Rev. David Holwick D PHILIPPIANS First Baptist Church (adapted from June 1, 1998, sermon) Ledgewood, New Jersey January 28, 2018 Philippians 4:13-20 MEETING NEEDS I. Thank you notes. A. It is a dying art. 100 years ago, people wrote thank you notes all the time. Nowadays, only Pam Freund does it. Yet thank you notes can have a powerful impact. In his autobiography, syndicated columnist Carl Rowan told about a woman who had a great influence on his life. Her name was Miss Francis Thompson and she was a schoolteacher. He recalled how she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper containing a quote attributed to Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. He listened intently as she read: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us." More than 30 years later, Rowan gave a speech in which he said that teacher had given him a desperately needed belief in himself. A newspaper printed the story, and someone mailed the clipping to Frances Thompson. She wrote back to Rowan: "You have no idea what that newspaper story meant to me. For years, I endured my brother's arguments that I had wasted my life, that I should have married and had a family. When I read that you gave me credit for helping to launch a marvelous career, I put the clipping in front of my brother. After he'd read it, I said, 'You see, I didn't really waste my life, did I?'" Encouragement and praise is like a boomerang; the more you give it, the more it wants to return. #33177 B. The letter of Philippians ends with a thank you note. 1) Paul is grateful for the help they have given him. 2) He gives plenty of credit to God, of course, but he knows that God often uses ordinary humans to do his will. C. Who will be thankful for you? 1) All of us can become God's instruments to make a difference in other people's lives. 2) This passage gives four principles of Christian sharing. a) It has a point. b) It needs to be persistent. c) It gives a profit. d) It carries a price. 3) How effectively are you doing this? II. Share at the point of people's needs. A. "You shared in my troubles." 1) They were the only church to share with him. 4:15 2) They could have said, "Let God take care of him. There's nothing like starvation to test your faith." B. The Philippian church was God's way of taking care of Paul. 1) They shared at the point of his need. 2) There is also sharing that is not at point of need - having friends over for dinner. 3) Their help for Paul was essential to his survival, not some icing on his cake. C. Three stages in sharing in someone's need. 1) Identify the need. 2) Show an interest in the need. 3) Get involved in meeting the need. Example of Good Samaritan. Luke 10:30-36 1> Priest identified the man's need. 2> Levite showed an interest in the need. 3> Samaritan became involved in the need. III. Be persistent in sharing. A. "You sent me aid again and again." 1) They were habitual in it. 2) He used them as an example for the Corinthians. 2 Cor 8:1-5 a) They were poor, persecuted, yet they insisted on giving. b) Literally, they begged Paul to take their money. 1> Usually it's the other way around (TV ministries). 2> When Paul talks about persistent giving, he always means giving that is voluntary and not forced. B. Many are uptight about sharing with religious programs. 1) Over the years three different people have asked me if becoming a member of the church meant we took their offering directly from their employer, like taxes. It's called garnishing your wages. The answer is "no." But the more I think about it, the more it sounds like a great idea. No fumbling with envelopes and loose change. We'd just skim 20% off your paycheck and you'd never miss it. If we just focus on those at Picatinny and the school teachers, the rest of us won't have to give a thing! 2) Seriously, though, persistent and regular sharing is the lifeblood of Christian ministry. Don't neglect it. IV. The profit of sharing. A. Friendship in the Roman Empire was based on mutuality. 1) Friendship was evidenced by giving and receiving. a) Financial terms were used to describe mutuality. 1> We like to say friendship is all free. We lie. b) Christian love can be one way, but genuine friendship is always a two-way street. 2) The reason Paul may seem strained was because he was on the receiving end and had nothing to give in return. a) At least nothing in a material sense. B. "Not that I'm looking for a gift, but credit to your account." 1) Imagine someone saying, "Friends, we are going to give you an opportunity to share with us. Not for our benefit - we're only thinking of you!" That's about as hard to believe as when your Dad whipped out his belt and told you, "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you." 2) The background. a) Does Paul sound ungrateful, or defensive? 1> They have finally gotten around to showing concern. 2> But he doesn't need it anyway. b) Actually, he is denying that their friendship is based on "usefulness." 1> Usefulness is the lowest form of friendship. 2> God's love for them all, and their ministry together, is the basis of their friendship. c) This is the strongest glue any friendship can have. 1> Their gifts were a symbol of the reality of feeling. V. Mutuality also works on higher level - our relationship with God. A. Christian sharing is never one way. 1) When we give, we can expect something in return. a) Now, you have to be careful with this or it can get a little crass. b) Like a kid who prays, "OK, God, I put a dollar in the offering plate. So where's that bicycle I want?" 2) Guaranteed returns? a) Any preacher who says you're guaranteed to get back 100 or 200 or 1000% on your offering is engaging in wishful thinking. b) But the general principle is very Biblical - sharers get back more than they give. 1> Luke 6:38. Picture is of a grain marketplace, with grain heaped in your lap. When God is in charge, there is no settling of contents due to handling. You get the full amount and then some. 2> There is profit in sharing because God's character is oriented that way. B. Our God can deliver. 1) "My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." a) "According to" is different from "out of". b) The billionaire who gives $20 to a charity is giving out of his wealth, but not according to it. He is certainly $20 poorer, so it must have come out of his wealth, but what difference does $20 make to him? c) God is never skimpy or stingy, but always acts according to his generous character. 2) A striking example of God's provision. Years ago I received a letter from Nancy Bartolec, a Campus Crusade missionary on the campus of Indiana University. She entitled the letter, "God is just so ... Nice!!!!" A week before Valentines Day, some of her friends called from Kentucky and asked Nancy to come down for the weekend. It was a spontaneous trip and she needed to think about it. They told Nancy if she'd drive down they'd pay for everything once she got there. When Nancy got off the phone and began to figure out how much it would cost in gas to get there and back, it came to $40. Then she began to realize not only did she not have money to play with when she got there but she didn't even know where the money would come from to get down there at all. Nancy began to pray and ask God to provide the money. After a while she just decided that she'd have to swallow her pride and tell her friends she couldn't afford it. That night Nancy got a phone call from Visa. They called to tell her they wanted to communicate to her that she's a valued customer... (Immediately her cynical side figured they just wanted to coax her to use the card more often!) But they made their appreciation a little more concrete. To show their sincerity they sending Nancy gift certificates to the gas station of her choice for the amount of $40!!!! Not just plain gift certificates to be used anywhere, but specifically for gas. And not for $25 dollars or $50 ... but $40!!! Nancy was so thrilled she told the Visa guy he was part of a miracle. She concluded her letter by saying God is very, very personal and wants to be involved in every area of our lives. #4342 VI. The price of sharing. A. Sharing is described as an acceptable sacrifice. 1) Sharing is profitable in the long-run, but in the short-run it can involve a difficult sacrifice. 2) "Giving till it hurts" is not a Christian cliche. a) The most beneficial sharing always costs us something. 1> King David - 1 Chronicles 21:24 "King David replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.'" 2> Do you support God's work on principle, or as an afterthought? b) Not just money - if you share your life with others, you are setting yourself up to get burned. B. You cannot out-give God. 1) When God shared his Son with the world, he ended up giving the ultimate sacrifice. a) He died for us, that we might live with him forever. 2) What have you given him in return? ========================================================================= SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON: I believe the outline of this sermon was originally adapted from material by Stuart Briscoe. # 4342 “God Is Just So ... Nice!” by Nancy Bartolec, Campus Crusade missionary to Indiana University, from her newsletter dated March 1, 1998. #33177 “She Didn't Waste Her Life,” by Carl Rowan, quoted in Wit And Wisdom at http://www.witandwisdom.org by Richard G. Wimer, August 23, 2006. Original source is Carl Rowan, “Breaking Barriers” (Little, Brown), quoted in Reader's Digest, January 1992. These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html ========================================================================= |
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