00:00
00:00
00:01
Transcript
1/0
You can open with me to Philippians
chapter 4. This is our final study in Philippians. Today we're planning to examine
verses 14 through 19 and then briefly conclude with Paul's
benediction in verses 20 through 23. And just to review briefly
where we've come in this great letter. We've seen Paul's special
friendship with these people, these Christians in Philippi.
We've seen his prayer for them. We've seen how he has discussed
or disclosed to them his own circumstances. He's told us he's
in chains. He's still in chains in Rome
under house arrest. He's been in this situation for
almost two years now. And he's awaiting to appear before
Caesar, who is at this time Nero, who will decide his fate. But Paul reassures the Philippians
that his situation is still a win-win. Because whether he dies, if he
dies, he goes to be with Christ. And if he lives, he's going to
continue remaining on, laboring fruitfully for Christ. So either
way, Paul's rejoicing. And he wants his readers to share
his focus and firmness in gospel ministry. And so he calls them
to unite together, to be of one mind, really to unite around
the mind of Jesus Christ. And to put their salvation to
work in everyday life. He also mentions Timothy and
Epaphroditus as contemporary exemplars. of what he's after
and then in chapter 3 we saw how he takes a more of a serious
turn and he begins warning his readers of some that are trying
to bring these Christians under Judaism's yoke of circumcision.
And he shares how he was once a model Pharisee, a Pharisee
of Pharisee, but Paul had come to realize that all his self-righteousness,
all he had been living for in his own religious efforts, that
was all amounting to nothing without God. And his sole desire
now, as a follower of Christ, was to be found clothed, covered
in the righteousness of God through faith in Christ. because Paul
had come to this place in his life where he considered himself
justified, covered in the righteousness of God through faith in Christ,
don't get the idea he thought he had arrived. Because he says,
I haven't arrived already, but I press on. And he says, I approach
my Christian life like a runner approaches a race. And Christian,
you ought to do the same. Running, laying aside every weight
that so easily besets you, and running for the prize of the
upward call, that was Paul. pushing on toward perfection
in Christ, knowing that we won't reach that until the day when
our King will appear. And he will take all of the citizens
of heaven, those of us who our citizenship, our true citizenship
is in heaven, and he will transform our bodies to be made like unto
his glorious body, the resurrected body of Christ. And so that's
what Paul was looking forward for. But finally, and in the
meantime, Knowing difficult days lay ahead for the Philippians,
remember this is a context of increasing persecution in first
century Philippi here, he encourages his readers to practice the habits
that will cultivate peace. They need peace. They need to
practice peace toward one another. They need to practice peace in
their own souls. And he also then concludes by sharing how
he had learned the secret of being content. That's where we
studied last week. That was our study last week.
Paul learning the secret of contentment, sharing that with us. And that's
where we are at this time now. It brings us to the end of Paul's
letter. Why don't we, out of respect
for the reading of God's word, let's stand once more and let's
read our text together, Philippians chapter 4. It will be verses
14 through 23. There Paul writes, Nevertheless, you have done well
to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians,
that at the first preaching of the gospel after I left Macedonia,
no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving
but you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once
for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself,
but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But
I have received everything in full and have abundance. I am
amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you sent,
a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your
needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. That's the reading of God's Word.
You may be seated. Let's pray and seek our Lord's help. bread that nourishes our spirit. We need that, Lord. We need to
partake of your holy truth. We know your son said that man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God. And so, Father, we crave that
word from you. As infant babes, we desire the
sincere milk of the word. We want to grow thereby, Lord. We want to be nourished and strengthened
and father so we pray you know at this time that you would open
our eyes to behold wonderful things out of your word and father
we thank you for this book we thank you for the message before
us that excels in just revealing to us your wonderful incredible
abundant supply for our lives lord show your people what it
is you desire to give them, how it is you desire to sustain them.
Encourage every heart here. We pray for there to be somebody
in our midst who's never yet received Jesus Christ. We pray,
Father, that today would be their day of salvation. In Jesus name. Amen. I've only been to Niagara Falls
once in my life, and from Queens all the way to the falls, it
was a long trip. But you know, it was probably
worth it. No, no, it was worth it. It was great. During peak
flow, an astounding total of over 750,000 gallons of water
per second flows over the falls. And if you've ever stood before
Niagara Falls, At some point, you must have thought to yourself,
how on earth is it that the water continues to endlessly, seamlessly
flow over the falls, and yet the river never runs dry? It
just continues to pour and pour. And the fact is that the falls
never run dry. They never run out of water because
they're continually supplied by the Great Lakes. That's the
world's largest freshwater system. Now, if you think that's amazing,
The average discharge of water into the Atlantic Ocean by the
Amazon River alone is approximately 175,000 cubic meters of water per second. I don't know how they measured
that, but that's pretty amazing. And yet the river never runs
dry. Now that's just an immense amount
of water. And yet, according to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, all the rivers of the world are
estimated to only comprise 0.0002% of the globe's total volume of
water. You get the idea. Our planet
has an immense supply of water. And when I think about that,
And you think about the fact that the stars could be used
in Genesis 15-5 to illustrate how God would multiply Abraham's
descendants. Surely then, surely on that note,
the rivers and oceans of this planet can illustrate God's endless
supply. Paul's conclusion to Philippians
here, the text we just read a moment ago, is a word of encouragement. He wants his readers to know
God sufficiently supplies his servants. He says in verse 19,
my God will supply all your needs. Now this is an awesome principle,
knowing the God of all creation, the God of the universe, will
sufficiently supply his servants. But this promise is often taken
out of context, and so this morning I want you to see that our text
illustrates two ways that God sufficiently supplies his servants.
First, God sufficiently supplies his servants by the hand of his
people. The bulk of our text deals with
the fact that God supplies his servants by the hand of his people. God has an instrument through
which he gives to his people or through which he gives to
his servants. Having just stressed in verses 10 through 13 we saw
last week that Paul has learned to accept whatever his circumstances
so that he's fine with being hungry, he's fine with being
filled because he's convinced he can endure anything that Christ
has called him to endure. Yet in light of all that, Paul
is quick to add, nevertheless. Verse 14, you have done well
to share with me in my affliction. He doesn't want his readers to
get the idea that he's making light of their gift. So over
against his boast in the Lord and the contentment that God
has taught him, he's quick to add, nevertheless, you have done
well. He clarifies his appreciation
for their generosity. While Paul had learned to trust
God in any circumstances, nevertheless, he wants to be clear the Philippians
had done well. And this word, well, there means something that
is done correctly or beautifully. Paul's saying, don't worry about
me. I've learned to be content, whatever,
wherever, however, in whatever circumstances I am. But I want
you to know this, you have done the right thing. You have done
beautifully. You have been God's instrument
in providing for me. And here's a simple truth, but
very important for us, Christian. Don't forget to say thanks. Don't
forget to say thank you. Let people know that you appreciate
them. Now you might think, oh, they
know. They already know. But you need to let them know.
Don't assume anything. Let your brothers and sisters
know you have done well. You have been God's blessing.
I want to let you know how you have been God's blessing to me.
That would be a beautiful and appropriate thing to tell one
another truthfully. Paul says, you have done well
to share with me. And this word translated share
is another key word in Paul's letter to the Philippians. It's
related to the Greek word koinonia. That means to share or participate,
to have fellowship with. Paul opens his letter by thanking
God that the Philippians have had participation with him in
gospel ministry from the first day until now. In Philippians
3.10, Paul says that his one driving desire in life was now
to know Christ in his power and to share, there's this word,
in his sufferings. Paul wants to share in Christ's
sufferings, and now, ironically, he commends the Philippians for
having shared with him in his own suffering. He says here in
verse 14, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.
While he was imprisoned in Rome, while he was with, as verse 12
says, in humble means, going hungry, suffering need, these
Christians did not stand aloof. They stood with Paul. And you
say, how do you know that? because they stood with him by
giving toward his needs. And the Philippians had not merely
shared with Paul in this present affliction of his in Rome, but
they had done so from the beginning of his ministry. Look at verse
15. He says, you yourselves know, also Philippians, that at the
first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church
shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you
alone. So he commends the Philippians
for giving when none else did. He refers to the first preaching
of the gospel, that is, which took place in Philippi. Acts
16.9 tells how Paul received a vision of a man as he was sleeping. You see this vision from the
Lord. There was a man saying to him, come over and help us.
Come over to Macedonia, into Europe, and help us. Preach the
gospel to us. And Paul obeyed the call. And
this will be the first preaching of the gospel in the province
of Macedonia. Philippi was the capital city
of that province. But Paul says, after I left Macedonia,
no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving
but you alone. Now I have a map here of Paul's
second missionary journey. And when Paul left Macedonia,
he traveled all the way down to Corinth there. And if you
understand the challenges that Paul faced in Corinth, you realize
he certainly wasn't going to ask the Corinthians for anything. He wasn't going to ask them for
any support. Corinth had a very immature congregation. Lots of
problems, including some distrust toward the Apostle Paul. And
so, although Paul knew he had the right to ask the Corinthians
for material support, yet, given their immaturity, he told them,
I will use none of these things, 1 Corinthians 9.15. Instead,
Paul would work with his own hands to supply his own needs. And you could read about this
in Acts 18. Paul enters Corinth. He links up with Aquila and Priscilla,
a couple Jewish Christians that had recently come from Rome.
And he begins with them making tents to provide for himself
a means of living. Then Acts 18.5 tells us that... Luke says, but when Silas and
Timothy came down from Macedonia, they had come from this church
in Philippi, Paul began devoting himself completely to the Word,
solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. There's
a change in Paul's ministry here. After Silas and Timothy come
from Philippi down to Corinth, Paul doesn't have to make tents
anymore, but suddenly he can devote himself completely to
the Word. How was he able to do that? Well, because of the
liberality of this free will offering from the Philippian
believers. Silas and Timothy brought these gifts to Paul,
and Paul is able now to immerse himself, giving himself completely
to the Word. It was the Philippians generous
giving that enabled Paul to do even more gospel ministry. There
was a Christian song that was popular in the 90s called Thank
You. Many missionaries would use it in their presentations
because it stresses how that giving to the Lord relates to
the sinner's salvation. The chorus goes, Thank you for
giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad that you gave. Now, I'm honestly not a fan of
the song, but this much is true. Galatians 6, 8 says, the one
who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Just as our labor is not in vain
in the Lord, neither is our giving to the Lord's work. And actually,
the context of Galatians 6, 8, Paul says those who sow to the
Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life. He's talking about
giving materially to the Lord's work. So this certainly applies. Now when Paul says no church
shared with me, But you alone. He's not bad-mouthing. He's not
throwing under the bus all the other churches. But he's sharing
to the Philippians how precious their gifts were to him. And
how dearly he appreciated their sacrifice. I've said it before,
but there was a precious, a very unique friendship that Paul had
with these Christians here in Philippi. The terms giving and
receiving he uses in verse 15, these were terms of business
transaction. It describes an exchange and by it Paul is suggesting
that his relationship with this church was not one-sided. You
see that? The Philippians were not merely
giving support to this man, they were also receiving from him
instruction in the faith. There was a two-way transaction
occurring between Paul and his Christian friends in exchange
of material and spiritual goods, spiritual blessings. And beloved,
both giving and receiving are critical to your Christian life. If you want to have a healthy
Christian life, you need to be involved in both giving and receiving. The Christian who's giving but
not receiving is going to be somewhat like the wadi over in
the Middle East. A wadi is a channel that runs
dry in the dry season. It's running water except when
the rainy season is over. then it runs dry because it stops
receiving water. The wadi cannot continue to run. It runs dry. And so are you continually
receiving God's word? If you don't, if you stop, if
you stop receiving the spiritual instruction of God's word, the
blessing of his people, the blessing of his church on your life, you're
going to run dry. Now if we only receive but we
never give out to others, our life will become dead and stagnant. Now this reminds us of another
situation over in the Middle East, the Dead Sea. The Dead
Sea is called dead because no macroscopic organism can survive
in it. It's positioned at the lowest
point on Earth and so it is said that every day The Dead Sea receives
six million tons of water every day, taking in, taking in, taking
in, but never giving out. And you know what the result
is? It's dead. There's no life. It's dead because
this pool of water only takes in, it never gives out. And you
know what? In the same way, it's so true of our Christian life. If
you are taking in, taking in, taking in, you say, I want to
come to church because I need to be fed. Many people have that attitude.
I'm not saying here, but it's certainly becoming a common attitude
in our country. I go to a church where I feel
I'm fed, but never give. That's a problem. The Philippians
were both giving and receiving. And Paul says, this is exemplary.
This is beautiful. Verse 16, he says, for even in
Thessalonica, you sent a gift once, more than once, for my
needs. He commends them here for the
eagerness of their giving. Before he had, before he had
even arrived in Corinth, you could see Thessalonica there,
I've highlighted on the map for you. It's just west of Philippi. Paul enters into Thessalonica.
It's not too far from Philippi. It might be considered somewhat
of a neighboring city. And there the Philippians even
sent to Paul to meet his needs. More than once they continued
to give to him. So that it's clear these people
aren't giving reluctantly. They aren't giving grudgingly.
They are giving eagerly. And this is surely the only kind
of giving that Paul would receive. Cheerful, eager giving. In fact, according to 2 Corinthians
8-7, this is the only kind of giving God is pleased with. Cheerful,
eager giving. Or 2 Corinthians 9-7. God loves
a cheerful giver. Now, while it's clear the Philippians
were eager to give to Paul's needs, we're never told exactly
how much they gave. That's interesting. In the Old
Testament, under the Law of Moses, God's people were commanded to
give 10% of their increase to the Lord. And they did this by
giving it to the Levites who served in the temple and had
no land of their own. But under the New Covenant, God
nowhere specifies a maximum or minimum amount that we are to
give to the Lord's work. What you give is actually your
Christian liberty. And all God's people sighed.
We said, that's great. But while God doesn't specify
in the New Testament how much we are to give to His work, He
does command us to give generously and cheerfully. Paul said in
2 Corinthians 9, 6, and 7, He who sows sparingly will also
reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has
purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver. And we might add the New Testament
also teaches we should give sacrificially because Christ and his apostles
gave sacrificially. That's 2 Corinthians 8-9. Now I don't know what people
give to this church. I don't want to know. That's
certainly not my place. And this church has been blessed. The
Lord has met our needs. But as I was studying this week,
I saw that in the U.S. it is reported This is very sad. It's reported that the average
churchgoer gives only 2.5% of their income to the church. Now,
this is why this surprised me. Because during the Great Depression,
it was 3.3%. That's sad. That God's people, on average
in America, give less now than they did during the Great Depression.
And if you're here, of course, and you don't want to give, please
don't. That is always what we say. But the Philippians were
exemplary Christians in this regard. They gave cheerfully.
They gave eagerly. And Paul commends them for that.
And Paul craves notice in verse 17. He craves their spiritual
growth more than their gifts. He's not really interested in
their gifts so much as their growth. Notice how he's careful
to qualify himself. He says, not that I seek the
gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your
account. He uses this negative construction
also at the beginning of verse 11. To be clear, I don't want to advertise my
own poverty. I'm not telling you that I'm
in want. I'm not seeking your gifts. He
wants to be clear. Having thanked them for their
kindness, having assured them that their gift was precious
and timely to him, he wants to go on the record to say, I'm
not concerned about whether or not you send me gifts at all.
I don't seek the gift itself. That's just not where Paul's
concern lies. So where does his concern lie?
Well, he says, but I seek the profit which increases to your
account. I'm currently reading a book
by a sociologist who has studied the devastating impact of tele-evangelist
preachers and the such-like on our society's view of Christianity.
And let me say, it's not good. It's terrible. You know, one
of the huge stumbling blocks that people have in today's culture
is greedy preachers. Fleecing the sheep, always trying
to get something more out of God's people. And given all of
these asking for money shamelessly in the name of God, given all
the preacher scams going around, we can't help. I mean, maybe
somebody here, you can't help but think. How do we know? Paul's not simply really, he's
just saying that. He's just saying, I'm more concerned
about your spiritual well-being. And he's sort of trying to guilt
them maybe into giving more to him. Well, you can rest assured
that Paul meant what he says. That Paul is more concerned about
the Philippians because Paul would have never traveled all
this way to Philippi. He never would have traveled
all the way there and suffered like he did to bring the gospel
to them unless he truly was more concerned about their spiritual
condition than his own well-being. Paul's in prison right now for
preaching the gospel. Why is that? How is that? Because
he's more concerned about the gospel than about his own material
condition. You see, here's a man who really
meant what he's talking about. His self-sacrifice for the gospel
proves he valued their profit. The word is actually also translated
fruit. He valued their fruit above his
own material well-being. This is the heart of every true
Christian minister because that's the heart of Christ. Jesus told
his disciples before sending them out to give, sending them
out to serve, freely you have received, freely give. I've given to you, now go and
give to others. Matthew 10, 28. Because all that
you have, Christian, You have received from God. Be willing
to give all that you have for God. After all, Jesus taught,
it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now notice in verse
18, Paul claims he is full and overflowing thanks to the kind
gifts of his friends. He says, but I have received
everything in full and have abundance. I am amply supplied, having received
from Epaphroditus what you sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable
sacrifice, well pleasing to God. Do you get the idea? This is
the language of a contented man. This is the language of a contented
man. He's saying, I've received everything in full. He's saying,
everything you sent me, I got it. All right. It's just what
you know. I received everything you packaged. And he adds, and
I have an abundance. This is another key word in the
letter, occurs five times. in Philippians, it means to overflow.
So he can say, I am amply supplied, guys. I have enough. I received
everything you sent from Epaphroditus. And the effects of these gifts
is that Paul could say I'm full and overflowing. I have no more
need of anything. And he next describes their gifts
in sacramental terms. Did you catch that? He says it
was like a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice while pleasing
to God. There was something sacred about
the Philippians gifts. Just like there was something
sacred about the gift which David's three mighty men presented him
with. You know this story? I love this story in the Bible.
When the Philistines had garrisoned their army in Bethlehem, King
David was overheard speaking of how he would have loved to
just have a drink from that well that had so often refreshed him
in his childhood. And so three of David's mighty
men being so bent on pleasing their king, they then imperil
their lives fighting through the Philistine ranks just to
bring their king back a cup of water from this well. And we're
told that when they bring it to David and they bring it to
his lips, and David realizes where they got this water from,
he refuses to drink it. He refuses to drink it. I mean,
how could he? There was something he recognized
that was sacred about this gift. These men risked their lives
to bring this to him. And seeing this incredible dedication,
David poured out this water as a drink offering to the Lord.
Because what was given to David, he recognized as a fragrant aroma,
an acceptable sacrifice, a well-pleasing offering to God. Days before
Jesus' crucifixion, there was something sacred about the gift
of ointment which Mary poured out over Jesus' head as he sat
there in the house of Lazarus. And you know, that's the idea
here. Paul's so thrilled with the gift that these people would
lavish on him for the sake of the gospel, that he can only
say, your gifts to me are an offering to God. He says, it
is a sweet-smelling savor to God, a fragrant aroma. Paul actually
uses these words of Christ Himself in Ephesians 5 to say that we
ought to walk in love just as Christ gave Himself up for us
and offered Himself up to God as an offering, a sacrifice,
a fragrant aroma to God. Now, if Christ was willing to
offer Himself up as a fragrant aroma to God, what are we willing?
to offer to God as a fragrant aroma. Paul also uses this language,
an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. He uses that in Romans
12, one and two, where he says Christians are to present their
bodies, present your bodies, a living and holy sacrifice acceptable
to God. The bottom line here, Christian,
is Paul's absolutely thrilled with the gifts he's received.
And he wants his readers to know that. He's thrilled. But it was
more than just a blessing to him. He recognizes this was an
act of worship to God. He says, I don't take that lightly. Verses 14 through 18 demonstrate
the fact God supplies his servants by the hand of his people. That's
what Paul's been saying. You have supplied my needs as
God's servant, as his instrument. He has supplied me through you.
And to this point, He's thanking them for that. He's saying, you've
been God's instrument for supplying my needs. And based on this reality
now, He will next say, rest assured, God will also supply your needs. So the first way God supplies
His servants is by the hand of His people. But the second way
God supplies His servants here is according to His riches. God
supplies His servants according to His riches. Verse 19, Paul
continues, he says, My God will supply all your needs according
to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Listen, if anyone can
say this, it's Paul. Paul knew what he was talking
about. Paul saying, I know my God. He is my God. Paul has a personal relationship
with his God. And he says, this same God I know, who's always
been there for me, He's going to be there for you. Few can
speak to this reality better than Paul. Do you hear his confidence?
My God will supply all your needs. Notice the certainty of God's
supply. The timing is not given. It's
most certainly not on our timetable. It will happen in God's timing.
But, at any rate, the outcome remains certain. And notice the
scope of God's supply. Paul says, My God will supply
all your needs. This verse is often misapplied
because people fail to understand what the Bible means by all your
needs. So pay attention here. Anytime we speak of our needs,
we really need to ask ourselves, needed for what? You know, needs
don't hang on anything. Needs imply that it's a necessity
to some end, some tell us, some goal. To speak of your needs
assumes that you know what you need. That you know what is good
for you, that you know what is best for yourself. But who can
really know what it is you need better than God? I don't think
anybody would argue, certainly no Christian would argue, that
I know what I need in my life better than the Almighty. In
fact, the Bible teaches all you really need, Christian, is what
God knows you need to accomplish His will. God is a will for your
life and everything God knows that you need to accomplish that
will is what He defines, the Bible defines, as what you need. When we read My God will supply
all your needs. We might think, well, but Paul,
what about Christians suffering around the world right now? What
about Christians dying right now for the sake of the gospel?
That's a great question, but you know, Paul's already answered
that for us. If we've been paying attention, part of rejoicing
in the Lord, part of accepting your circumstances from God involves
trusting that God knows all your needs. And sometimes God knows,
Christian, that what you need is to suffer. Sometimes, yes,
there comes a time at some point in a person's life God knows
you need to pass from this life into the next. So he takes his
servants. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. God knows what we need when we
need it. And he knows how to supply these
needs. God is not at all guaranteed to supply all that you think
you need. But all that he knows you need. And for any like Paul
who will trust in God, this is very comforting. It's an amazingly
comforting fact. Because I can say as a child,
I don't know what I need, God knows. In fact, God knows what
I need before I even ask him what I think I need. God knows
your needs. Will you trust him in that? Notice
the recipients of God's supply. When Paul says, my God will supply,
all your needs. He's speaking to the Philippians,
right? That's the original recipients. In other words, this promise
here was not given to just anyone but it was given to believers
like the Philippians who are sacrificially giving to the Lord's
work. It is they who are the recipients
of this promise. Now let that sink in. God did
not intend for any one of us to just simply take this statement
as some kind of assurance in any situation that God's just
going to give what I think I need. God gives this assurance to his
children who are both serving him and giving to his work. That's
what the Philippians are doing. And Paul's saying based on that,
and there's the conjunction and because of what you've done for
me, you can rest assured God is going to supply your needs.
He's going to take care of you. Paul says, my God will supply
all your needs according to his riches in glory. Here's the nature
of God's supply. How will God supply his servants?
According to his riches. That is, God will supply his
servants handsomely, generously, even according to his riches
in glory. You know, God's riches are not measured in dollars and
cents, but in glory. And God isn't stingy with his
children. He promises to supply his children,
2 Corinthians 14, 17, even with an eternal weight of glory far
beyond all comparison. Christian, do you believe that
God is rich? Do you believe that God is generous? George Mueller did. He believed,
my God owns the world, like Psalm 50 says. All the world is mine
and all it contains. Mueller believed that. He believed
in this almighty, generous God. And he built five large orphan
houses and cared for over 10,000 orphans. Mueller did this without
ever taking a salary and without ever asking a single cent directly
from anyone. He never took out a loan. He
never went into debt. He prayed in millions worth of
dollars for the orphans, trusting God to simply put it in people's
hearts, to send him whatever he needed, whatever they needed,
the orphans needed. And get this, neither he nor
the orphans ever went hungry. God knew what they needed, and
God supplied all their needs according to his riches. He's
a very rich God. When he was faced with a crisis and having
the means to pay a bill, he would say, this is George Miller, how
the means are to come I know not, but I know that God is almighty. that the hearts of all are in
his hands, and that if he pleaseth to influence persons, they will
send help. Mueller said, I won't ask for
funds except from God, so that, and I quote, my fellow believers
might be encouraged more and more to trust in him, and that
also those who know not the Lord may have a fresh proof that indeed
it is not a vain thing to pray to God. Christian, your God is
rich, generous, glorious. And notice, lastly, the reservoir
of God's supply here. Paul says, My God will supply
all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. God is drawing out these riches
for His people. He's drawing them out of Jesus
Christ. Paul's already made it clear
in verse 13 that we can be strengthened to endure anything necessary
through Christ. But now he calls our attention
not to what Christ can do, but to what God will do by drawing
out to us what is in Christ. As Colossians 2, 9 and 10 says,
all that is in God is in Christ. All the fullness of deity dwells
in bodily form in Jesus. And so in him, in Jesus, you're
complete. What more could you need? If you have Christ, you
have all because all of God is in Christ. His death and his
his life and his death secures for the believer all the blessings
that God gives to us. So Christ is the reservoir of
God's supply to us. How could a person like Paul
write these things? How could a person, a man in
chains for the gospel, say to us, it's going to be okay. Trust
the Lord. My God will supply all your needs. It's because Paul understood
in Christ there is an endless reservoir of grace, full and
overflowing. Like one songwriter said it so
well, I believe this sums up well verse 19 of this text. He
that is speaking of God giveth more grace when the burdens grow
greater. He sendeth more strength when
the labors increase. To added affliction, He addeth
His mercy. To multiplied trials, His multiplied
peace. When we have exhausted our store
of endurance, when our strength has failed ere the day is half
done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's
forgiving is only begun. His love has no limit, His grace
has no measure, His power has no boundary known unto men. For
out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and
giveth again. This is our generous God, who
gave His own Son, And if he delivered his son for you, how will he
not with him give you all things? Romans 8, 32. Christian, we serve
a generous God. You can trust him. Now, just
briefly notice Paul's closing benediction. Verse 20, he says,
Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
I mean, God's amazing provision compels Paul to explode into
worship. And worship could be the only
appropriate response to all the amazing provision God showers
upon us. Paul says in verse 21, greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me
greet you. That would include any Christians in Rome there
where Paul is. And now verse 22 contains a neat
detail. He says all the saints greet
you. especially those of Caesar's household. This is really neat
because back in chapter one, we saw how that even in Paul's
imprisonment, the gospel is still advancing. Paul's been preaching
to those in the Praetorian Guard. These are men in the Roman army
that had access to Caesar himself. And they're in Caesar's household,
and Paul was leading some of these men to know the grace of
the Lord Jesus. And so Paul's saying, by the
way, just remember, there are Christians here in Rome. I would
never have got to talk to these people aside from the suffering,
the tribulation, the imprisonment I'm experiencing. But yes, the
gospel is still advancing. Yes, it has advanced into the
very household of Nero himself. That's neat. How encouraging.
And on this note, Paul then concludes, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit. That's the letter of Philippians.
An extremely encouraging book. One man deeply influenced by
the testimony of George Mueller, the man I was just telling you
about, who started these orphanages for these children. One man deeply
influenced by Mueller's testimony was Hudson Taylor. a missionary
to China during the late 19th century. Taylor founded the China
Inland Mission with the policy that like Mueller, he would never
solicit funds from anyone but would trust in God to supply
for his servants. And in words that echo the theme
of Paul's passage here, Taylor wrote, God's work done God's
way will never lack God's supply. God's work done God's way will
never lack God's supply. God sufficiently supplies his
servants. So then, with these promises,
will you trust that God knows all that you need? Do you trust
that God knows, better than you know, all that you need? And will you trust him to provide
what it is that you need? And as you thank God for his
provision, like Paul, be sure to also thank those who have
been his instrument in giving to you. Maybe you're here and
you've never surrendered your life and faith to Christ. And
if that's the case, please don't don't give anything to this church.
Please don't try to serve this church in any way. We wouldn't
want that. God wouldn't want that before. God wants your time,
your talents and your treasure. He simply wants you. He wants
you present yourself to the Lord. Give yourself to the Lord Jesus.
And if you would like to know the joy that Paul has expressed
throughout this letter, the joy in Jesus Christ, then please
come. And after we close, I'd be glad
to open a Bible and just show you how I can have a You can
have a man with a man, a woman with a woman, but we love to
show you how you can know the joy of the Lord found in this
letter. Let's pray.
God's Supply For His Servants
Series Exposition of Philippians
Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians by thanking the Philippians once more for being God's instrument for providing his needs. He then assures them that they can count on God to meet their needs.
| Sermon ID | 48251448542742 |
| Duration | 43:41 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Philippians 4:14-23 |
| Language | English |
Documents
Add a Comment
Comments
No Comments
© Copyright
2026 SermonAudio.