt he was thankful because he says, I thank my Lord in remembrance of you earlier on. So he's very thankful for them, but it's really interesting how he kind of jujitsu's this. You know what I mean by jujitsu? He takes the momentum of this whole giving of material things and then he switches it back around and throws it back. It's almost like, or carries it on through and it doesn't stay on me, it just passes right on through and he's going to jujitsu this whole thing.

Maybe I'll use that analogy another day. I used to do that so it was, it's kind of the way Paul's thinking is here. But they sent a gift with a purpose more than once. And this was an idiom for once and twice and on and on. And the way that we may say it is time and again. You sent something time and again. So he kept receiving these things more than once or twice. And the Philippians, so that the idea of repetitive giving was something the Philippians felt natural to do.

Do you think that Paul set them up for a monthly schedule? I'm not saying that a monthly schedule doesn't make sense for ministry support, so don't hear me wrong. I'm just saying that their repetitiveness doesn't have to be monthly. Maybe they send it weekly. Do you think just because you have a little monthly slip that you have to do it monthly? You think that a missionary wouldn't appreciate one that was put in an envelope without the receipt that came maybe in the middle of the month?

Oh. Oh no. This came out of schedule. It's an extra. I got to call them and let them know that they sent something extra. See, the thing is, is that the scheduling and the way that you do it can be exceeding in the case of the Philippians, and it could be less in other cases based on your intimacy with Christ and where you are with your finances.

So the repeatedness here, in this case, represented something that Paul wanted to call it for a specific reason. Now there's this need that he talks about in 4.16 and it's a need and it's a specific need and he mentioned it in 2.25 too. He said, but I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need.

Okay, in both Philippians 2.25 and here in this verse, Paul uses the same Greek word, in this case with a definite article, so the need.

What do you think the need is? Do you think the need has to do with his clothes? It's the entire encompassing ministry of the gospel, isn't it? What's needed for me to keep body and soul together in order to communicate this message of life, of eternal life?

It's the need. And unfortunately, we on the receiving end tend to try to break that need into all the different parts of the financial system. Well, you've got your car, and then you've got your gas, and then you've got... Where's my funds going to go? Is it going to support this part of the need? No, it's THE need. It's the entire body, soul, thing, message, eternal life going out through the Word of God, being communicated clearly to an unbeliever. And it's real. Paul's saying that the need, his need, is specific and definite, and it's real.

In verse 17, he says, not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. There's that jujitsu move. He's saying, I could talk about me, but let's talk about what this does for you. Switches it up. So here he says, seek. To acquire after, he's, you know, it's pretty simple stuff here. From the word, from the perspective gift, he's referring again to a material gift. He's talking about the gifts that they gave materially and what that produces. And remember, they did it repeatedly.

We don't know how often, and it probably wasn't even on the same schedule. Their deliveries were not like FedEx or the U.S. postal system, if that's even a good thing anymore. I think it's getting better. I don't know. That's what the commercial said. If it can fit in this box, it will get there regularly.

Okay, so Paul's purpose in conveying his real need was not specifically to get something material out of it. That's interesting that here you have a man, yes he's an apostle, yes he's very unique, he was the messenger to the Gentiles, so he has quite a different title than any other missionary will ever have. in Christendom was very unique and special. However, when it comes down to the sharing the gospel part, we can relate to that because we have missionaries and we do that ourselves. So, when it comes to that particular aspect of what Paul was doing, he was communicating a need, but he wasn't doing it for the purposes of getting something material out of it.

It was a real need. And he knew that the Lord would put this piece and this piece together, but what he was really interested in was the body's growth. And that's what blows me away about this passage, is that this whole opportunity of giving is an opportunity on both sides.

On the Paul side, it's an opportunity to have a need. We need our needs. Here, as a missionary, your opportunity is to need something for a specific, real purpose. And on the other side, you have this opportunity of giving, which is a completely different kind of opportunity. But both are opportunities to grow in intimacy with Christ. And they need each other.

So here, God has orchestrated this unique way of communicating Himself to those that haven't heard clearly who He is and what He's done. Even in the process of sharing, He's embedded a maturing process, a growing, a conforming process, even in the sharing. It's like, yeah, we've definitely got a message that needs to get from point A to point B, and at point B, yes, those people need to believe so that they can have eternal life. We've got all that figured out. But in the meantime, the church is going to be growing, and the individual missionary is going to be growing, and they're all going to be conformed. Yeah, they need to be saved, but you need to be conformed.

And in the same process, God is very efficient with how He is growing each of us. It's pretty cool. God doesn't waste needs and he doesn't waste giving opportunities. They are all used in his bigger purpose to conform individually and to conform as a body, his bride. He's very efficient, God. There's a lot going on even in this process of giving and receiving.

This idea of profit here, in the New King James, it says the word fruit. I prefer that word. I think that that word is the right word there because that word is tied to the idea of producing fruit on trees, producing fruit on plants, and it's an organic word.

We're in Boulder. I'm in Boulder several times throughout the week. We love our organic words. Here's the one that actually is organic for the right reason. It's a fruit-producing concept, right? And it's embedded in the Word of God. Guess where organic things came from in the first place? And guess what God used organic things, the creation, that he produced in six days, all that we see, he uses it as an analogy to the way that we are conformed and grow in him.

It's a good thing. Fruit's good. Organic fruit's even better. But you know what? Spiritual fruit is the best. Boy, those peaches smell good when you get them fresh from the farmer's market. But Paul's saying, I'm more interested in not what you have access to by way of eating, I'm interested more by way of what you're producing spiritually, your spiritual fruit. Sorry about my little organic kid.

You can relate. That's right. Well, not only is he interested in seeing this prophet or this fruit bear, but he's interested in seeing it increase regularly or abound. So, in the New King James Version, it would say, fruit that abounds, you know, or instead of prophet that increases, I like the word fruit that abounds. So, here you've got a fruit tree that's just like, boom, you know, it's fruitful. You know, even the limbs are a little bit heavy. It's just that kind of fruit. Giving produces that kind of fruit. The Spirit produces that kind of fruit in one who trusts the Lord in the area of giving. It's pretty neat. Now, is that saying that your money can buy fruit? Spiritual fruit?

Not at all. It's not at all what it's saying. Because, after all, that would be law. That would be tithing, that would be your 10%. And we'd all have envelopes and we'd be taking a tithe right after we're done here for a specific missionary. That's not what we're doing.

What we're saying is that Paul encouraged them to understand a real specific need and in view of that need, he was a very excited recipient because he knew that they would be growing fruit in an abounding way. And that's what he wants. Paul literally writes, not because I desire the gift, but in sharp contrast, I desire the fruit that abounds to your account. Now if that were coming from a salesman, that would sound pretty weird. It's not that I want your money, I want you to enjoy what it feels like to drive this car.

But that's not the way Paul's perspective is. Yes, the contrast is there, but he even talks about supporting himself. We see through Paul's character that he is in no way interested in burdening any group of believers for the message of the gospel. He doesn't have a history of that.

And in fact, even when he does receive abundantly from the Philippians, he is still focused on their growth. Paul realizes that his gain from their gift, though needed, will be a temporary thing. I'm only going to need these clothes for so long, and this meal is only going to last me so many hours. Eventually, it's going to run out. So he's more focused on the goal that is eternal.

And so it's interesting, there's three parts to this, and I didn't put this in the slide, but you've got the receiving unbeliever who's hearing the gospel, you've got the one that's communicating it, and then you've got the group of believers behind the scenes that are growing and giving. Everybody gets to grow from this experience, or this process. Everybody gets an opportunity to grow, I should say. And the unbeliever's not paying for it. And the unbeliever doesn't pay for it. It's already been paid for.

It's very efficient in a godly way, in a way that you and I can't produce that kind of efficiency. We couldn't hope for people to grow that way. We couldn't plan for people to grow. We couldn't change people to pews in such a way that would produce that kind of fruit even if we wanted to. You see, God's got his own way of maturing people in the pew, so to speak.

But because this giving of theirs results from the life of Christ in and through them. So let's look at this. Paul's no gold digger. His need is real. He avoids even appearing like the various traveling hucksters of his day. He makes tent for his own support. We talked about that, 2 Corinthians. And he never badgers people for the support. Why do you think he's not badgering?

Because would they grow if he sold them on the plan? They wouldn't grow. So what good would it be to you if I badgered you out of your money? It wouldn't do you any good. It might do me some good. I'd have the money to do what I needed to do. But what about you? See, Paul's perspective is on your growth too. But most of all, he applies to himself what he has told them already. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2.4. Pretty cool. And I really appreciate Vern having done a lot of the foundational work on this study for me. I learned so much from looking at how he goes into the text and draws this out. And some of the questions that he brought out for perspective on this, I wanna leave you with, you got three minutes, but this stuff is rich.

And so, circle this in your notes and take some time to think about it. I think it'll draw home a lot of what's been said here and how it impacts you. But what will build up my family spiritually? What are the kinds of things that build us up spiritually? We talk about the teaching, okay?

Yeah, for sure. In this particular passage, I think it behooves us. I'll never use that word. It sounds kind of weird. It behooves us to think about just how the Lord would encourage our heart in the area of giving to grow us. And I'm not saying that that involves this or that or the other. I'm saying go to the Lord on the matter because at the end of the day, we grow as a body as we learn to be cheerful givers. What would build up the body of Christ? Well, the gospel would build up the body of Christ because we'd add numbers to it. Yeah, but what about the ones that are already sitting in the pews? What builds them up?

Paul talks about some pretty specific plans for that or some results of what happened in his instance. What will be of spiritual and eternal benefit for those with whom God has placed me? In other words, not what do I get out of this deal, but what could the Lord be doing in their life? Look out for the interest of others. How does that work?

And this is not the same as asking what would Jesus do, which can be easily, easily be superficial. It's not about doing a thing. It's about a heart condition. It's about a relationship direction based on intimacy. So I set out with this and it may be this amount or that amount or it may be no amount for a time, whatever it is. And it's not this amount, this regularly for this long amount of time and this commitment. It's not like that. That's law.

That's what Jesus would do world. And that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about grace-based perspectives and supporting the ministry that God has given a missionary and the ministry that God has given us and being partakers of that. Finally, these are questions that reveal a perspective and motivation which flows from the very life of Christ. And these questions are not directed at trying to imitate Christ externally, but are from his life, not mine.

So the thing about it is, is whatever ends up being produced in terms of a cheerful giver, that's Christ doing the giving for his own cause. And you get to be privileged in partaking of that. Jesus. And it may be, what does Jesus want to do through you? Because there's a faith-based trigger. He's not going to do it without you trusting Him to do it. You choose. It's the faith-based trigger. And that's the way I refer to it. And it puts the perspective and the doing right back on the object of our faith. And that is Christ Himself.

Remember Phineo? This is a mindset. This goes back to the mindset, in particular a mindset on ministry, a mindset on missions, a mindset on giving, receiving, communicating need. It's a heavenly mindset. It's a biblical perspective on these things. It's a freneo. It's the concepts that we've been hearing over and over all throughout Philippians.

Let's pray. Lord, I thank you so much that we can arrange our mind around the perfect perspective that you give us in the Word, that we don't have to wonder the best way to do it and construct it based on business or sales or marketing or whatever attempt that we might produce on our own efforts. But Lord, we can look to your Word in this particular passage and see just the graciousness that runs through Paul as the receiver, and the growth opportunity that exists on the end of the believers in Philippi that supported him. And I just pray, Lord, that you would cause us to trust you in these areas as well, and cause us to think through what it would mean to trust you, and very specifically, so that we might have an opportunity to bear fruit which lasts, that is eternal. Ultimately be conformed to your image. Lord, I thank you for that process. I thank you for your efficiency in all of it and the way that you produce. So wonderful and Lord, we are so thankful for you. Love you. In your name we pray. Amen.