Philippians 4:10-23 • Russell McCutcheon

Good morning, CTK. I'm glad to be before you to open up God's word and shift from his word in Philippians chapter four. Today we're going to end and complete the series in Philippians. The series is titled "The Case for Joy." Today we're in Philippians chapter four, verses 10 through 23.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were in fact concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content. Whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need, I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica, you sent gifts for my needs several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided. A fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father, be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. — Philippians 4:10-23

Heavenly Father, even though we may be in our homes, longing to gather with one another once again in spaces where we could sing songs and worship you, I praise you. We praise you that we still have an opportunity to come before your word. So Lord God, I pray that you would give us understanding, give us insight, make our hearts soft and pliable, being able to receive the nutrition that comes from your word so that we would be obedient and glorify your name in this moment. I pray in Christ's name. Amen.

Generosity vs. Hoarding

Cities have both food banks and blood banks, and these are designed to help people live. Although both food banks and blood banks receive, they are not designed to hoard and to keep things for themselves. They are designed to make sure that they give those resources away so that other people will have an opportunity to thrive in life, to be able to live.

When God blessed you and me, he blessed us to be a blessing to others. In this season of COVID and all that's taking place, if we just look around us, we can see many needs that we are able to meet because the Lord Jesus has blessed us. We are able to step into the space to help other people. We want to help those who may be struggling financially, those who may not have all of the food they need, those who may need shelter. We do this because of what God has done in our lives for the benefit of others. We give of our time, our talent, and our treasure.

However, this season has also exposed our hearts. I remember when COVID really got bad—in my mind—and they were talking about shortages of things. If you went to the store, you would see people hoarding things, getting all of the meat that they could, buying all of the toilet paper, all of the Clorox wipes, all of the sanitizer.

Now, I'm not saying that it is not important to think about yourself, to take care of yourself. Many of us have flown on airplanes. And when you're on an airplane, they tell you that if the cabin pressure drops, you will see a mask come down. But you don't help the person on your side of you first; you put the mask on yourself. You make sure that you're good, then you help someone else. And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with making sure that you have what you need. But we went the extra mile. We went overboard hoarding things. And I'm being general when I say "we." People were just taking all for themselves. It was like they were living out the song that I grew up listening to—the rap song that was titled, "I Gotta Get Mine, You Gotta Get Yours." It wasn't about you. It wasn't about me helping you. It's about me, myself, and I.

The Philippians were not like this. The people at Philippi were not like this. This letter and the letter of Second Corinthians chapter eight shows us that the Philippians had a heart to meet the needs of other people.

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches at Macedonia. — 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy, their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I can testify that according to their ability and even beyond their ability of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God's will. The church at Philippi did not allow their poverty to stop them from meeting needs of others. As a matter of fact, they begged Paul to allow them to be able to give so that others would have what they needed.

So, as we close out this series in Philippians on the case for joy, we have four points as we look at this pericope or this section of Paul's letter, and we're going to work backwards. The first thing I want us to see from verses 19 through 20 is that God is the ultimate giver. God is the ultimate giver. The second thing I want us to see from verses 15 through 18, is that giving is a heart issue. Giving is a heart issue. The third thing I want us to see from verses 11 through 13 is that contentment is learned in Christ through circumstances. And the final thing I want us to see from verses 10 and then verse 14 is that meeting tangible needs is a gospel issue. Today, I want to tag this text: gospel hospitality.

God is the Ultimate Giver

Let's look at our first point, that God is the ultimate giver. I'm going to read verse 19 again. Verse 19 says:

My God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:19

Here, Paul shares an important truth for the Philippians and for us and that is God is a giver. Often, we have said this while going through the book of Philippians that the church at Philippi was a small poor church that was experiencing persecution. Now, when we experience persecution or hardship, we may wonder how we're going to make it. What will life look like when it gets hard? Will my family and I have what we need? Will the church survive this difficulty, this hardship? Is God aware of what's going on?

Paul tells them in verse 19 that God is not only able to but that he will supply all that they need. See, this is a promise. Not just for the Philippians, but a promise for you and I as well. See, the Philippians gave to Paul when he had need, and here was the truth: Paul could not pay them back. Why? Because he was in prison. He didn't know how long he was going to be there. He didn't even know if he was going to die. Paul had no way of paying the Philippians back for their generosity. But what Paul did know was that God would reward the Philippians for their faithfulness to his work. My friends, God is the ultimate giver.

See, to me, this points back to what Jesus told the disciples in Matthew chapter six. Jesus ultimately told the disciples not to worry. In verse 25, he says:

Therefore, I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? — Matthew 6:25

And then in verse 30, he says:

If that's how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't he do much more for you? You of little faith. — Matthew 6:30

Verse 33 says:

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you. — Matthew 6:33

For the Philippians, it didn't matter if they were poor because God would still meet their needs. That's just who he is. What we learn from this text is the wealth of God is open to those who love him and love their neighbors. Those who give make themselves richer for their own gifts open to them the gifts of God. When we take what we have and give for the benefit of others, we can know that God will reward us and give us what we need when we need it. Why? Because God is the ultimate giver.

A little boy went to the grocery store with his mother and as they were checking out, the person checking them out looked at the mom and said to the mom, "Can I give your son some candy from this jar?" The mother said, "Sure." And so, the grocer, this man, held out a jar to this little boy and said, "Son, reach in and get as much as you want." The little boy said, "No." And this perplexed the man and he said, "Son, you could reach in and get all that you want. It doesn't matter." And the little boy said, "No." Then the little boy said, "I want you to do it. You reach in and give me as much as you want." And so, the man was gracious and he loved it. He reached in, took a handful, and gave it to the boy.

And so, the mom and the son, they go back to the car. And when they get to the car, the mom says, "Son, why did you do that? Why did you tell that man to reach in and get the candy and you wouldn't do it?" He said, "Because mama, his hands were bigger than mine." This little boy understood that the hands of the source were bigger.

My friends, if God's children will simply let him be God, they would soon discover that his hands are bigger than ours. God is able to give in abundance and we can't beat God giving. Also, if God is God, our posture must be one of trust when he gives to us, whatever that may be. My friends, I want you to trust that no matter what life looks like for you right now, that God is the ultimate giver and he will meet your needs.

Giving is a Heart Issue

The second thing I want us to look at is that giving is a heart issue. Let's look at verses fifteen and sixteen. Paul writes:

And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica, you sent gifts for my need several times. — Philippians 4:15-16

Our relationship to money and other resources can often reveal our hearts. It shows what's important to us. See, when we look at our resources, do we wonder if we have enough, and we gotta go work hard to get more to store up more? Or do we look at our resources and our money and figure out how can I be a blessing to someone else?

See, God when he gave his commandments, his statutes, and his laws to the nation of Israel, he told them that when they would glean the field, not to glean the very edges of their field. It says it this way in Leviticus chapter 19 verses nine through 10:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien. I am the Lord, your God. — Leviticus 19:9-10

If you read more of Leviticus 19 and look at all of Scripture, you would see that God uses his people to care for those who are destitute. Looking at what they had, if they had more, if they had extra, to step in and use what they had to be a blessing to those who had no, who didn't have what they needed.

See, the church at Philippi had no problem giving to Paul. They shared with him in everything—even the giving and the receiving, the text says. Paul's posture was not just to take and take and take from the Philippians. He didn't just want that. He didn't want to raise support and just say, "Give me, give me, give me," because he says it in verse 17:

Not that I seek the gift but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. — Philippians 4:17

What Paul wanted, even as he received their gifts graciously, he wanted their spiritual bank account to have compound interest—that God would really bless them in that day. Because also, Paul lets us know in other places that there was a future day coming where all believers will have to give an account of themselves before Christ. Romans 14:12 says it this way:

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. — Romans 14:12

God is the one who would assess the support of the Philippians that they gave to the apostle Paul. He will assess also our works. I want you to know this: our investment in others yields daily profits until the day we have to give an account to God.

It is evident from Paul's letter that every act of love a person performs for the sake of the gospel increases our capacity to love more, which then moves us to action on the behalf of the one that we're loving.

One of the things that the IRS does is allow for deductions for charitable giving. A non-profit, a 501(c)(3), gets credit for helping someone else. What the government will do with your charity, God will do at the judgment seat of Christ.

My friends, you and I owe God so much. We have received bountifully from him. We have been saved by grace through faith. What we have from God, we did not earn, and because he has given us so much, we are called to look around us to see how we could be a blessing to others. We freely give because God freely gave to us.

My friends, are you willing to be a giver? Not just a reluctant giver, but one who gladly and cheerfully gives to other people. Are you able to see that what you have, you didn't earn, but God who owns it all gave it to you. No matter how much you have or how little you have, God is the one who has given us everything we have. And because we don't own it, God calls us as stewards and gives us things to steward. We look at how we can be a blessing to those around us.

My friends, giving is a heart issue.

Contentment is Learned in Christ Through Circumstances

The third thing I want us to see is that contentment is learned in Christ through circumstances. I want to read verses 11 through 13. Paul says:

I do not say this out of need for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content, whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:11-13

Now, I want to tell a personal story here, because verse 13 is one verse that I learned as an adult. Not even a Christian, but I learned it and I thought it sounded good because I was taught in my early twenties that I could do whatever I put my mind to. And so when I learned this verse, I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I wanted to get a tattoo with that verse on my arm. And that's exactly what I did. I went to the tattoo parlor, believing as an athlete, and I was ready to go charge the world, that I can do whatever I put my mind to. And so, I wanted to have a tattoo on my arm, almost like a rabbit's foot or something like that, that would let me know that I could do it. And so, on my right arm, I sit before the person in the tattoo parlor and says, I want to get a tattoo of a Bible verse—Philippians 4:13. He says, great. How do you spell it? I didn't know how to spell it and I spelled it wrong and it is now on my arm.

The foolishness of that is I'm thinking that I could just take a Bible verse and actually use it out of context, put it on my arm, and that it will propel me into a life that I wanted for myself. But this verse does not mean that you can do anything that you put your mind to. Paul is actually talking about contentment here in these verses. He shares with us that he learned the secret of being content.

"I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me." — Philippians 4:13

Now, contentment does not come naturally to you and me. It doesn't. In order for God to bring the best out in his children, he brings us into scenarios that will build character, build spiritual strength.

Growing Through Difficulty

Many of you, you may be really into working out. I like to work out sometimes, but I do like it. And if you would go to a gym or you would go to a boot camp, maybe you can look at some people and you can see how they dress—the shorts or the pants and the T-shirt and the shoes. You can look at that person and say, they mean business today. They're coming to work out. They're going to work out hard and you want to watch them to see their technique and to see if you could use some of the things that they're doing to help you out.

But what if that person who looks the part, grabs a dumbbell, and lifts it twice, drops it, and then says, whoo. That's enough today. You would question like, wait, you look like you were ready to work out but you had no intention of putting in the work that you said that you were going to do. This was all a facade.

See, many Christians, I believe, look the part when they gather with God's people on Sundays. Especially for us. We know the right words to say. We even know how to wear the right clothes when we come with each other. We know exactly what we're doing, singing the right songs. But if we're not careful and if we examine our hearts, sometimes we may not even be really interested in doing what God has called us to.

You see, Russell will not willingly step into the hard spaces to be developed by God. So, since I won't do that, God will bring that spiritual gymnasium to me. To help me to grow in my faith. And what does he bring to me? He brings adverse circumstances. He brings cross-bearing situations, difficult scenarios, and problematic encounters. And he does that for you as well. All designed to help you to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.

This had me thinking about our time here in Raleigh, which has been wonderful, but it's also been really, really difficult, on some level. As we got here, number one, church planting is hard in itself, and I'm learning that. But then to try to plant in the midst of a pandemic. What do you do with that? Like, no one has a script for this.

Now, if God had told us in some kind of way before we moved here that yes, you would be in a pandemic. You'll be trying to plant during that. I wonder if we would have even come. I wonder if we would have even obeyed to come here. But my family and I are here even though we are long way from family and even though we're in the midst of a lot of adverse circumstances. But God in his infinite wisdom is using this to develop us for his glory and for our good.

Now, we don't know how all of this is gonna turn out. We absolutely do not. But since we know that God is in it, and God has made that evident to us since we've been here, I would say with PJ Morton, one of my favorite musical artists, from his album, Gumbo Unplugged, everything is gonna be alright. And we can trust that. My parents would tell me growing up, you can take that to the bank and cash it.

See, I want you to know that this isn't easy for us. It's been many tough days, not just for me, but for my family. But the question that I must ask myself is, am I content with where God has me in this season? See, better is a smaller home with happiness than a big home with misery.

Now, that should be the way we view this, but often we don't go for the smaller home. We go for the big. We want that grandiose, and we get that grandiose, and then we go to Walgreens or CVS or whatever kind of pharmacy, and we get some pills to help us cope with the misery that it brings.

My friends, I want you to examine yourselves during this pandemic. Are you able to look at your circumstances and view them through the lens of the word of God and find contentment? Having the word of God before you and seeing your circumstances through the grid of the word of God—not the other way around. Not looking at God's word through your circumstances, because now the word of God is distorted. You are really looking at what's hard. But look at what's hard through the grid of the word of God and find contentment.

See, I'm confronted with this. Am I dissatisfied with how things are going during this pandemic? That I can't do what I want to do when I want to do it? Am I frustrated that I have to wear a mask when I go around people, saying that I can't breathe, that my rights are being violated? Can I find contentment in this season? Can I be content with preaching in front of a camera when I'm more used to preaching in front of people, complaining that it doesn't feel right, that it's not personable? But can I find contentment in this season? Will I trust God and rest in him, trusting that Planting Reconciliation Church will look very different in this season from what I expected? You may have different questions, but the ultimate question I want to ask you again is: Are you content with where you are in life?

Meeting Tangible Needs as a Gospel Issue

The final thing I want to say and point to is this: meeting tangible needs is a gospel issue.

In verse 10, it says, "I rejoice in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were in fact concerned about me, but lacked the opportunity to show it." And then Paul said in verse 14, "Still you did well by partnering with me in my hardship."

In these verses, Paul again rejoiced. We see him rejoicing all throughout this letter. And Paul rejoiced here because the Philippians renewed their care for him, even while he was in prison. This word for "renewed" in the Greek means to shoot up, to sprout again, to flourish again. At one time Paul said that they lacked the opportunity to show any kindness or to give to him because they had no time that was suitable to care for Paul. But now they had the opportunity, and they flourished in caring for Paul, even in the midst of difficult times. As they became more prosperous, they looked at what they had and made sure that Paul had his needs met.

As I was studying this passage, I didn't say it earlier, but I believe that the main point of this passage is this: gospel hospitality shows itself in how we care for others. The gospel is about proclaiming truth, proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but tied to that is also how we meet needs—caring about the physical situation of people. We see Jesus living that way.

The church should be concerned about both spiritual transformation and meeting physical needs. If we only focus on spiritual transformation, I think we've missed it. God not only cares for my spirit; he also cares for my body. I think there's a lot of arguments taking place right now about what we do with the church. Just preach the gospel. Don't deal with social justice. Don't deal with those physical needs. But all throughout Scripture, we see that God cared about the physical needs of his people.

That goes back to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6:

God already knows that you need clothes, he knows that you need food, he knows that you need shelter, but seek first the kingdom of God. — Matthew 6

God cares about our physical needs, and when we turn a blind eye to those who are made in the image of God and the necessities they have, shame on us. Shame on us for looking at our lives, and because we have what we need, then saying things like I heard growing up—that if you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, that if you just work hard enough—but I love Doctor King's statement: "How can a bootless man pull up his bootstraps? Or if you continue to cut the straps off of that person's boots?" Right? God cares about not only my spiritual life but also my physical life.

So as we close this sermon, in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Jesus told them:

Don't take any money for yourselves, extra money. Don't take any extra sandals. Freely give because you have been given to freely. — Matthew 10

In verses 11 through 15, Jesus said this:

When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy and stay there until you leave. — Matthew 10:11-15

Greet a household when you enter it, and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it. But if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. — Matthew 10:12-15

What I want to highlight here is that Jesus tells them: if anyone does not welcome you, this is hospitality. Jesus told the disciples to live off the hospitality of the people's homes that you go into, that they ministered to. When people refuse to be hospitable to the disciples, Jesus said judgement will come. It will be more tolerable on the day of judgement for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that house, than for those people.

All throughout the Bible, we see that God cares about how hospitable we are when we engage others. We can go all the way back to Genesis and see how Abraham with those three men traveling—about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. This is God coming to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham made sure he was hospitable. He cooked a meal for them. He asked them to rest. He used what he had to meet the needs of those who came in his vicinity.

That's why I say that meeting tangible needs is a gospel issue. This is evident in what the people at Philippi did. They met the physical needs of Paul while he was in prison. But what about us? How will we care for the needs of others around us? That feels self-sacrificial.

The Power of Sacrificial Generosity

See, the beauty of this is in Acts chapter two. We see an explosion. We see the church in its inception growing mightily. Why did it grow so fast? If you look at the end of chapter two, you will see that it talks about how the people who are now in Christ looked at their neighbor who was also in Christ, and they sold things to make sure that their neighbor had what they needed. The way it's structured, I believe the church grew because of the self-sacrificial nature of the believers there in Acts.

Would we be willing to give ourselves so much that the people around us would sniff the aroma of the Lord Jesus Christ and trust the Lord Jesus Christ, becoming his follower? Because we're willing to give, because we are willing to step into the hard spaces. They see the aroma of Christ on us. They smell it and they say, "I want some of that." Would we be willing to do that?

My prayer is that God, let it be so.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord God, for your word in Philippians. The case for joy. The truth is this book, especially for me, it shows that I have a myriad of reasons to rejoice, a myriad of reasons to have joy deep down in my heart, no matter how hard things could be. Lord, this is practical. This is application for us.

I pray that today, the next hour, for the rest of this day, that we would find reasons to rejoice, that we would even find ways to meet the needs of others around us, entering space properly even during this pandemic. So that people would see Christ all over us, that you would use it as an evangelistic tool to draw people to yourself. I pray that you will be glorified, Lord God, in the name of Christ Jesus.

Amen.