(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen. All right, we're there in Philippians, chapter number four. And of course, like I announced this morning, we are finishing up the Book of Philippians today. We have spent the summer going verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the Book of Philippians in a series called Rejoice. And every time we've been in Philippians, I've reminded you that the Book of Philippians is a book about joy. It is a book about learning how to rejoice. It's about Jesus, and it's about the joy that can be found in Jesus. And in these four short chapters, the word joy appears six different times, and the word rejoice appears 10 different times in these verses. So we're learning about how to rejoice. And today we're coming to the very end. We've spent 14 weeks in this study, and it's been 14 weeks and 15 sermons because one of the weeks I preached out of Philippians on Sunday morning and Sunday night. So we spent a lot of time thoroughly going through these chapters and going through these verses. And we're going to finish up to this morning here at the end of Philippians, chapter number four. And in this passage, the Apostle Paul, and we're going to deal with verses 14 through 23, but I feel like we need to back up to verse 10 just to get the context. I preached through verses 10, 11, 12 and 13 already, but I want you to see the context. In verse 10, the Apostle Paul says this, but I rejoice in the Lord greatly. He says that now at the last, your care for me, excuse me, your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity. The Apostle Paul is writing to the book of Philippians or he's writing the book of Philippians to the church at Philippi. And he is telling them that one thing that he's rejoiced about is the fact that they are caring for him. He says, your care of me hath flourished again. He says, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity. The idea here that Paul is saying, he's saying that he's glad that they've been providing for his needs. And what the church at Philippi has done is that they've financially given to the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and he says, I rejoice in that. I rejoice that at the last, your care of me hath flourished again. He says, I'm thankful that you are helping to provide for my physical needs and to provide for the ministry needs. Now, in that context, he talks about what we talked about last week, being content. In verse 11, he says, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And we went through and looked at those verses in detail last week. Then he says this, notwithstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. So here's what he's saying. He's saying, I'm glad that you have provided for my physical needs through giving and through this special offering that they gave to him. And he says, though, I'm content either way. And that's where we get the passage in verses 11, 12, and 13, that great passage on contentment. He says, I'm not speaking in respect of want. He said, I'm content either way. I'm happy either way. But I am thankful that you have done your part to care for me and that I flourish again. And then in verse 14, he says, notwithstanding ye have well done. He says, even though I'm content either way, what you've done is a good thing that you did communicate with my affliction. So he's telling them, you know, the fact that you've given is it's a good thing. It's good that you have given to the work of the Lord. Then he says this in verse 15. He says, now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me. I want you to notice these words. He says, as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. And what the apostle Paul is, he's talking to them about the fact that they have given to him. They've given to his ministry. He's going to talk about the fact that they've given and he's received from them. And really, that's how he ends this book with a little discussion here on giving. So this morning, as we end the book of Philippians, we're going to look at four reasons that the apostle Paul brings up to the church at Philippi. Why it was good that they gave to his ministry, that they gave to the work of God. Four reasons why we should give or financially support the ministry. Now, let me just say this. And, you know, as a disclaimer, we have spent the last 14 weeks, 15 sermons studying the book of Philippians. So if you're here this morning and you say, oh, of course, you know, I go to church and the pastor is going to preach about giving. You know, the pastor is going to preach about the word of God. And we've been going verse by verse through the book of Philippians on Sunday mornings. And we've been looking at every subject the apostle Paul brings up and he brings up this passage. And, you know, if you come to our church, money is not something we bring up a lot. Money is not. It's not something we talk about a lot. Not something we give a lot of priority to. But when the word of God brings it up, we're going to bring it up. And I'm giving you a disclaimer, but I'm not giving you an apology. I'm not apologizing for preaching the word of God. This is what the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians. So it's what we're going to deal with in the book of Philippians. But I do just want to give some context that this is not something we talk a lot about. But it is something the Bible talks about and it's something that the apostle Paul deals with here in the book of Philippians. This idea concerning giving and receiving, why it was good. He said, I rejoice that you supported the ministry, why it was good. And I want to give you this morning four thoughts in regards to why you should financially support the work of God, why you should get financially invested in the work of God. I want to give you four thoughts. On the back of your course of the week, there's a place for you to write down some things. And look down at verse number 16. He says, for even in Thessalonica. Because remember, he said, I'm glad that you supported. He said, I'd be content either way. I'm happy either way. I've learned both to abound and to be a base. I can abound. I can suffer need. He said, I'm good either way. But I appreciate the fact that you supported the ministry. You say, why, Paul, why is it good that they should give to the work of God? He says, for even in Thessalonica, verse 16, ye sent once and again unto, why don't you notice these words, my necessity. He said, you have sent once and again unto my necessity. You say, pastor, why should a Bible-believing Christian not only be part of a local church, not only be faithful to the house of God, not only get involved in serving and soul winning and those things, why should we get financially invested in the work of God? Why should we give towards the work of the Lord? And quite frankly or practically, you should give because there is a necessity for giving. There are needs that need to be met. The apostle Paul said, ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Keep your place there in Philippians chapter four. That's our text for this morning. Go with me if you would to the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 20, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Acts chapter 20. And if you start at the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Acts 20, there's a very practical reason why you should give to the work of God because there's a financial need to have the work of God. Acts 20 and verse 33, and you know, we could spiritualize it and we will, and I'll give you some spiritual reasons here in a minute, but that's not the first thing that the apostle Paul brought up. He said, I'm glad that you gave and they might ask, why are you glad we gave, Paul? And he says, well, because you sent once and again unto my necessity. He said, I'm glad that you gave because we needed it. He said, I'm glad that you gave because there was a need for the funding of the work of God. Acts chapter 20, look at verse 33. Notice what he says. This is the apostle Paul again. He says, I have coveted no man silver or gold or apparel. Paul says, I don't, the word covet means to greatly desire or to envy or to lust after. He says, I have not desired any man silver or gold or apparel. He says, yea, ye yourself know that these hands have ministered. Notice what Paul says, unto my necessities. Paul says, you know that when I needed to, the apostle Paul was what you would call bivocational. Sometimes churches would support him financially, but sometimes they didn't. And when they did not support him, he didn't just go home and quit the ministry. He would make tents. He worked and he provided for his own needs. And here he says, I have coveted no man silver or gold or apparel. He says, yea, ye know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. Today, Verity Baptist Church has a pastor that is a full-time minister of the word. And we've got several staff that work full-time for the church. But for some of you that maybe are newer to our church or you weren't here from the very beginning, I would like to let you know or maybe just remind you that the first four, four and a half years of this church, there was no full-time staff. I worked a full-time job. I worked a full-time job as we started this church. My wife and I started this church in our living room 11 years ago. And I'm thankful to be able to say to some extent, like the Apostle Paul, I have coveted no man silver or gold or apparel. Ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. Notice verse five, he says, I've showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak and to remember the words of our Lord Jesus. And I want you to know again, the Apostle Paul said, I don't want your money. That's what he's saying. He says, I have coveted no man silver. And he says, you know that I've worked and I've worked a secular job in order to do the ministry. And you know, I didn't get into the ministry for money. That's what the Apostle Paul is saying. And that's what I would like to echo as well. But then he says this, he says, but it's good that you've given. And you say, why Paul? Notice the last part of verse 35. He said, remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. You say, why should we give to the work of God? Because it's a good thing. It's good to give to the work of God. You're more, it's more blessed to give than to receive. You say, why? Here's why. Because there is a need in ministry. There is a need for the work of God to go forth. You say, what kind of need? Keep your finger just right there in Acts. We're going to come right back to that part of the Bible. But go with me to the book of Malachi, last book in the Old Testament, Malachi chapter three. And let me just say this. You say, what is the necessity for giving? We should give to the house of God because of the necessity for giving. What is it? Well, here's the necessity. You give to pay for the ministry. There are costs associated with ministry. Malachi chapter three, are you there? Look at verse 10. It's the last book in the Old Testament. Should be fairly easy to find. Malachi chapter three, verse 10. I want you to notice what the Bible says. This is one of the famous tithing passages. It says, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. I want you to notice that word house there, into the storehouse. He's talking about bringing the tithe into the storehouse. And of course, in the Old Testament, this was more of an agricultural society. So when they gave 10% of their increase, they weren't bringing checks and cash. They were literally bringing 10% of whatever they grew or 10% of whatever cattle they had. And here he says, bring you all the tithes into the storehouse. Why God? Why do you want us to bring the tithe into the storehouse? He says that there may be me in mine house. The word me means food. God says, look, there's costs associated with having ministry. That there may be me in mine house. And by the way, in the New Testament, you don't have to turn there. But in 1 Timothy 3.15, we're told that the house of God, which is the church of the living God. In the New Testament, the house of God is the church of the living God. And Malachi 3, we're told, hey, bring your tithes into the storehouse. That there may be me in mine house, God says. In the house of God, he says, improve me. Now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. See, you say, why should we give? Here's why. Because there's a necessity for giving. You say, what's the necessity? When you give, you pay to support the ministry. Do you know that it costs money to turn these lights on? It's not like we show up here, you know, at six in the morning, on a Sunday morning, and we just say, Lord, please turn these lights on. There's a company that charges us to turn the lights on. There's a company that charges us to be able to meet in this facility. There are costs associated. You say, I thought we could get a little more spiritual. We'll get a little spiritual, but sometimes we need to get just a little practical. Do you know that there are costs associated with ministry? It costs money to rent a building. It costs money to turn the lights on. It costs money to run the air conditioner. It costs money. We're going to celebrate next week our family and friend day. And after family and friend day, we're going to have hamburgers and hot dogs. We're going to grill back here, and we're going to provide a free lunch for everybody. But let me tell you something, that's not just going to fall out of the air. Somebody has to go to Costco and buy those things and purchase those things. We're going to give out mugs. We're going to give out suckers. We give out all sorts of things. We have all sorts of activities around here all the time. We never charge for any of them. You say, how do you pay for it? We pay for it from the giving of God's people. Why? Because when you give, you supply the needs of the ministry. It costs money. It costs money to run a church. It costs money to reach people with the gospel. You say, you know, we go out there and preach the gospel. Yeah, well, you give out these DVDs. You give out these booklets. You give out these nice invitations. It costs money to print those things. So Paul says, hey, you know, you should give. You should give to the work of God. And if you don't, that's OK. I've coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. He says, I've learned to be content. But you see, he says, you should give. Why? Because of the necessity. Because you sent once and again unto my necessity. Because there's a cost associated with running ministry. Because it costs money to run the church. And that's how it's paid. God says, bring the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house. So we give. Why? To pay for the ministry. But let me just say this as well. If you kept your place there in Acts, go with me to the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians. If you have your finger in Acts, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. And again, you know, I maybe preach a sermon like this once or twice a year. And every time I preach something like this, I always say the same thing. And I say it because I believe it. Sometimes when I was a younger preacher, I'm still a young preacher, right? You're not agreeing. When I was a younger preacher, I used to be a little more hesitant about preaching. I don't preach about money a lot. In fact, it's very rare that we preach about money around here at all. And I would say in comparison to most preachers, I mean, you go to the average church and they're talking about it's a point in every sermon. Every single sermon, they're talking about money. And every time that they take an offering, they're giving a little mini sermon on money. And we don't get that here. And again, if it's your first time here, just know that. That is not the case of every Baptist church. But you know, I used to be a little more hesitant about preaching about money. And people would think like, you know, because you would think yourself like, isn't it kind of a little self-serving? You know, you're on staff. You work full-time for the church. And you're going to teach the church to give. But you know what I've realized is this, that as a pastor of the church, it is my job to teach the whole counsel of God. And if I don't teach you what the Bible expects of you, then who is? Who's going to teach you? If the pastor fails to teach you the word of God, then who's going to preach to you the word of God and teach you the word of God? You say, why should we give? You should give to pay for the ministry. But let me just say this as well. You should give to pay for the needs of the minister. 1 Corinthians 9, look at verse 9. 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 9, notice what the apostle Paul said. He said, for it is written in the law of Moses. This is a command that God gave in the Old Testament. He says, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. God said, if you've got an ox and you put him out in the field and he is treading the corn, he is plowing the field, he is doing work, he's out there working. He says, while he's out there in the field working, then you allow him, if he's in the field and there happens to be some corn there or something that he can eat, you allow him to eat, he says, the ox, you allow him to eat while he's performing the work that he's doing. He said, he says, muzzle not the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. The idea of muzzling the ox is that, here's what God says, I don't want you to put an ox out in the field and then cover his mouth so that he can't just freely eat as he's working. He's saying, if he's working, feed the ox. Now notice you say, well, why would God say this? Notice what Paul says, verse nine, for it is written in the law of Moses, thou shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Why did God say this? Is God some sort of animal rights advocate? Was God the founding member of PETA? Paul says, does God take care for oxen? And obviously the Bible teaches that we shouldn't abuse animals and those things and I'm sure that's part of it, but Paul says, did God add this to the Mosaic law only for the benefit of the animals, verse 10, or saith he it all together for our sakes? And here's what Paul says, Paul says, God gave us this principle not just to help the ox but just to help all of us to teach us a principle. He says, or did he say this to teach us all a biblical principle? He says, for our sakes, no doubt this is written. He says, God gave us that principle to teach us something. What did he teach? Here's what he taught, that he that ploweth should plow in hope and he that thresher than hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, and here's what I want you to say, here's what he's saying, if someone is working, here's the principle, you say, what does it mean? Thou shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Here's what it means, if someone's working, you ought to pay them. If someone's working, you ought to provide for their needs. If the ox is out there and he's bringing a fruit and he's producing fruit as a result of his work, he's helping you bring in a harvest, then let him partake of that harvest. Thou shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. He says, look, if somebody goes out and starts a business and oftentimes, and we've got, I think we've got 12 or 13 business owners in our church and I'm happy about that and I think that's great and I think a lot of these business owners, if you talk to them, you'll realize, they started out and they started a business and when they started out, they put in a lot of hours and they probably still put in a lot of hours and there was a lot of risk to the work that they did. A lot of personal risk. I mean, they're putting stuff on credit cards, they're taking stuff out of their savings, they're investing into a business. You say, why? They're doing it in the hopes that at first, there's a risk to them but if they plow, they should be able to plow in hope. That's what he says in verse 10. He says, he that ploweth should plow in hope and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of this hope. He says, if somebody goes out and starts a business and starts working and starts a lot of risks to themselves and a lot of financial sacrifices themselves, they might do that but there's a hope or an expectation that when they start to be successful, then the business will be able to provide for their needs. And what God is saying, he's saying, look, in the spiritual work, needs to look at the payment of the ministry and of the pastor in the same way. Look at verse 11, he says, if we, Paul is saying as a spiritual leader, if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? He says, look, if the man of God is sowing spiritually, he said, it's not a great thing that he should reap your carnal things. What does that mean? Here's what it means. If the pastor's providing for your spiritual needs, the church's supply should provide for his physical needs. I don't think you should be saying that. You're the pastor. Well, then who's gonna say it? Look at verse 14. Now in verses 12 and 13, he explained about how, this is how it worked in the Old Testament. The Old Testament priests lived off of the tides that came into the house of God. And then verse 14, he says, even so. He says, in the same way. In what same way? In the same way that the Old Testament priests lived off the tides that came into the house of God. He says, even so, that means in the same way, the spiritual leadership in the New Testament should live off the tides that comes into the house of God in the New Testament. He says, even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live up the gospel. Look, the Bible teaches that if the minister is providing for your spiritual needs, if there's staff that is providing for the spiritual needs, then it's not a great thing that their physical needs would be paid for. And by the way, you've heard me say this before, but I'm gonna say it again. You don't pay the pastor to do spiritual work. People say, oh, we pay the pastor to preach. You don't pay the pastor to preach. And you say, well, what's the proof? Here's the proof. Four years of preaching Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, when nobody paid me a dime. I would do this for free. I did it for free. You say, oh, we pay the pastor to preach. You don't pay the pastor to preach. You don't pay the pastor to do counseling. All week long, I do counseling. And I'm happy to do counseling. You don't pay me to do counseling. I'm not like some secular therapist. And by the way, there are churches where you want to counsel the pastor. The pastor is $50 a session, you know, one hour a week, $50 session. And sometimes I feel like I should charge, make people think it more serious. But I don't charge for counseling. You know, some pastors charge for weddings. I'm doing four weddings this fall. I've done 15 weddings or something in my ministry. Some pastors, you know, doing weddings is like a part-time job. I get calls every week from people saying, you know, not every week, but on a regular basis, we get calls saying, would you do this wedding? Would you do a wedding? And I'm calling some people, nope, I only do weddings for our church people. I don't charge for weddings. I don't charge for funerals. I don't charge for counseling. I don't charge to go pray with you at the hospital when you're in the hospital. We don't, you say why? Because you don't pay the pastor to do spiritual work. You couldn't pay the pastor to do spiritual work. I mean, when you come to a church like this and the word of God is preached and it transforms your life and it helps your marriage and it helps you raise your children, what are you going to do? I'm going to pay you $20 for that? That's an insult. You say, well, what do we do if we don't pay the pastor? You don't pay the pastor. You provide for his physical needs. If he's working, if he's out there working and he's doing a spiritual work and he's investing in you and he's helping you, then is it a great thing if he shall reap, if we shall reap your carnal things? Look, if you've been coming to Verity Baptist Church and you've been growing and you've been learning and your life has been changing and you've been transforming and you're a better wife and you're a better husband and you're a better dad and you're a better mom and you're a better employee, if you're better at life because you're doing it the way God tells you to do it, if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing that we shall reap your carnal things? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. Go to 1 Timothy chapter five. 1 Timothy chapter five, you find the T books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy Titus, 1 Timothy chapter five. You say, why should we give to the work of God? Well, because of the necessity. Why? Because there's a need to pay for the ministry and there's a need to pay for the ministers. You provide for the needs of the minister that he might be able to do the work of God. And by the way, that includes the staff. I won't take the time to show it to you but you can go to Acts chapter seven and see how the spiritual leadership was overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done. Not spiritual work, just secular work of dealing with the tables and making sure that the widows were being dealt with and all those things and what they do. They hired seven full-time staff people to work to do the daily ministration. You say, why do we pay the staff to come in here and set up for family and friend day and do inventory and purchase supplies and buy the toilet paper and buy the paper towels and make sure the buildings are clean and post the sermons. Why do we pay them to do all those things? Here's the bottom line. And again, maybe you want a spiritual answer but I'll just give you the real answer so that I don't have to do it. You say, oh, that's kind of arrogant. Well, I spent a lot of time with you on Monday night helping you with your marriage. I spent a lot of time with you on Tuesday night. I spent a lot of time with you on Wednesday night. My wife spends a lot of time every week counseling. Nobody pays her, nobody gives her a paycheck to meet with ladies and talk to ladies. And look, we love to do it. I'm not complaining. I'm just explaining to you that there is, if you expect somebody to be there to help you with your life, praise the Lord. But if they're helping you with your spiritual needs then you ought to help them with their physical needs. That's what the Bible says. Verse 75, verse 17. Let the elders that rule well, that's the pastors be counted worthy of double honor. By the way, don't get this idea like, oh, the pastor needs to just be living at poverty level. Now, obviously, false prophets take it to an extent. I mean, when you're driving the Ferrari and you're flying in the private jets, you know, that's obviously covetousness. But the Bible says that the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, does this sound familiar? Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Look, the ox, if the ox is working, feed the ox. What is he saying? And the laborer is worthy of his reward. You say, why did they hire those staff people in Acts chapter seven? What was the reason? Here was the reason the apostle said that we might give ourselves unto prayer and the word of God. That we might do the work of the ministry, the work of God. You say, well, why should we give? Why should we financially give to the work of God? You should give because of the necessity for giving, because it costs money to run a ministry, because there are bills associated with running a ministry, but you should also give to pay for the needs of the minister. Because if people are working spiritually to help you, then you should provide for their physical needs. Go back to Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. You say, well, why do you have to say that? Because Paul said it. Why do you have to say that first? You know, honestly, if I was writing a topical sermon that is not the first point I would have brought up. You say, why did you have to say that first? Because I'm preaching expositorily through the book of Philippians, and that's what Paul said first. He said, you gave time once and again to my necessity. Paul said, look, there's a necessity in ministry, and you should give to meet the needs of the ministry. But then he gives a second reason. Not only should we give because of the necessity of the gift. By the way, staff and pastors and evangelists and people that are full-time, they should tithe too. They should invest in the work of God as well. We should give because of the necessity, the need of giving. But let me give you a second reason. You should give because of the investment of giving. Notice what Paul says in verse 17. He said, not because I desired a gift. He said, I'm not saying this because I need your money or I want your money. Paul said, I've already told you. I've learned to be content. He says, not because I desired a gift. He says this, but I desired fruit that may abound to your account. Do you know that there's an investment in giving? When you give to a soul-winning, Bible-believing church, you are investing in the work and in the fruit of that church. He says, I don't desire a gift, but I do desire fruit that may abound to your account. Go to Matthew chapter six, first book of the New Testament. Should be fairly easy to find. Matthew chapter six. See, you say, pastor, you know, you flew out to Ohio this week. Brother Oliver and I flew out to Ohio. He preached on Friday morning. I preached on Friday night. And we were able to minister to some people and help some people. And after the service, talk to people. He said, wow, that sermon really helped in this area and that area. And hopefully we invested a little bit to help that church grow and some of those people to grow. And you say, oh, you're going to get rewards for that in heaven. But here's what Paul says. Paul says, and by the way, we went out soul-winning. I had somebody saved out there in Ohio. And Brother Oliver had somebody saved out there. You say, oh, you went out there. So you're going to get rewarded for that in heaven. But here's the truth, though. You will get rewarded for that as well. You say, pastor, you get up and you preach these sermons and they go on YouTube and sometimes they get 1,000 views or 5,000 views or 20,000 views and they're helping people. And you're going to get rewarded for that in heaven. But when the church provides for the needs of the staff to be able to minister in that way, Paul says, I don't desire a gift. I desire a fruit that may abound to your account. You get to partake in that. You get to partake and invest. The fact that 11 years ago there was no church in this area that was preaching the gospel, that was out soul-winning, now 11 years later we've got 100. I think yesterday we had, and we were out of town and my wife's not feeling well. I think our church had 94 soul winners that went out and knocked doors and preached the gospel. And the fact that you financially invest into a church that has motivated and mobilized an army of soul winners to go out and preach the gospel, you know what? You get rewarded for the work you did, but you also are invested in heaven. You get fruit that may abound to your account. When you give, it is a investment in spiritual things. Matthew chapter six, look at verse 19. Matthew 6 19, the Bible says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. And I'm not against, and the Bible's not against you having nice things. I want you to have nice things. I hope that your soul will be in health and prosper like John the apostle said. And I don't think there's anything in the world with you running businesses and investing and doing those things. But here's what he's saying. He's saying, hey, don't make that your life's focus. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth. Don't make that your focus in life. You say, why? Because that is temporal. It's going to be destroyed. Where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. He says, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. See, Paul said, when you invested into the work of God, he says, not because I desired a gift, but I desired fruit that may abound to your account. Our church supports Brother Stuckey out in the Philippines. Full time. Start two churches. Start kind of in the process of laying the foundation maybe for a third one. And we've got a group that he's putting together and trying to help and organizing them for soul winning and things like that. And you say, oh, that's Brother Stuckey all the way in the Philippines. But when this church supported him financially, we sent him out and we continue to support him financially. You know what? We get rewarded for that in heaven. That's fruit that may abound to your account, to my account in heaven. Why? Because that's not only a necessity for giving. There's also an investment in giving. We are laying up treasures in heaven. Go back to 1 Timothy. I meant to tell you to keep your place there. I'm not sure if I did or not. But go back to 1 Timothy. We were just there. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Keep your place there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. 1 Timothy chapter 6. There's a story of a pastor that lived in the late 1800s and lived up to the mid 1900s by the name of George Truitt. He had a ministry in Dallas, Texas. And out in Dallas, Texas at that time, and I'm sure even now, there was a lot of rich ranchers, a lot of rich ranchers that went to his Baptist church that he pastored. And there's a story about Pastor George Truitt that he was out having dinner one day with one of the rich ranchers from his church. And rancher took him out to the balcony of his house. And he said, look in that direction. And he looked in that direction. He said, as far as your eye can see in that direction, I own all that. And he said, look in that direction. As far as you can see in that direction, I own everything in that direction. He said, I own everything in that direction. He said, I own everything in that direction. He said, as far as your eye can see behind the house, I own everything in that direction. He said, I own everything as far as you can see in all these directions. And the story says that George Truitt said, but how much do you own in that direction? Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. First Timothy 6 and verse 17 says, that are rich in this world. By the way, that's you. If you're an American in 2021, you're rich in this world. That they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. You know, it'll change if you're sitting here this morning. You say, I don't like this sermon. I don't like sermons on giving. It'll change your view on giving when you realize that it is the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Everything you have, God gave you. It is God that gives us the power to get wealth. Verse 18, that they do good, that they be rich in good works. Notice what Paul tells Timothy to tell those that are rich in this world. He said that they do good, that they be rich in good works. Notice, ready to distribute. The word distribute means to deal out or give out. And this is not some sort of a liberal democratic socialist where they're going to steal it from you and distribute it. But we, as God's people, when God blesses us, because it is God that giveth us richly all things to enjoy, we should be ready to distribute, willing to communicate. The word communicate there is the same idea as the word to commune, meaning to share our wealth and our possessions. You say, why would I do that? Verse 19, laying up in store for themselves. The word in store means saving or putting away a good foundation against the time to come. You know that you can't take anything with you from this world to the next, but you can send it ahead. You can lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. You can lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. You can invest in that which is eternal. You can invest in that which is spiritual. You can invest in that which will last forever. There was a missionary by the name of Jim Elliott who was martyred. He said this, a famous quote of his is this. He says, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. You say, why should I give? You know, you should give because of the necessity of giving. Just quite frankly, quite practically because it costs money to run a church. You should give because of the necessity of the ministry and you should pay for the needs of the minister. But you should also give because of the investment. Because when you invest yourself in the work of God and you lay, you abound, the Bible says, Paul says that there is fruit that may abound to your account. In heaven, God is keeping track of everything that was done in your body. The work that was done in your body. And he's going to reward you for that in the millennial reign. And part of that is going to be what you did physically by going soul winning and preaching the gospel. But part of that also has to do with you supporting the work of God and getting dividends based off spiritual investment in the things of God. The truth is this, when you give, when you give to the work of God on earth, you get credit in heaven and the work of God is furthered on earth. When you support the church financially, the work of God is moved forward here on earth. But you're the one that gets credit in heaven. Paul says, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. Keep your place there in 1 Timothy. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. Say, why should we give? Well, you should give because of the necessity of giving. Why should we give? You should give because of the investment of giving. Number three this morning, why should we give? We should give because of the sacrifice of giving. See, Paul says that giving is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. Notice verse 18, he says, But I have all and abound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. He says, right now I'm full. He said, I'm not in need. He said, because I've received the gift that you sent through Epaphroditus. Remember Epaphroditus? We learned about Epaphroditus, that he almost died on the way to see Paul. Remember Paul had to send him back. But Epaphroditus came because he brought the special offering to the Apostle Paul. He says, But I have all and abound, I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. He says, an order of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. See, when you give to support the work of God, that gift is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. It's a sacrifice that you give to God. You say, I'm giving this to the church. No, no, you're giving it to God through his church. Go back, go to 2 Corinthians chapter 8. I think you kept your place in 1 Corinthians. If you kept your place in 1 Corinthians, go to 2 Corinthians. You can keep your place in 2 Corinthians because we're going to leave it. We're going to come back to it. And you should also be in 1 Timothy, I think. 2 Corinthians chapter number 8. By the way, let me just say this. God does everything on earth through his local New Testament church. You say, I want to serve God. You serve God through his church. I want to be faithful to God. You're faithful to God through his church. I want to give to God. You give to God through his local New Testament church. We give, you see Paul says, you gave. Paul says, you gave to my necessity. He said, I'm about, I about, I'm full. He said, thank you for the gift that you brought from Epaphroditus. But he said, I want you to know that it was a sacrifice well and acceptable to you, Paul. No, he says, to God. You gave to God. Now, I want to point out the fact that it was a sacrifice. And by the way, let me just say this. Giving is a sacrifice. When you give, you are sacrificing. 2 Corinthians chapter 8, look at verse 1. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit. The word wit means to become aware of. The grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia. How that in a great trial of affliction. By the way, the churches of Macedonia. Macedonia is a location where the city of Philippi is located in. We're literally talking about the church of Philippi. He says, how that in a great trial of affliction. These people were struggling financially. The abundance of their joy. Don't miss that. That's what we've been talking about. Joy, cheerfulness. And their deep poverty. These people were very poor. But it abounded unto the richest of their liberality. Though they were poor, they were generous. For to their power, that means to their ability, to their strength, I bear record, yea. And beyond their power, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we should receive the gift. That's a reference to the offering. And take upon us the fellowship of the minister, ministering to the saint. See, it is true that when you give, it is a sacrifice. You are sacrificing something. By the way, do you know that God is a God that desires sacrifices? I mean, have you ever read the Old Testament? All over the Old Testament, he said, I want you to sacrifice this, sacrifice this, sacrifice that. You say, yeah, we don't live in the Old Testament. So we don't have to sacrifice oxen and cattle. Right. We live in the New Testament. So therefore, God wants you to sacrifice something else. He says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. He said, I don't want your oxen. He said, I want you. I want all of you. And by the way, that includes your finances. When you give to the work of God, you're not giving to the church. You're giving to God. It's a sacrifice. It's a sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. You don't have to turn there. You can stay right there in 2 Corinthians. We're going to show you something here in verse 5. But in 1 Corinthians 29, 3, we have, excuse me, 1 Chronicles 29, 3, we have David who is sacrificing and giving for the work of God in the Old Testament. Here's what he said. He said, moreover, because I've set my affections to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good of gold and silver, which I've given to the house of my God, over and above all that I prepared for the holy house. See, here's the point. Giving is a sacrifice that is well pleasing to God. You say, why? Why is it well pleasing to God? Here's why. Why should you give? Why should you give? We should give because of the need. We should give because of the investment. But we should give because of the sacrifice. You say, why would I want to sacrifice? Because when you sacrifice to God, you give an acceptable and well pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. You say, what does that do? It proves your love for God. You ever heard this phrase, put your money where your mouth is? I love God. I love God. I love Jesus. OK, well, your checkbook should show that. Your bank account should show that. You know the Bible says where your treasure is, there where your heart be also? You didn't tell me all day long you love God. You love God. You love God. But you know what? When you choose to prioritize the work of God, to give to God first, to give proportionally a percentage to the Lord. When you choose to put God first. Hey, God says, now you've proven that you love me. You say, show that to me in the Bible. You're there in 1st Corinthians 8. Look at verse 5. Remember we saw in verses 1 through 4 that it was a sacrifice that they were willing beyond their power. They were willing of themselves. To their power in deep poverty out of their liberality. Why is that important? Why is the sacrifice important? Here's why. Verse 5. And this they did, not as we hope, but first. Notice, first gave of their own selves to the Lord. Before they gave financially to the Lord, they gave themselves to the Lord. Here's the truth. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. In fact, love is always. Love is always represented in a gift. That's why the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3 says, for God so loved the world. Not for God so loved the world, period. Just, you know, take my word for it. No, for God so loved the world that he gave. See, when we give, it is the proof. When we sacrifice, it is the proof of our love. And this they did, not as we hope, but first gave of their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God, insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. Don't miss that. He said, I want you to abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in diligence. He said, I want you to abound in faith. That's your walk with God. Utterance, that's your soul winning. Knowledge, that's your discipleship. Diligence, that's your service. He said, I want you to serve in the house of God. I want you to go soul winning with the house of God. I want you to be faithful to the house of God. But he said, see that ye abound in this grace also. He said, don't do all those things and then not give. Look at verse 8. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others and to, don't miss it, prove the sincerity of your love. So why should you give? Because it's the way that God said, you prove that you love him. It is a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. Why? Because it proves your love for God. You say, I'm just going to keep all the money for myself. Then that just proves who you love. I want to invest all my money at the bar. Well, that just shows us who you love. Where you invest your money tells us what you love. So make sure that God is the priority. Make sure that God gets his proportion. Make sure that God gets his percentage. Let me give you a fourth one this morning. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. Paul's given us reasons why we should give. And again, you say, pastor, are you preaching the sermon because the church is in trouble financially? No, I'm preaching the sermon because we're in Philippians. You don't like it, take it up with Paul. We spent 15 sermons going verse by verse through Philippians. And we're going to finish up the book right now. Why should you give? Because of the necessity of giving. Why should you give? Because of the investment of giving. Why should you give? Because of the sacrifice of giving. See, there's a financial need for the ministry and the ministers of the house of God. And there's an investment. You invest into the gospel. And you invest eternally. And you get credit in heaven. And there's fruit that may abound to your account. And it's a sacrifice that proves your love. But there's a fourth reason. And Paul left this one at the end. See, I would have put this at first. Paul put it at the end. And Paul's smarter than I am, I know. Because this is kind of a selfish reason. Paul says, let me try to convince you through logic. Why should we give, Paul? Because it costs money to run a church. And Paul says, OK, that didn't work. You're too hard-headed for that. You don't care. He says, well, let me try to convince you spiritually. Because there's an investment. It's a spiritual investment. Fruit that may abound to your account. But then it's almost like Paul says, oh, some of you are carnal. You don't care about that either. Then he says, let me try to appeal to you through emotion. It's because it's a sacrifice, a sacrifice that is acceptable and well pleasing to God. It proves your love for God. And Paul says, oh, some of you are too callous. Something that resonates with you. So then Paul says, OK, well, let me resonate to your flesh. You know why you should give to the house of God? Because there's a promise of giving. Look at verse 19, Philippians 4.19, but. The word but connects the thoughts in verse 18 to the thought in verse 19. If you remember the thought in verse 18 was that giving is a sacrifice. So Paul says, I realize that giving is a sacrifice, but he says, I realize that giving is a sacrifice, he says. But the idea is that even though giving is a sacrifice, there's a but here. He says, but my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. See, there's a promise associated to giving. You know that God promises to meet the needs of givers. This is a verse that Christians like to quote. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. But wait a minute, wait a minute. God did not make that blanket promise to every believer. There are some promises that God made to every believer. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's a promise that he made to every believer. But this promise is not a promise he made to every believer. This is a promise that he made to believers who support his work, who financially give to support the ministry. Paul says, fine, if you won't do it because you love God, if you won't do it because you love souls, if you won't do it because you're just logical and seated, maybe you'll do it because God has promised that he shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. See, God promises to meet the needs of givers. Go to Matthew, go back to Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter six. We saw these verses already. I'm going to look at verses a little bit after the verses we saw, verse 19 and 20. But I want to read verses 19 and 20 just to give you the context. Remember we saw this, Matthew 6 19. Lay down up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. That's the context of verse 31. Therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed. Notice therefore is a connecting word. Therefore means for that reason. For what reason? Again, verses 31, 32, 33 are not just talking to every believer. He's saying when you lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, he says therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat. Or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed. For after all these things of the Gentile seed, God says I know you need these things. I know you need to eat. I know you need to drink. I know you need clothes. For your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. He says but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things, all what things, all the things that I have need, that I know that ye have need of all these things, the clothing, the drinking, the eating, and all these things shall be added unto you. You know that God makes a promise. He promises that when you give, when you give to the work of God, he promises to meet the needs of the giver. I won't have you go back there, but in Malachi he says prove me. He says prove me if I will not open you up the windows of heaven and pour you out of blessing. God says I promise to meet your needs if you put me first. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. You can't do that without doing it financially. See, God promises to meet the needs of the givers, but let me just say this, it gets better. Go to Luke, if you would, Matthew, Mark, Luke. God promises to meet the needs of givers, and God also promises to surpass the generosity of givers. You've seen these verses. I've shown them to you in the past, but let's just look at it. Do you know that you can't out-give God? God promises to surpass whatever generosity you give. Luke 6 38, give and it shall be given unto you. Luke 6 38, notice what God says, give and it shall be given unto you. Good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over shall man give into your bosom for with the same measure that ye meet. God says the same measuring cup that you take to give to me with the same measure that ye meet with all it shall be measured to you again. God says you can't out-give me. I will surpass your generosity. I will give. I always think it's funny people say, oh, I don't think that there's any tithing in the New Testament. Okay, well, I disagree with that. I don't think you've read and studied the Bible, but let me just say this. If you don't think there's any tithing in the New Testament, great, give 20%. Give 30%. Why is it always that everybody wants to tell you that there's no tithing in the New Testament? It's because they want to give less than 10%. If there's no tithing in the New Testament, hey, last time I checked, everything got harder in the New Testament. Ye heard that it had been said, you know, thou shall not commit adultery. I say unto you, look not on a woman till lust after her. He says, don't even hate your brother in your heart. He says, look, we're supposed to do more in the New Testament. So if you don't want to tithe, okay, don't tithe, give more. Because God says give and it shall be given unto you. Pressed out, shaken together, running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye meet with it shall it be measured to you again. God says, also pass your generosity. Now, please hear me out. Hear this. Go to 2nd Corinthians, if you would. I'm not a prosperity preacher telling you up here, you give, you know, a thousand, they sell a thousand dollars in our ministry. You're going to get 10,000 back. That's a lie. But you know that God doesn't care about money. The Bible says that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the gold in every mine. He uses gold to pave the roads in heaven. That's how much he cares about money. But God knows you and I care about money. Because we're gentiles in our flesh. We're saved people, but even in our flesh, we worry about money because we have need of certain things because we need to eat and drink and be clothed. And God says, I don't care about money, but I can control some things. I can give some things that money can't give. I mean, here's what I am telling you. When you give, God promises to surpass your generosity. Now, he may surpass that financially and bless you. Financially, God does that all throughout the Bible. We see where God bless people financially. I think that those are very unique people that God blesses financially because to bless you financially, he has to be able to trust you financially. Sometimes people get money, and as soon as they get money, when they were broke, when they didn't have a car, when they were poor, they were like, oh, about Jesus. As soon as they get some little job, it's like, I can't go to church. I got to work. Making a dollar above minimum wage, you're going to quit on God for that? You sell out? It didn't cost much to sell you out. They gave you a quarter above minimum wage and you quit church. God says, hey, you put me first financially, and maybe I can bless your marriage. Maybe I can bless your children. Maybe I can bless your testimony. Maybe I can bless your legacy. See, there's some things that money can't buy. I'd rather prove my love to God and say, God, it's not much. You can have it. And God says, with the same measure that ye meet with all, it shall be measured to you again. Second Corinthians 9, verse 6, but this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. Look, I'm just showing you this verse. I just think it's funny. People don't like it when you talk about the money in Bible, but the Bible talks a lot about money. God says, if you're cheap with me, I'll be cheap with you. That's what he says. But this I say, he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. You're bountiful. You're generous with my house. I'll be generous with you. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loveth a cheerful giver. Look, he says, I don't want you to do it with a bad attitude. You don't have to turn here. Proverbs 11, verses 24 and 25 says, there is he that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than his meat, but tendeth to poverty. You know what I've learned? I've learned an amazing thought to me. Sometimes I watch Christians, and even in our own ministry here and in other ministries that I know of, and I watch people who are just generous with their finances. They just give. They give, and they give, and they give, and it just seems like God just keeps blessing like as much as they give, God just continues to bless them and give them back. But yet that's what the Bible says. There is that scattereth, distributeth, gives away, and yet increases. And there is that withholdeth, doesn't want to be generous, doesn't want to give more than his meat. To some extent, we all have to withhold, but we shouldn't do more than is suitable or proper. But it tended to poverty. God says, when you're like this, God says, you end up being poor. And yet you watch people that they just scatter. They're generous with their time, with their treasure, with their talent. And God seems to just bless them. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Why? Because God promises to surpass the generosity of givers. Go back to Philippians chapter 4. We'll finish this up. And we're finishing up the book, by the way, and we're finishing up the series, by the way. So why should we give? Four reasons. Let me appeal to your logic. There's a need. There's a financial need to give. We give to support the ministry, and we give to provide for the needs of the ministers. Let me appeal to your spiritual side, because there's a spiritual investment. Because there's fruit that may abound to your account. Because when you give to the work of God on earth, the work of God continues on earth, and you get the credit in heaven. Because there's a sacrifice to giving. Let me appeal to your emotional side, because our sacrifice is a acceptable and well pleasing gift unto the Lord that proves our love for God. But when all else fails, let me just tell you what Paul said. You should give because there's a promise to give Him. Because God promises to meet the needs of all givers. And in fact, not only does He promise to meet the needs, He promises to surpass your generosity, because my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory. So here's the question I have for you. Please don't answer this out loud. Some of you are like, oh, praise the Lord. Do you give to the work of God? Do you have a plan to systematically, regularly, prioritize a percentage, a proportion of your income to God, to the work of God, to support the ministry? If you don't, you should. If you don't, you should. God says, I will supply your needs. I will surpass your generosity. I will make sure you're taken care of. And I will meet and bless you in ways that you couldn't even imagine. Then the Apostle Paul ends the book in verse 20 through 23. He says, now unto God and our Father, be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus, the brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you chiefly, they that are of Caesar's household. By the way, the church at Philippi had given to the ministry of Paul. Paul was in prison, but yet while in prison, he had gotten Caesar's household saved. And that was fruit that may abound to their account. Then he ends and says, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. That's by our heads and our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for the Book of Philippians. Thank you for this great book, these four chapters with so much truth in them. Lord, I pray you to help us to apply all the things that we've learned in this book. But Lord, I pray that you would help us apply specifically what we've learned today about giving. Help us to get invested because there's a physical need. There's spiritual investment. There's an emotional proof, and there's a promise. Lord, help us to give, to give not grudgingly, to give cheerfully. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.