Phil 4:14-20

If I Knew a Rich Man

Philippians 4:14-20

One of my favorite movie characters is Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (which, by the way, won three Academy Awards). Tevya is a poor farmer who serves as the milkman for his tiny Jewish village in the middle of Tsarist Russia. Like many poor people, Tevye dreamed about being rich. His dreaming leads into my favorite song in the movie, If I Were a Rich Man. If you’ve seen the movie, you will remember Tevye singing this song in his dusty barn while climbing along the rafters and dancing to a Jewish melody, “If I were a rich man.” When our family watches this movie, we just can’t help ourselves—we all hop off the couch and dance around the living room to this famous Broadway tune. I think this song has endured over the years because it captures both the struggle of poverty and the inherent desire for material wealth. “If I were a rich man, I’d buy a big tall house with rooms by the dozen…”

Unfortunately, Christians are by no means immune from the dreaded disease called affluenza. We may not be working our tails off in order to make a million dollars, but just by virtue of living in our culture, we are extremely susceptible to it. Do you know how you can walk around with a slight touch of pneumonia, a low grade fever or a nagging cough? We can carry these illnesses for so long that they become less and less noticeable. In the same way, I think we all walk around with a low grade affluenza at all times. I don’t think we are ever completely free of the actual illness, let alone immune from it. Even if you don’t have lots of stuff and even if you don’t seem to want lots of stuff, everyone else around us does, so we can’t help but either be sickened by the actual illness or else be constantly exposed to those who do have it.

But as you might guess, God has an antidote to affluenza. It’s called generosity. I like the way Randy Alcorn puts it. He says that “generosity is to materialism what kryptonite is to Superman.” Just as kryptonite weakens and kills Superman, so generosity can weaken and kill materialism and affluenza. But like all Christian character, generosity usually doesn’t happen overnight, rather it is a learned behavior that is produced over time as a fruit and the work of the Holy Spirit. As we come to the end of his rich letter to the church in Philippi, we see that Paul offered a word of thanks for the gifts he received from the church. Ever the theologian, Paul did not merely say “thank you,” but used it as an opportunity to teach about generosity and the Lord.

¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. ¹⁵ Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; ¹⁶ for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. ¹⁷ Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. ¹⁸ I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Although this is not the best known portion of Scripture on giving, I found it to be very helpful. One unique characteristic is that Paul taught from a positive viewpoint. There are times when Paul has taught about giving by using guilt and hammering his readers pretty hard. While I am not afraid to emulate Paul and have done so in the past, I want to remain true to the spirit of this passage and also teach about generosity in the same positive spirit. In that light, I want to offer eight benefits of generous giving.

1. When we are generous, we meet the practical needs of others.

This may be one of the most obvious benefits of giving. Paul wrote, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Even though Paul had learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, he was glad when his basic needs were met. There is something very satisfying about meeting a specific need. I saw that happen this week in regard to the plywood delivery. I drove to the church to notify everyone that the delivery was not coming and the first thing I noticed was that a small army of volunteers had gathered to help. They would not be deterred and mobilized to get it done, truck or no truck. When we finally got the wood to the building 3 ½ hours later there was a second army of volunteers waiting.

Many have been able to give extra funds to the building project. In our original construction budget, we had next to nothing in the budget for a sound system, but some have been able to designate extra funds and now we have $8,000. The sound system is a very practical need that is being met. This is true when you provide meals for new moms or rides to the hospital for a single mother who is dying of cancer. Paul was self-sufficient much of the time because he supported his own ministry by making and selling tents. But there were many times, like when he was in prison, when he depended on others to bring him food, dictate his letters, carry his messages to other churches—extremely practical needs that he could not have done without the help of others. This reminds us that generosity is not limited to financial donations. Money will always be needed, but sometimes what is needed is a bushel of roasted grain for an imprisoned missionary or a hot meal for a tired new mom.

2. When we are generous, we share in the work of the gospel.

I don’t think the Bible requires us to give all of our donations strictly to gospel-centered charities. There is nothing wrong with donating to the cancer or Alzheimer’s research. You are free to give to famine and flood relief. But generally speaking, our donated dollars will be concentrated toward gospel-centered giving. The believers in Philippi understood this. Verse fifteen reads, Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only.

Do you remember the first converts in Philippi? Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth and well to do merchant—the warden of the prison where the angel of the Lord caused an earthquake and threw open the prison doors. Paul only stayed in Philippi for about four weeks and in that short time not only did he begin the very first church in Philippi, an army of generous givers emerged from there. They were the only church to give support to Paul—and they were baby Christians! The church could not have been that large—Lydia and her household, the jailer and his household—dozens more, perhaps. When Paul left after four weeks, the church was probably no bigger than our church, yet they gave immediately and sacrificially. Why? Because they were giving to the ongoing work of the gospel. They had just been radically saved and they wanted others to be saved also. They had just tasted the grace of God for the first time in their lives, and if Paul was going to share this grace with others, then they needed to support Paul. Their conversion motivated their generosity in order to see more conversions.

(EX. Roy Oksnevad—spent time in Belgium as a missionary but feels his ministry to Muslims is best spent in the U.S. The additional benefit is that he becomes a supplier of funds to foreign missionaries instead of a receiver of funds.)

3. When we are generous, we gain eternal treasures.

In verse seventeen Paul wrote, Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. At first glance this sounds like a strange way to say thank you. What if you gave me a new car and in return I said to you, “Hey, cool. You just stored up more treasure in heaven for yourself.” Would you feel like that was an adequate thank you? You would probably be thinking, “Look, I didn’t give you this car for my benefit—so I could be rewarded—I gave it to you for your benefit. Paul clearly thanked the church in others ways in this chapter, but this really is a marvelous way to thank someone—I am looking for what may be credited to your account. Do you see what Paul was saying? He is teaching us that God has some kind of heavenly account ledger and that he keeps track of our generosity.

For example, when Chris gives of his time, treasure or talent (I like to pick on Chris because he sits attentively in the front row!), God pulls out his ledger book in Heaven and says, “OK, let’s see—Chris Eisermann, Westby, WI. He gave his weekly tithe and he lent the pastor his rototiller.” Obviously God doesn’t work quite this way, but he does have an account for every Christian. When we are generous out of a pure motive, God credits this to our account—we store up treasures in Heaven. But some of you are thinking, “If I give money to help the church and I am rewarded with some kind of heavenly treasure, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the gift? Aren’t I giving something just to get something in return?” My answer would be, “Well, yes, that is what you are doing. Indeed, that is what we are supposed to be doing.”

But many of us struggle with this notion of heavenly treasures because it seems inherently selfish. If I give forty hours of my time to my employer each week and in return they give me a check, is any of this “giving” true charity? No, it’s called a job. But if I give generously and God credits it to my account, isn’t it kind of like a job—like I earned the reward? I think part of the struggle is a good struggle. On the one hand we would never want to have the mindset that says, “OK, God. I gave my hard-earned money to this stupid building fund, now make sure you are keeping track. That’s Rich Maurer…M-A-U-R-E-R—don’t forget that middle “R”, because most people do—from Viroqua, WI and I gave a whole $100 to the building fund. Make sure you write that down, cuz I don’t want to be cheated out of what you owe me.” That is clearly the wrong attitude. But on the other hand, we are not only allowed to store up heavenly treasure, we are commanded to store up heavenly treasure.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6:19-21)

Do you see, there are only two choices—either we are storing up treasures in heaven or else we are storing up treasures on earth. There is no middle ground here. Every dollar we spend or give and every minute of time we use is either storing up heavenly treasure or it is storing up earthly treasure. It is either one or the other. The key issue is always the heart. God doesn’t want your money and your stuff—it’s his anyway. God wants your heart, but he uses our money to get our hearts. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. As a human pastor, can I know the state of another person’s heart? I can make a good guess at it, but the human heart is wily and often deceptive. Usually we can’t even know our own hearts. But treasures can illuminate a person’s heart. If you find a person’s treasure you have found their heart. Treasure shines a light on our heart and says, “There it is!” But treasures also direct a heart, that is, your heart can move in the direction of your treasure. If you give your money to a ministry to Muslims then you heart will follow that ministry. If you give your money to the building project then your heart will follow. Our treasure can both illumine our heart and direct our heart, but it’s all about the heart.

Like I was saying, it is wrong to have an attitude of entitlement in regard to heavenly treasures, but it is equally wrong to have an attitude of false humility which says, “I don’t want to get anything in return for my gift or my service.” God is keeping an account of our treasures, and this should be an appropriately motivating factor in our generosity of all kinds. This should excite us and motivate us, not confuse us. But it’s even better than this, because God gives heavenly treasure in abundant measure. Listen to this verse from Matthew. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. (Mt 19:29) Now where are you gonna get an ROI like that? This is a 10,000% Return On Investment. Who in this room is earning 10,000% on their money—anyone?!

God gives in abundance, like verse nineteen says, according to his riches in Christ Jesus. That’s why I titled this message, If I Knew a Rich Man. Instead of singing along with Tevye, “If I were a rich man,” we can all sing, “If I knew a rich man.” I don’t have to be rich, I just need to know the One who is. Does anyone know a rich man? Does anyone know the One who has infinite riches at his disposal? Does anyone know the One who has infinite riches and infinite generosity and who rewards those who diligently seek and serve him? Anyone know this rich man? If you do, then we should never feel guilty for storing up treasures in heaven. It is not an act of humility to not desire his rewards, it is an offensive act of pride to not desire and work for them.

4. When we are generous, we worship God.

This principle is stated in verse eighteen. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. Paul was using sacrificial language from the Old Testament to describe the worship of giving. Numbers 15:24 is a good example. Then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In the first five books of the OT, a phrase similar is used over fifty times. This is rather strange language to our modern ears. We picture the OT priests slitting the throat of a young bull or spotless lamb (by the way, how many were able to watch the actual lamb sacrifice I emailed out before Good Friday?) and burning the flesh on the altar. Then, as the smoke rises into the sky, God looks down from heaven, gives a long sniff and says, “Ah, were having leg of lamb tonight.” It’s not that kind of pleasing aroma, but the pleasing aroma of a heart that is bent to follow the Lord and obey his commands. It’s the kind of aroma that speaks of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 5. Just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Christ was that pleasing aroma and acceptable sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never atone for sin, but a perfect sacrifice could. Because we trust in the blood of Christ, our generous gifts are not a means of salvation, but a form of worship in response to already being saved. Therefore, as we drop money in the offering basket, as we meet the practical needs of others, as we share in the work of the gospel, God does “smell” the sweet aroma of our obedience and he receives it as worship. God is glorified in and through these gifts.

I really like the fact that we have a humble and unobtrusive offering basket on the back table. Some churches place far too much emphasis on giving, but is it possible that we place too little emphasis? Most churches pass the plate and then the ushers bring the offering to the front of the church and pray a prayer over the offering. It is possible that such a mini ceremony is in danger of being overly formal and potentially smacks of religiosity, but does our little basket in back run the risk of neglecting the worship of giving. I hope you understand that I am not asking which way will net more income; that would be an awful question to ask. But I am asking which method helps us worship better. You see, our tithes and offerings will not only be used to glorify the Lord, but the offering itself brings glory to God. There is kind of a double worship if you will—we worship the Lord when we offer our gifts and then we worship the Lord again when we use the gifts in service to him. Speaking personally, I’d rather keep the basket as long as we understand the sweet aroma of giving even when we use a humble looking basket.

Thanking congregation for their sacrifice, hard work and joy.

Rich Maurer

April 19, 2009