Christian Prosperity

We are just about to finish a series on the book of Philippians, a letter that Paul wrote to a church in a place called Philippi two thousand years ago. It's a book that we've discovered is marked with some key themes. One of them being the call for unity within the church, a deep practical love for Christians between one another. But another massive theme that we've also seen over and over again is the theme of joy.

Paul encouraging Christians to be joyful. Paul showing through his example a life of joy. We looked at last week that famous command of Paul saying, "Rejoice. Again, I say to you, rejoice. Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, through your prayers and your petitions with thanksgiving, present your request before God."

And this God, this God of peace, will give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. It's just a marvellous capturing of the main theme of Philippians. But today, in the second half of that same chapter, chapter four, we're going to finish off the series. This is the final part of his letter. And so I'm gonna get us to turn to Philippians chapter four and we're going to read from verse 10 through to verse 23.

Here Paul begins again. Philippians four, verse 10. "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

"I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only."

"Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

"To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. And so greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household."

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." That is the end of the Philippian chapter and letter. This morning we come to the formal part of the reason, almost, that Paul has written this letter. We've seen before that Epaphroditus, a man that was some sort of elder or some sort of gospel worker in the Philippian church, is sent by the church itself to bring to Paul, who was sitting in jail in Rome, a gift of some sort of aid, whether that's financial or physical. And here is Paul sort of formally accepting or giving acknowledgement that he has received this.

Paul briefly mentions, like I said earlier in the letter, thankful for what he has received from them through Epaphroditus. But here is almost the receipt that you get at the end of your transaction. There's a funny technical Greek term that Paul uses here in verse 18. The Greek word for those nerds that are interested is, which means to receive in full. This is sort of a business language that says paid.

Paid in full. And he is saying that he has received all these things that have been sent to him. And while he has alluded to their kindness earlier in verse five of chapter one, for example, and also thanked them for their generosity in verse three, it's only now that Paul formally discusses the gift of the Philippians in any detail. And yet, with this sort of very administrative thing, you know, received in full, Paul is teaching. Paul is encouraging something in them.

Paul is showing through his witness and his personal life something of the joy that he is encouraging the Philippians to have. And again, it's just pretty much summed up here in these verses of how Paul thinks of himself as the most prosperous man on the earth, that he is so joyful and happy that he is so rich because of what he has received and what he has seen in these Philippian Christians. And so what we see in our passage this morning, there are three points. Three key themes that Paul is explaining.

Firstly, that his is a prosperity that is bound up in both the giving and in the receiving of generosity. Prosperity is found not simply in receiving, but in the giving and both of them together. The second thing is that there is an incredible contentment to be found in Christ, and that prosperity is bound by that or wrapped up in that contentment. And then thirdly, how we are to thankfully, gratefully respond to God.

So the first thing we'll look at this morning is Christian prosperity. The first point there. We have probably all heard of the rise of the Christian prosperity gospel, a modern day false teaching that suggests that if you are Christian and you believe in certain things enough, or if you support certain ministries financially enough, or if you have some superstitious level of faith, you will receive prosperity. You will receive health. You will receive wealth.

You will receive happiness for yourself. Now in many churches like ours, this teaching has been thoroughly condemned. This teaching has been thoroughly scrutinised. Yet we still find the root issue even in churches like ours. I dare say many churches on the Gold Coast wrestle with this same thing.

Because while we push back at this idea that, you know, this sort of transactional understanding that if I give to God, He will give to me and give to me far more than I've given to Him, while we push back against that, what can also happen in our evangelical or our reformed circles is that we might denounce the prosperity gospel while still loving the idea of self-generated prosperity. It's this sort of self-righteous indignation. We hate what those guys are saying because we secretly want what they're selling. Who doesn't want health? Who doesn't want wealth?

Who doesn't want to be prosperous? In fact, I dare say, anyone that has moved to the Gold Coast, and there's many of us, we've moved to the Gold Coast for some of those reasons. In a church in the Deep South of the US, a preacher was moving towards the end of a very fiery sermon. And with a growing crescendo, he said to his church, "This church, like the paraplegic man, has got to get up and walk." And the congregation, one of those congregations, responded affirmatively. "Yes, reverend."

"That's right. Let it walk." They went on and said, "This church, like Elijah on Mount Carmel, has got to run." "Run, preacher. Let her run."

They responded. "This church," he said, "like the prophet Isaiah, has got to rise up on wings like the eagle and fly." "Let it fly, preacher. Let it fly." And then he added, "And if this church is gonna fly, it's gonna take some money."

And without skipping a beat, the church responded, "Let it walk, preacher. Let it walk." The truth is that many of us are pretty happy to store up. We're happy to keep to ourselves in order to generate that prosperity. And so while we might shake our heads at people who have a name and claim theology, we ourselves could be wanting the exact same prosperity but with the theology of "We'll do it on our own, very thank you very much."

And so if we wrestle with this sort of preaching, this prosperity preaching, and yet struggle with generosity ourselves, we might actually be committing the same sin as those that we are criticising. It's the same goal, just a different method. And yet what we find here in the Philippian context in this letter is something close to a representation of what true Christian prosperity looks like. And again, it's grounded in that theme of joy. Christian prosperity is grounded in joy.

At the start of the passage, Paul begins again with the word joy. He says, "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly," verse 10, "that now at last you have revived your concern for me." The Philippians' efforts to provide assistance for Paul while in prison has caused Paul to be filled with joy. Joy. Well, as you read this passage, you get an understanding that this joy is drawn from this combination of both giving and receiving.

Giving and receiving. Firstly, Paul is moved by the spiritual priorities of the Philippian church, wanting to support the gospel work that Paul was busy with. They are so convinced of the importance of this work that they put their money where their mouth is. They send him financial or practical aid while Paul is in prison so that Paul may go on with what he's doing, so that Paul may survive physically in order to continue the work. So Paul's response is joy in face of, in response to, that giving.

But then secondly, Paul is rejoicing in the fact that he has been put in a situation where he has to receive. Now that sounds weird. Why does anyone need to rejoice in being made to receive a gift? We all love receiving gifts. But Bible commentators point out to the peculiar structure of these verses as Paul is writing to the Philippians here.

And it sort of hints, these commentators say, it hints to the idea that Paul is kind of wrestling through this concept of receiving this gift. Firstly, Paul rejoices in the gift. He thanks God for this gift, but then in verses 11 to 13 rather, Paul says, "I have learned how to go without these gifts and be content." Then in verse 14 through to 16, he says, "But it was kind of you anyway to share in my hardship." And then in verse 17 again, he says, "Not that I desire these gifts, rather I desire that God honours you for your generosity," and it's just backwards and forwards.

It's almost like Paul is going to and fro in his mind wrestling with this idea of receiving this gift. And we kind of get why Paul is doing that because if we read other parts of Scripture, he was very proud of the fact that he could go and do ministry off his own back. He was a man who made tents. He moved into a particular town or city, started working, and started generating a living for himself by being a tent maker. That's where our term tent maker ministries come from, this part-time business idea.

One Corinthians nine, verses 11 through to 12, gives us a snapshot of Paul's sort of philosophy about it. One Corinthians nine, 11. He says, "If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things in return? If others, and these are like other missionaries, other apostles, other preachers, if others share this rightful claim on you, do we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ."

Paul wanted the gospel of free grace to be free, disentangled from finances, uninhibited by the lack of funding. And now Paul is sitting in jail writing to the Philippians, and it's as if Paul is having to come to terms with this situation. Like, there's some sort of internal dialogue happening in his mind. Paul, this gift has been given to you. You have to receive it.

Paul, if God is behind this, it means that you could do with some help. Paul, look around you. This situation, well, it's pretty dire. It's pretty tough. And I think Paul can then confidently say what he says in verse 19.

"My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus," because he has joyfully remembered that this is what God has done for him. But Paul is needing to see the Philippians here as the source that God has used to supply these needs for him. And so here's something we don't often talk about. We sometimes, not a lot in our church, talk about this generosity, but what about this: being good receivers.

Good receivers of gifts. Having a good theology about what it means to receive good things from God through people. Perhaps you're happy at giving away things, but you wrestle with the idea of being recipients of people's generosity. Does it make you feel indebted somehow to them? What if you could rejoice in God for the work that God is doing in the other person's life that would be evoking such generosity from them.

Is that not a good way to look at it? That's what Paul is doing here. Instead, as Christians, we can receive those gifts. We can look beyond those gifts, beyond that person even, to see the God who is supplying that need. And so if we're wrestling with the feeling of indebtedness, if that hurts our egos, you're thinking far too much about yourself.

Far too little about what God is doing in the life of this person and what God is doing for His own purposes. And so true Christian prosperity is found in the blessing of both giving and receiving gifts that God all along has been providing. The second thing is Christian contentment, relying fully on Jesus Christ as the source of our strength. Preacher and author Haddon Robinson, some of our guys here are doing a preaching workshop at the moment and we're using his book. He tells a story of a pastor who was travelling through South Alabama in the Deep South again of the US.

And this pastor stopped at a watermelon stand because it was a hot, humid day. And he picked up a delicious looking watermelon and asked the owner of the stand how much it cost. The owner replied and said, "It's a dollar 10." The pastor dug around in his pocket, found only a dollar bill and said, "It's all I have, this $1. I don't have any coins."

"Well, that's okay," the stand owner said. "I'll trust you for it." "Well, that's very nice of you," the pastor responded. And picking up the watermelon, started to leave. "Man," she yelled after the guy. "Hey, wait. Stop."

"You haven't paid for the watermelon." And the guy says, "You haven't given me your dollar." But the pastor said to him, "But I said I thought you said you'd trust me for it." And he said, "Yeah. I meant I'll trust you with a 10 cent that you'll owe me."

Pastor replied, "Friend, you weren't going to trust me at all. You are willing to take a 10 cent gamble on my integrity." We do the same when it comes with our trust in Jesus. We're happy to take a 10 cent gamble when we know that the dollar is already in our pocket. Happy to trust God when the good times roll around or as Paul uses the language here, when we face a situation of plenty and abundance.

But when it comes to the situation of hunger and need, we're not so sure anymore. But Paul says here, Christian prosperity is tied to Christian contentment. And Paul says this contentment can be a contentment not just in the good, but in the bad, in the hunger, and in the need. He says, "I have learned to be content in whatever situation." And then in verse 13, he says that very famous verse again that he draws this power of contentment from Christ who strengthens him.

Now you'll probably know, if some of you follow the NBA, there's a famous basketballer by the name of Steph Curry who has made this verse, Philippians 4:13, very famous. On all his shoes, every time he plays, he writes the verse or has embroidered on his shoe the phrase, "I can do all things through Christ," or "through Him who strengthens me." Now, Steph Curry has signed a multimillion dollar deal with Under Armour to produce these basketball shoes that have been very, very popular. But as noble as Mister Curry's reasons are for displaying this verse, for all to see and try to influence people towards God, this verse is a little bit misunderstood. You see, for Steph Curry or for people who might read this verse, we can think Paul is saying, "I can do anything I set my mind to through the power of Christ in me."

"If I believe, I can do it. If I trust in Jesus, I will reach this goal. I will find this job. I will win this game of basketball. I will ace this test."

But this verse has little or nothing to do with our personal achievement and everything to do with the achievement of Jesus Christ. To think that "I can do all things" means that we will have success in everything we do because we believe in Jesus having done everything we can't. It's to believe, if you believe, "I will never be in hunger through Him who strengthens me. If I say, 'I can', believe I will never be in need because of Him who strengthens me." Well, Paul is then, it's actually that belief is actually contradicting what Paul is saying here because he's just said he has been in need and in plenty.

He has known abundance and hunger. What God is actually saying in Philippians 4:13 is to trust what Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection has achieved for us despite our circumstances. In other words, Paul is saying, "I can fail to reach any and all of my goals, but I still trust the Saviour's love." It means that Steph Curry can lose all his basketball games. In fact, I think the first season he had that on his shoe, he lost the championship final.

It means we can get cancer. It means we can lose our job. We can be fired. We can lose everything, yet I can find contentment in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And that reality puts strength in my heart and mind.

Even in the unpredictable swings of life, knowing hunger and knowing plenty, Paul is able to learn contentment in whatever situation by resting in Christ. This is the "all things" that Paul is talking about when he says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." It's in all situations. I can do whatever I need to do because of Christ who has done this incredible thing for me. And this is where Christian contentment comes from.

And this is the tricky part because we can trust Him, like I said, in the 10 cent. When everything has got good, we've got everything. We've got our health. We've got our wealth and our prosperity. We can trust in those moments that God will sustain us because we feel He's already sustaining us.

Meanwhile, we have to remember that our greatest need has been met in Jesus Christ. It has been won. Everything on top of that is a bonus. This is why Paul can finish with those words of blessing: "My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Do you think that every blessing or every practical thing was received by the Philippians when Paul said this, prayed this? No. Every need, meaning your greatest needs. You can learn deep and lasting contentment, in other words, as you remember and as you believe the promise of God, friend, that you have been forgiven, that you have been cleansed, that you are in the process of being restored to be conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And that one day you will walk into the kingdom of God as His child.

This is what contentment looks like. And so lastly, apart from this feeling of contentment and this life of security and resting in Christ, this then causes us to respond in some way. We must do something with this knowledge. And this leads us to the third and the final point: the Christian reward. Having talked about that blessing of being generous both in the receiving and in the giving, and having expressed a contentment someone can have in Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to say in verse 17, "I don't necessarily seek this gift that you have given me, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit as a result of that gift." He says, "I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gift you sent. But this is a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." And so just quickly, two things that Paul is saying here.

Firstly, that the Christians in Philippi were doing their life, were responding to their life in Christ by sending this gift. This gift was not so much a blessing for Paul as it was a credit and an honour to themselves. The word used here for credit, again, is a business term which can be translated as dividend. This gift is producing a dividend that you will reap one day. And I believe that one day is not necessarily even talking about their immediate futures here on earth.

I think this has got an end times element. I think this has got a heavenly perspective that Paul is talking about here. This is not a gift simply to someone in need and therefore good, which is good. But what was really great, what Paul was really thankful for, is that it is producing for the Philippians a dividend, a credit to their name when they stand before God. It's like the story of a man who was shipwrecked and he washed up on a remote island, let's say somewhere in the Pacific.

And he was found by the people of the island and he thought to himself, "Oh, man, they're gonna kill me. I'm a foreigner." But instead of killing him, they took him and they placed him on a throne and they made him king of the island. And the man couldn't understand why they would have done this. So he motioned to the person next to him to explain what was going on.

And somehow this guy explained that in their tribe, in their village, every year one person is taken and made king for a year. At the end of the twelve months, this person is then taken and placed on a neighbouring remote uninhabited island as a sacrifice to the gods. The place is so uninhabitable that eventually these kings die, but they have appeased the gods. Being very perplexed by that, he said to himself, "This will not do." So while he was king for the next year, he commanded that certain farmers of the tribe be sent over to the island to start tilling the soil and planting vegetables.

He sent builders to go and build some homes. And eventually he sent a few families to start living there. By the time the twelve months were up, he was taken to the island and he stepped into a little village. What a clever man. It's almost sounds like a parable that Jesus may have told.

But this is something of what Paul is talking about here. The investment that the Philippians were making in support of the gospel worker Paul was creating a return on their investment, a reward on the day they stepped foot in the kingdom. And I don't want to suggest what this reward is. I don't want to say that it's, you know, everyone gets diamond encrusted watches when they turn up in heaven one day. It's going to be pretty useless because the streets will be paved in gold, we've heard from Revelation 21.

I don't want to say what this reward is, but I suspect the great reward that we get is the honour of seeing the dozens and dozens, perhaps even hundreds of people that we may have influenced by our investment here. That we will have eternity to talk with everyone and hear their story and be able to draw the lines and know that, ah, you were met by so and so that I supported, so and so that I prayed for. That is the investment. That is the dividend, the return that we will receive. The honour, the celebration, the incredible thankfulness.

Then secondly, Paul says in verse 18 that these efforts, these gifts are sacrifices pleasing and acceptable to God, which means apart from your reward, your honour, your great joy, apart from that dividend, these efforts are part of our worship to God because we are so thankful to Him. They are acts of praise. They are conscious decisions to honour God and they become sacrifices. This generosity becomes sacrifices that please God, that God receives gladly. And He's ultimately the one that we wanna make glad, isn't He?

Because how great a salvation have we not received through that forgiveness of our sin, through that adoption into God's family. And nothing we do, nothing we do, we know this, nothing we do will ever warrant the love and grace of God. We will never be good enough to earn God's forgiveness. We will never be good enough to pay back that debt. We will never be able to give enough to pay off what He, what we owe Him.

But what we have is this: we have a way to thank Him. We have a way to thank Him. We have a way to honour Him and that is to glorify His name. That is to make it as famous and as well known as possible. That is to increase the boundaries of His kingdom so that He may receive the more praise, the more worship, the more glory.

And so friend, we are encouraged this morning to serve Him in this way, to honour Him with our wealth, to honour Him with our talents, to honour Him with our lives so that we may receive honour but that He may receive glory for all that He has done for us. And that is why Paul ends with these words: "To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Let's pray. Father, we thank you for these incredibly encouraging words even as they are also challenging, even as they convict us, even as they mean perhaps for some of us some really careful thinking.

Lord, I pray that we may have a heart set on Your kingdom. We may have a heart that is convinced of that dividend that we may reap. Oh, the marvel and the joy and the deep humility of having known that we in some way, in some way, we have contributed to the work of seeing Your kingdom be established more fully. Our God, we pray for Christian prosperity in our lives. We pray for the contentment that comes with being that prosperous.

We pray that in whatever situation we may find ourselves, we will see just how lucky we really are, whether in hunger or in abundance, that we may see that everything we have has already been given to us. Everything we have is grace. And so any additional gift, any additional blessing, Lord, is just such a bonus. We commit our lives to You again. We commit our finances, our health, our happiness to You, knowing that You are the one who cares about these things, knowing You're the one that understands the difficulties perhaps we face in these areas.

But Father, we ultimately set our hearts on Your glory and about celebrating You and worshipping You with our lives. May Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.