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.