If You Really Care, Share

Episode • Jan 22, 2020 • 8m

Hey everyone I’m Pastor Gary Hoban and welcome to Refinery Life Australia.

Our goal is to release a new video / Podcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

To begin the new year we are starting on Wednesdays with a 5 part series from Philippians 4 about the Pathway to Success.

Today is part Four and we are talking about If You Really Care, Share.

Text

Philippians 4:14-19 (ESV)

14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

15 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.

16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.

17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

18 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.

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Introduction

The Church at Philippi cared for Paul, so they shared with him.

Their generosity warmed Pauls heart, and he thanked them graciously.

Paul appreciated their gifts not just for his own sake but because of what the gifts meant to the Philippians themselves.

He implicitly believed that money given for the work of Christ blesses those who give as much as those who receive.

Remember, it was Paul who passed on the familiar words of Jesus, in Acts 20:35 (ESV)

35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Paul made a similar remark to his generous friends in Philippi.

Usually we start at the point of a church’s needs when we talk about giving.

Paul started at a different point, the relationship of a believer to Christ.

Because a person is “in Christ”, he or she will give, the results will help both the one who receives and the one who gives.

This is one of the big reasons that at The Refinery we don’t do giving messages each week, we believe that the Christian should have the revelation of giving and not need to be told to.

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