1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,600 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. 2 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,720 How do we know where to find answers to the toughest questions in life? 3 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,160 While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search and how do we discover 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,160 this truth? 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:30,280 Today, in this teaching podcast, John Metter, lead pastor of Cross City Church, takes a 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:43,320 specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth for the life we're searching for. 7 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,040 So glad that you're here this morning. 8 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,160 Please take your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 4. 9 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,720 Philippians chapter 4, we're at the end of our series, All That I Need. 10 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:58,680 It's all about trusting God with contentment, trusting God with our perspective in life. 11 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:03,260 And today we're going to look at the infinite promise and it really has to do with generosity. 12 00:01:03,260 --> 00:01:07,840 So the fourth chapter leads up to that and that's in Philippians chapter 4. 13 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,920 By the way, next week I will be in the Mission Sunday. 14 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,720 I will still be in Philippians, so we'll come back to that. 15 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:20,600 A few weeks ago I numbered the number of key verses in the book of Philippians and named 16 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,920 them the top 10 verses of Philippians. 17 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:27,840 And I preached through that just real quickly, just read through them, and I was astounded 18 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:33,920 at how many people said, well, in that 10 verses in Philippians are probably my top 19 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,160 three or four or five verses in all of the Bible. 20 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,720 Philippians is filled with great, great lines that Paul wrote that mean something to us 21 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:42,720 today. 22 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,560 And you're going to get another one today in verse 19 as we look at it in just a moment. 23 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,520 And after next week when we just take a short trip back to Philippians 1, I'll be getting 24 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,120 into a message series called Great Expectations. 25 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,520 That is about the second coming of Jesus Christ. 26 00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,440 We're talking about the return of Christ. 27 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:04,520 We're talking about what the Bible says about that, what we can expect, what will happen, 28 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,360 how will the world look when all that unfolds. 29 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,520 You know, the Bible is very specific about the fact that Jesus Christ is returning. 30 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,800 How many of you believe that Jesus is coming back? 31 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:14,800 Amen? 32 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,840 And you want to know all kinds of details about it. 33 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:23,120 I can tell you all the scripture says, it does not say when, but it says how He's coming 34 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,760 and what it would look like and what we are to be looking for. 35 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,280 I pray for me, by the way. 36 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,440 That's an incredible challenge to preach through the second coming of Jesus, but I'm looking 37 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:33,440 forward to it. 38 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:38,880 Please stand with me as we get into Philippians chapter four today, the infinite promise. 39 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,760 We're going to begin reading in verse 15. 40 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,960 I'll review a little bit of the first 14 verses in a moment, but verse 15 is where we began 41 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:46,960 today. 42 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:53,760 Paul riding from prison to the church at Philippi, first church in Europe, first church on the 43 00:02:53,760 --> 00:03:00,680 other side of the Middle East where Paul started in Jerusalem and Israel. 44 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,800 Now across the sea, he has begun this church at Philippi. 45 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,080 And the church of Philippi was the amazing church. 46 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:08,960 It wasn't a huge church. 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,440 It was a numbering about a hundred to 150 people total, but it was a church that had 48 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,480 enormous influence and of course opened the doors for the gospel to go westward into Europe 49 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,960 and then northward to the United Kingdom, which really results in the gospel being in 50 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:22,960 America today. 51 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,160 By the sovereignty of God, he began in that direction. 52 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:32,640 So Paul's in prison and he's riding back to the church who is helping him in his imprisonment. 53 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:38,120 And here's what he says, verse 15, you yourselves also know Philippians, that at the first preaching 54 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,960 of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving 55 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,680 and receiving, but you alone. 56 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:49,920 For even in Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs. 57 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:56,760 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 58 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,520 That's an interesting line. 59 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,160 Verse 18, but I have received everything in full and have an abundance. 60 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,540 I am amply supplied having received from the paparadotus that which you've sent. 61 00:04:07,540 --> 00:04:12,920 And then he calls the gift these three things, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, 62 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:14,480 well pleasing to God. 63 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,240 And here's the promise in verse 19 that's so popular, so powerful, as you'll remember 64 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:20,680 this line when I read it. 65 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:28,360 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 66 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,600 As often do, I'll ask you to repeat that with me right now. 67 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:31,600 Would you do that? 68 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,520 Verse 19 again, say it with me. 69 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:39,720 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 70 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:41,560 Love that promise. 71 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:45,280 Verse 20, now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. 72 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:46,280 Amen. 73 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:47,480 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. 74 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,720 The brethren who aren't with me greet you. 75 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,880 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. 76 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,960 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 77 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:01,400 Father, I would pray today that you would help us understand this promise that you give 78 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,240 to those who learn generosity. 79 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,160 The promise of your being able to meet our needs is amazing, it's incredible. 80 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,000 And Father, I would pray today that we would walk away today with a greater faith, a greater 81 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,320 confidence in what you do whenever we give than ever before. 82 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,120 Father, bless us. 83 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,520 Open our eyes with the power of the Holy Spirit. 84 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:22,960 We ask this in Jesus' name. 85 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,440 All God's people said amen. 86 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,280 Please be seated if you would. 87 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:34,160 So the whole fourth chapter of Philippians moves to verse 19. 88 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:40,960 He's progressing to this promise of generosity, the infinite promise of generosity. 89 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,720 He's giving us principles of generosity in the first few verses of Philippians chapter 90 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:46,720 four. 91 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,080 Now we've walked through those and I'm going to remind you of a couple of things I've 92 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:50,080 said. 93 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,280 Paul said to the church of Philippi, it's important to keep the right perspective, the 94 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:55,280 right perspective. 95 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,320 Now Paul's in prison when he speaks this. 96 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:03,600 And he begins by saying in verse four, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. 97 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:08,600 Now I think that's a phenomenal contrast right there, a man in prison, a Roman prison, a 98 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:14,120 brutal prison, a man who's hungry, who's hurting, who's cold, who doesn't have any help anywhere 99 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,400 outside of the church of Philippi. 100 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,960 He says rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. 101 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,560 He said let your gentle spirit be made known to all men. 102 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,000 And then he says the Lord is near. 103 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,600 That's a great formula for the way you perceive life no matter what your circumstances are. 104 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,160 Paul is teaching the lesson here. 105 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,760 I'm in prison, I'm hurting, but I've learned to rejoice in the Lord always. 106 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,440 Another double command, again I say rejoice. 107 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:41,600 Why? 108 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,240 Because the Lord is near. 109 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:49,000 Not only is he nearby us, not only is he near to us as believers in Jesus, whether in prison 110 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,840 or wherever we are, but he's also coming back soon. 111 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:56,560 And when he comes back, we will experience all the great things that we wish we could 112 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,160 have on earth, but will be ready for us in heaven. 113 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:01,360 So the Lord is near. 114 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:02,960 Whatever you're going through, the Lord is near. 115 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,360 Whatever you're going through, rejoice in the Lord always. 116 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:06,840 Again, I say rejoice. 117 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,960 So it's the right perspective that Paul gives us, and it's really important when it comes 118 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:11,960 to generosity. 119 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,560 The second thing is learn the secret of contentment. 120 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,600 And we walked through what it means to learn the secret of contentment. 121 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:25,200 I'll tweet, verse 11, Paul says, for I've learned to be content in whatever circumstances 122 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:26,200 I am. 123 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,720 Have you ever learned that before? 124 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,160 Have you ever learned to have much or to have little? 125 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,240 But whether you had much or little, you learned to be content. 126 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,120 The pendulum effect of life. 127 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,920 Sometimes we have it all, sometimes we have none of it. 128 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,800 Sometimes it's awesome, sometimes it's awful. 129 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,360 Sometimes circumstances are amazing, sometimes they're astounding. 130 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:47,960 How can I be going through this? 131 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:52,480 But no matter what side of that pendulum swing you're in, Paul said, no matter where you 132 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,300 are, that's where you learn to be content. 133 00:07:55,300 --> 00:08:00,880 Because contentment is not about what you have, but who you have. 134 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,440 You're not going to be content if it's the what question. 135 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,440 You're always going to be finding contentment if it's the who question. 136 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:12,000 I would submit to you today that your relationship with Jesus Christ will give you the deepest 137 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:18,200 contentment that you'll ever have in life, no matter what else is going on. 138 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:19,360 That's an important lesson to learn. 139 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:24,520 Paul said, I have learned the secret of contentment no matter what circumstances I've been in. 140 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:29,720 And then lastly, he encourages us to practice giving by faith. 141 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,720 That's how he prepares us for this teaching and this promise that we're going to look 142 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:34,720 at today. 143 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:39,280 In verse 16, he said to the church of Philippi, you sent a gift more than once. 144 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:45,120 No matter how you count the number of times Paul refers to their giving, it adds up to 145 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,160 at least five or six times just in the fourth chapter. 146 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:49,160 You gave a gift. 147 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:50,800 Nobody else gave one, but you gave one. 148 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,120 I received that gift and that gift been a blessing to me. 149 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:59,400 But five times at least and possibly six times, he says, this gift is important. 150 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:00,880 You gave by faith. 151 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,720 And he's going to teach them and we're going to look at this today. 152 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:12,240 Remember when you give by faith, amazing things happen all around where that gift is given. 153 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:17,880 Last year at our Mission Sunday, we put in front of you a vision to help the people of 154 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:24,120 Athie River, Kenya, near Nairobi, Kenya, where some of the largest slums in the world are. 155 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,200 And I was there last September and saw those slums. 156 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:32,280 It was astounding to see how many people live in such a small space area-wise. 157 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,480 They were by a filthy, nasty river that ran through, a little more than a cesspool of 158 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,040 a river that ran through that area. 159 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:45,440 Cardboard houses, open electrical wires that were just wires tapped into bigger wires, 160 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,840 tapped into bigger wires that ended up at the street. 161 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:53,000 So they got a little bit of power, no heat, no air conditioning, of course, and no water 162 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,000 to drink. 163 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,480 Now we challenge you to partner with us as we went into Athie River and provided water 164 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,320 filters for them, trained them to use those water filters so they could actually drink 165 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:07,160 the water, and then help them know about the true living water of Jesus Christ, which we 166 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:08,680 did. 167 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,760 We challenge you to give $300,000. 168 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:17,880 You gave $358,000 last year to do that, and we blew our goal right out of the water. 169 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:18,880 Amen. 170 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:19,880 Literally out of the water. 171 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:20,880 Amen. 172 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:25,320 Well, I want to come back and report to you that over 1,380 people have now professed 173 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:30,040 Jesus as Lord and Savior since we've done that work of those water filters. 174 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,480 1,380. 175 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,520 We've baptized 145 of them ourselves, and we have built a baptistry over there in the 176 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:43,000 Athie River area filled with clean water to baptize people whenever they come to faith. 177 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,300 And a lot of things happen, but the reason those things happen was because of the generosity 178 00:10:47,300 --> 00:10:53,000 of people in this church who said, yeah, that's kind of a different need. 179 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,880 It's something that I want to be a part of, and you gave. 180 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,120 Here's what I've learned as being a pastor for more than 40 years. 181 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,760 I've learned that without generosity, you don't see a lot of things happen that you 182 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:05,760 could. 183 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,080 Now, that doesn't mean that money buys ministry. 184 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,080 That's not what I'm saying. 185 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:18,360 But I am saying that when God's people are generous, God uses that church or those people 186 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,000 to impact lives in greater ways than you and I can possibly imagine. 187 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,200 I've watched this over the last 18 years in this church, and it's astounding how generosity 188 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,760 has impacted our community and our world. 189 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:35,640 Well, Paul was writing to one church about how their generosity impacted him, but it 190 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,000 wasn't just about the impact on him he's talking about. 191 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,120 He's talking about the impact on them. 192 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:48,560 But you know that generosity affects the giver as much as it affects anybody else. 193 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:51,800 Now, we don't think about it that way, but that's exactly what Paul's going to say in 194 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:56,200 these verses that we read a few moments ago, and that's when we come to the promise of 195 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:57,200 generosity. 196 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,960 There are three things I want to share with you about the promise of generosity, what 197 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,200 I call the threefold promise of generosity. 198 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,760 I want you to see it right out of your pages here. 199 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:11,560 First of all, Paul is reminding the church at Philippi that God remembers generosity. 200 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:13,200 He takes note of it. 201 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:18,400 He takes note when his children, who have been blessed in whatever way they have been, 202 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,480 turn and bless others. 203 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:25,200 Now, Paul is writing about the gift, but as he writes about the gift in verse 17, he says 204 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:30,600 this, I seek for the profit that increases to your account. 205 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,720 In other words, my needs have been met. 206 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:34,720 I'm fine. 207 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:36,120 I've been amply supplied. 208 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,840 That's the line he says. 209 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,920 I've got what I need, but here's what I want you to understand. 210 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,440 It's your giving that I want to compliment. 211 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:45,120 It's your giving that I want to command. 212 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:51,200 I want you to see that not only did you meet the need that I had, but something is happening 213 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,880 with you because of your generosity. 214 00:12:53,880 --> 00:13:00,520 Again, the line says, I seek for the profit that increases to your account. 215 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:04,160 The word account is the word logos, which we know to mean word. 216 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,040 In this particular context, it's the report. 217 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:12,160 I seek for the profit that increases on your report. 218 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:13,760 What's he talking about? 219 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,400 He's talking about the report card we have in heaven. 220 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,240 Now, let me just tell you this. 221 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,280 It's very important that you understand this. 222 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,280 No one can buy their way into eternity. 223 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,240 Nobody can work their way into eternity. 224 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,920 When you come to faith in Jesus, you get all the riches of God through Jesus Christ in 225 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:32,920 salvation. 226 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,960 That's why Ephesians 2 says, by grace you have been saved through faith and that's not 227 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:37,960 of yourself. 228 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,720 It's the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one should boast. 229 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:48,800 Paul is not saying you earn heaven, but he is saying that when you go to heaven, when 230 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:53,960 you end up in eternity because of the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, there's reward in 231 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:58,680 heaven for those that have lived wisely on earth. 232 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:03,280 He said, I seek to increase the profit in your account. 233 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,720 Now, Paul didn't create that concept, Jesus did. 234 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:11,120 Jesus, who left heaven's home to come walk on earth to give his life, said it this way 235 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:17,280 in Matthew chapter 6 verse 20, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, Jesus said, 236 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:21,800 for neither moth nor rust destroys, for thieves do not break in or steal. 237 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,480 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 238 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:31,720 When I was growing up, I was in grade school, I remember we would have a report card, I 239 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,560 think it was every six weeks we had report cards brought home. 240 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,480 Anybody remember those report cards and the teacher would write very neatly your grade 241 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:39,920 and that report card? 242 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,600 Now remember there was one category, you know you have math and reading and all the basic 243 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,240 stuff, and then there was one called citizenship. 244 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,920 Anybody remember a citizenship grade in grade school? 245 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:51,920 Not many of you do. 246 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:53,920 Is that over the idea? 247 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,760 We need to bring the idea back. 248 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,800 Because I didn't even understand in third grade what is citizenship? 249 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:01,800 What is that? 250 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,520 I can barely say it and I sure can't spell it, what does it mean? 251 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:09,400 And they explained to me, my father explained to me, this is when you're kind, when you're 252 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,240 gracious, when you play well in the sandbox with other people, where you don't cause problems, 253 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,600 don't get in fights, and when you respect your teacher. 254 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,000 And I said oh, I was kind of bored by the whole concept. 255 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,880 He said, well let me add some weight to that. 256 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,200 It means that you get in trouble when you don't get an A on citizenship, when you get 257 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:25,200 home. 258 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,920 He enforced that in my life. 259 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:34,360 Citizenship, the idea of citizenship is what really Paul is talking about. 260 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:38,880 You're saved by the grace of Jesus, but you're a citizen of heaven living on earth. 261 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,680 What kind of citizenship are you living at? 262 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,360 What kind of report are you sending ahead? 263 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:51,820 The Bible teaches us that how we live now as believers in Jesus counts for reward later 264 00:15:51,820 --> 00:15:53,720 on in heaven. 265 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,000 Bill Anderson would say something like this, he would say, well that'll be on the final 266 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,920 report, keep that in mind, that'll be on the final. 267 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:07,040 Paul's talking about the idea that generosity in this particular case is one of those things 268 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,640 that is important in eternity. 269 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:10,640 Were they generous? 270 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,320 Did they live selflessly? 271 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:19,480 As a citizen of heaven, how heavenly did you live while on planet earth? 272 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:20,760 Now that's all about your living. 273 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,240 It's all about how you share Christ, it's all about how you live out the character of 274 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,360 Christ, but it's also about your generosity. 275 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:33,400 Paul said, don't worry about me, but I want you to have treasure in heaven. 276 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:39,000 I cannot tell you exactly what treasure in heaven looks like at this moment, but I can 277 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,040 tell you that Paul said you would have it and that Jesus said it was important that 278 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,920 you had treasure in heaven. 279 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:50,440 In other words, how you live now builds up treasure in heaven. 280 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,040 It kind of reminds me that there are two things that have to do with money that we don't often 281 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,620 think about. 282 00:16:55,620 --> 00:16:59,420 One of them is we don't often think about retirement, and the other thing is we don't 283 00:16:59,420 --> 00:17:02,080 often think about heaven. 284 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,720 I remember when I was 30 years old and I was a young pastor and we were living hand to 285 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:07,720 mouth. 286 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:12,800 I'm telling you, we had kids and our family was growing and it took all that we had to 287 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,980 just pay the bills and have food on the table and so forth and so on. 288 00:17:16,980 --> 00:17:17,980 You know what that's like. 289 00:17:17,980 --> 00:17:21,960 I remember a man in the church came to me one day and said, I want to talk to you about 290 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:22,960 your retirement. 291 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:23,960 I'm 30 years old. 292 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,120 I haven't even thought that I would ever retire in my lifetime. 293 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:30,360 He said, no, you need to think about retirement now. 294 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,080 And I said, I've never thought about that before. 295 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:33,080 I'm just barely making it. 296 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:38,480 He said, you need to plan now for your retirement and however many years down the road. 297 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,280 And he sat me down and he walked me through a simple way to do that. 298 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:43,600 Now he wasn't an insurance agent. 299 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:44,600 He wasn't an investor. 300 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:45,680 He was just a friend. 301 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:50,360 But he said, you need to think about it now because later on it might be too late for 302 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,200 you to think about it. 303 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,880 He helped me look ahead to a time period down the road. 304 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:02,320 Today Paul and Jesus do the same thing with us regarding riches in heaven. 305 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:07,400 At some point we don't want to say, I wish someone had told me that the reward in heaven 306 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:12,220 is there on top of the grace we have in getting there in the first place, that there's reward 307 00:18:12,220 --> 00:18:13,320 there in heaven. 308 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,400 And that's exactly what Paul is talking about. 309 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:21,000 Jesus also challenges us to build treasure in heaven by giving. 310 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,760 And he's right, even though we don't think about it much. 311 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:29,120 Five times in the gospel, Jesus called it treasure in heaven that doesn't fade, doesn't 312 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:33,600 rot, doesn't waste away, can't be stolen by thieves. 313 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:38,040 To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, you have a lot of treasure on earth, but you don't 314 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,240 have anything in the next life. 315 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:45,760 He said, sell what you have and follow me and then you'll have treasure in heaven too. 316 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:51,040 Jesus was always talking about that point in heaven when treasure becomes important. 317 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:58,560 Paul simply says, it's increasing to your account through eternal treasure in heaven. 318 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:07,480 Practically speaking, this text reminds us that we should save, give, and live wisely 319 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,040 because we won't have a chance to do it again. 320 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,720 You just have this opportunity. 321 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,600 Save, give, wisely, and live wisely. 322 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,600 So that's the first part of that promise. 323 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,240 God remembers generosity and one day we'll realize just how true that is. 324 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,800 Secondly, God rejoices in generosity. 325 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:30,400 Now it's hard for us to imagine a God who we see as sovereign and on the throne, holy, 326 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:32,960 flashes of fire and smoke come from the altar. 327 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:38,200 It's hard for us to sometimes imagine that God's smiling or rejoicing, but God does rejoice 328 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,200 when his people mirror his character. 329 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:48,360 You won't find anyone who's a greater example of generosity than God the Father, unless 330 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,760 it's Jesus Christ the Son who gave his own life for our sins. 331 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,640 So generosity is a big part of who God is. 332 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,880 God rejoices in the generosity of his children. 333 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,800 Here it is in verse 18, Paul wrote to the church at Philippi again, he said, your gift, 334 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:10,320 and he gives it three terms, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to 335 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,320 God. 336 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:17,000 Now Paul is either really, really grateful for that gift or he really wants him to know 337 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,680 God's perspective when they give. 338 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,160 And I think it's the latter. 339 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,880 And the reason I think it is because he said, I'm good, I'm fine. 340 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,520 I've been amply supplied, but here's what I want you to do. 341 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,240 I want you to see what you did when you gave. 342 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,440 You know, the most generous gift ever offered was the gift that Jesus Christ gave us on 343 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:37,440 the cross. 344 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,720 And Paul uses the same terminology here. 345 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:45,800 Ephesians chapter five says this, walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave 346 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,480 himself up for us. 347 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:55,080 And here he is using this line again, as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant 348 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,080 aroma. 349 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:02,040 It pleased God that Jesus would die for us on the cross. 350 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,240 And he's not asking us to give our lives on the cross, but he's asking us to live our 351 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,240 lives in such a way that also is a fragrant aroma to God in how we live. 352 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:17,560 So it's appropriate for me to ask this question, how does your living smell? 353 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:21,560 And how does your giving smell? 354 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:27,120 If this gift was a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, if it was well pleasing to God, 355 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,640 what about your generosity? 356 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,880 What's it smell like? 357 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,560 Or let's look at it this way for a minute. 358 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,240 There's a great movie that took place dozens of years ago called Chariots of Fire. 359 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,280 Anybody remember Chariots of Fire, would you raise your hand if you remember that movie? 360 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:47,120 And some of you may not have ever seen it, it's worth going back and watching. 361 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:53,400 Eric Liddell was a gifted British runner and this story told the story of his faith and 362 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:59,180 his gift as a runner and how he was steward that in really challenging times. 363 00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:05,280 But there's a memorable line in the movie when Eric Liddell was talking about how God 364 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:13,800 gifted him to run and here's what he said, he said, when I run I feel God's pleasure. 365 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:14,800 Remember that line? 366 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:16,880 It's a line that's memorable. 367 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:22,480 We don't always identify exactly with that exact thing, but I want you to think about 368 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:23,480 that line for just a moment. 369 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,080 Now if I'm perfectly honest, when I run I don't feel God's pleasure, I don't feel anybody's 370 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,520 pleasure when I run. 371 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,460 But I'm not gifted for that. 372 00:22:33,460 --> 00:22:38,640 But there are areas of our lives where we ought to be able to say, when I pray I feel 373 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:44,480 God's pleasure, when I worship I feel God's pleasure, when I read the scripture I feel 374 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:50,440 God's pleasure, when I love people around me I feel God's pleasure, when I'm led by 375 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:58,440 the Spirit to do this or that I feel God's pleasure, when I'm a good spouse or father 376 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:06,360 or child I feel God's pleasure, how about this one, when I give I feel God's pleasure. 377 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:12,680 Paul is talking about the fact that the gift from Philippi was pleasurable to God, he was 378 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,640 rejoicing over that effragrant aroma. 379 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:21,560 Why can't we find that same spot that where we give we feel God's pleasure? 380 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:26,560 But I've got to tell you that thinking about it that way is not intended to be a manipulation 381 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,800 of feelings or thoughts. 382 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,840 Because it's really counterintuitive to give isn't it? 383 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,720 I mean you really kind of have to go against what someone would call common sense, you 384 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,840 have to kind of remove your mathematical skills for a moment and say okay if I have 100 and 385 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,840 I give 10 that means I only have 90 left. 386 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,480 It's reflected on my bank account in some way. 387 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:51,160 And so that's not normally good but you're telling me now to give to God, that's a good 388 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:56,120 thing and I've got to reckon that in my mind as how that works. 389 00:23:56,120 --> 00:24:00,840 So often we think about the gifts that we give or the check that we write or the offering 390 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:05,520 we give as something that will bite our budget and keep us from doing something else. 391 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,360 It makes the checking account shrink more and more. 392 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:15,760 And when we give we override the natural instinct to save and to hoard or to hide or to bury. 393 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:22,880 But what I want you to see is that the Philippians gave and God said that's well pleasing to 394 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:23,880 me. 395 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,040 And there's a promise I'm going to talk to you about in just a moment that helps you 396 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,080 with that as well. 397 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,800 In the Old Testament King David wanted to build a temple for God so badly. 398 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,080 But David was a man with blood on his hands. 399 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:41,640 And as badly as David wanted to build the temple God says no you're not going to do 400 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:42,640 that. 401 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,280 Your son Solomon can build it but you can pay for it. 402 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:47,880 You can give to it. 403 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,840 You can give out of your treasury, you can give out of your generosity and your generosity 404 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:58,720 will enable your son Solomon to build the temple that I want built that you want built. 405 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:04,080 So David gives out of what he has an incredibly amazingly generous gift. 406 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:08,520 In fact if I were to detail the analogy of what that gift would look like today it would 407 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,760 astound you, it would blow your mind. 408 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,560 But here's what's cool about that gift. 409 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:20,120 As he gave that gift he said these words, 1 Chronicles chapter 29 verse 17. 410 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:25,560 He said since I know oh my God that you try the heart and delight in uprightness I in 411 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,360 the integrity of my heart have willingly offered all these things. 412 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:34,000 So now with joy I've seen your people who are present here make offerings willingly 413 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,560 to you. 414 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,920 David gave the most sizable portion of all that he owned to the building of that temple 415 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:41,640 and there was gladness and there was joy. 416 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:45,060 He wasn't worried about the subtracting in his earthly account. 417 00:25:45,060 --> 00:25:50,720 He was considering that that was a joyful cause for his heavenly one and David felt 418 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,400 God's pleasure in his giving. 419 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:57,320 Now I've got to tell you God's pleasure in your giving doesn't always mean it's a massive 420 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,520 gift like King David's but it means it's a faithful gift. 421 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:06,800 It means it's a regular gift and sometimes true a radical gift but it's a gift that's 422 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,720 well pleasing to God when you give by faith. 423 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,440 It's a good question. 424 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:19,880 How does your giving smell and do you feel God's pleasure when you give? 425 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:20,880 But now here's the promise. 426 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,560 I've got to get to the promise here. 427 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:28,520 The promises in verse 19 God returns generosity. 428 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:29,960 Go to verse 19. 429 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,800 Look at this with me in your Bible or on the screen. 430 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:39,040 It says my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ 431 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:40,040 Jesus. 432 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:41,080 Now keep it in context for a moment. 433 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:44,640 He's writing to the generous church at Philippi. 434 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,400 You have given. 435 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,480 Most people would say they gave sacrificially. 436 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,680 Small congregation they had to give sacrificially for it to all get to where it needed to go 437 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:53,680 to get to Paul. 438 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,300 It was a system you had to abide by. 439 00:26:56,300 --> 00:27:01,780 They gave sacrificially so now the promise is to those generous people no matter how 440 00:27:01,780 --> 00:27:07,480 generous you are he said to the church my God will supply all your need according to 441 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:12,240 his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 442 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,840 And I love that one that sits well in my soul. 443 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,800 I don't know how often I pray this and I prayed a lot. 444 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:24,480 I don't know how often I've heard it from people that are trusting God for whatever 445 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,760 God's led them to do in the way of giving offerings or giving to somebody in need whatever 446 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:30,280 it might be. 447 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:36,920 But their responses often with this first I know that no matter how much I gave my God 448 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:43,200 is able to supply all my needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 449 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,280 That's a promise to those who give. 450 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:49,480 Now let me just tell you some details about this promise that I hope will stick with you 451 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,440 a little bit because this is an incredible promise. 452 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:57,200 I want you to look at one word in this promise and then we'll look at another one later on. 453 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:01,480 My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 454 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:03,320 Look at the word according. 455 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,180 The word according for just a moment. 456 00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:12,040 Pope Paul is not saying, he's not saying that God will meet your needs out of his riches 457 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,460 in glory. 458 00:28:13,460 --> 00:28:17,440 That would simply say that God has just taken a little bit out of his glorious treasure 459 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,720 and given you a little bit of it. 460 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,160 But he's saying God will meet all of your needs according to his riches in glory which 461 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,480 is a reference to proportion not just supply. 462 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,560 He's not giving you simply something out of what he had but he's giving you in alignment 463 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:37,320 with and according to his great riches. 464 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:39,160 I want you to think with me about that. 465 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:45,920 Every word in the Greek is precisely given, precisely defined according to his riches. 466 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:50,360 Sometimes we hear stories of waitresses or waiters at eating establishments that have 467 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:55,160 famous, wealthy people come and eat at their place. 468 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,840 Sometimes the stories of how they tip when they get their bill are kind of interesting. 469 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:05,640 I remember reading one account of someone who had this fabulously wealthy family came 470 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:10,680 in and they ate at the restaurant and at the end they gave them the bill and they actually 471 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,400 got a calculator out and calculated just 20 percent, not any more, not any less, just 472 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,520 20 percent of a tip to the waiter. 473 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:24,800 And he was thinking, well, he gave me a little bit out of the much he had and if that's the 474 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,240 way it's going to be, that's fine. 475 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:32,960 But later on the same person said, another wealthy person came in and instead of tipping 476 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:39,640 20 percent of 20 dollars, the man gave him a one thousand dollar tip because he gave 477 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,160 according to his wealth and not just out of. 478 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,320 Now let me just bring that back to the promise here. 479 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:51,360 God does not just kind of help you along when you are learning generosity. 480 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,400 He gives you according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 481 00:29:55,400 --> 00:30:00,400 And it's not just here, it's everywhere that God provides for you something. 482 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:05,520 He does that according to his amazing character and his amazing wealth. 483 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:10,680 For example, Romans chapter 15 verse five and six, Paul uses this word again. 484 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,400 He says, now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same 485 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:20,960 mind with one another according to Christ Jesus so that with one accord you may with 486 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,640 one voice glorify the God and Father, Lord Jesus Christ. 487 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:30,240 How else can we all be together as the church giving glory to God together as one people? 488 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:36,640 The only way we can do that is if he gives us grace according to his own power. 489 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,520 And then verse 28 of Romans, you may remember this better. 490 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:44,760 We know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those called 491 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,280 according to his purpose. 492 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,080 That means God's not just giving us a little bit of unity. 493 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:52,960 He's not giving us a little bit of purpose. 494 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:59,880 He's giving us great purpose and great unity because it's he that gives us all of that. 495 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:03,800 I love hearing stories of generosity after the gift is given. 496 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,840 And I've heard many of them over the last few years. 497 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,040 But my favorite is still that 18 years old. 498 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,580 This story happened 18 years ago. 499 00:31:12,580 --> 00:31:15,800 This church was in debt and we were in something called the miracle. 500 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:20,500 Brother Bill Anderson during his interim period was leading us through that. 501 00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:24,600 And so we repaid over six and a half million dollars in 28 months. 502 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:29,480 I got here about halfway through that and just in time to see that freedom happen. 503 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:36,120 But one of the testimonies that came out of that was a widow lady who had a piece of land 504 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,560 that she didn't live on but she had a piece of land that had been given to her and it 505 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,720 had an oil lease on it. 506 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,440 And in 2004, five and six oil prices weren't great. 507 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:51,440 And so she decided to give the size of a portion of whatever she got with an oil lease to the 508 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:52,440 Miracle Fund. 509 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,600 And so she did that week in and week out. 510 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:59,880 Well during those years all of a sudden oil prices began to go up and she began to give 511 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,960 larger and larger and larger gifts. 512 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,760 And one day she came to one of our staff members, one of our pastors and said, you know, if 513 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:12,680 God keeps blessing me I'm going to have to have one of them their financial counselors 514 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,920 to help me know what to do with all this money. 515 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,760 From their financial counselors, that was her word. 516 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,080 I quote her exactly. 517 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:25,520 She lived her life with generosity and she lived her life being able to say, my God shall 518 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:30,400 supply all your need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 519 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:35,680 She was a big part of why we became debt free and remained that way since 2007 and we're 520 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,560 grateful for that. 521 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,880 This is how generosity works. 522 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:41,640 You become generous. 523 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,960 God meets your need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 524 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,520 That's what Jesus was saying to His disciples in Matthew chapter 6. 525 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,600 He said, you know, the Gentiles are so worried about food and clothing and all these other 526 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:56,880 things but He said that's not the way you're supposed to live. 527 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:02,560 Chapter 6 of Matthew verse 33 He says, but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness 528 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,560 and all these things will be added to you. 529 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:07,040 All your needs are going to be met. 530 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:11,760 You can trust God with all your needs but trust Him. 531 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:17,280 He Himself assures us that generosity is not going to bankrupt God's people because they're 532 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,080 trusting Him with it all. 533 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:25,280 So we should be wise and listen to the Lord and how He leads us and how we give. 534 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:30,240 That's what Jesus was saying to His disciples about giving but you can trust Him for this. 535 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:35,000 Now when I began this message, I called it the infinite promise and you may be saying, 536 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000 well, where's the word infinite? 537 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,720 Where's infinite in this? 538 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:39,400 Where is it never ending? 539 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,520 And I would say there's one other word in this verse that I want you to see and it's 540 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:43,520 the word all. 541 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:44,520 It's the word all. 542 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:50,160 My God will supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 543 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:55,260 The word here is need not just want and that's important because when you're regularly or 544 00:33:55,260 --> 00:33:58,920 even radically giving to God, sometimes He helps you know the difference between your 545 00:33:58,920 --> 00:33:59,920 needs and wants. 546 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:05,980 That's just part of maturing and becoming balanced in life but it's a great way to live. 547 00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:11,800 It's a great way to trust that God will meet all your need according to His riches and 548 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:12,800 glory. 549 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:18,560 All this, all that we've been talking about, it simply means that we involve God in our 550 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:23,280 living and our giving and trust Him with it all. 551 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:27,000 Yeah, sometimes when people think about giving and they think about, okay, I'm going to follow 552 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,000 Christ. 553 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,120 I'm going to read the Bible. 554 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,200 I'm going to, of course, live my life for Him. 555 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:35,320 I'm going to share the gospel with other people. 556 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:40,720 I'm going to get involved in the church and serve this way or serve that way but it seems 557 00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:45,480 like sometimes it's almost a whole separate category of what we do with our money. 558 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:51,000 We can do a lot with our time but we don't often think about what we do with our money. 559 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:56,520 And what Paul is saying is the generosity part of your money is to guarantee that God 560 00:34:56,520 --> 00:35:00,720 will supply all your need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 561 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:06,560 Paul is saying be faithful with all of it, your living and your giving. 562 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,840 I'm going to come back to my favorite line in this whole message. 563 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,800 How does your living smell and how does your giving smell? 564 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,720 That would be a fragrant aroma to Christ. 565 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,520 I want to put the verse on the screen one more time. 566 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,160 I want you to say it with me this time out loud. 567 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:23,680 Again, we've said it two or three times today. 568 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:24,680 Let's do one more time. 569 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:25,960 Are you ready? 570 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:33,960 My God supply all your need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 571 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:39,720 In just a few moments, I'm going to close in prayer but here's what I want you to do. 572 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:45,480 I want you to test God and see if He is faithful to do what this promise says He would do. 573 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:52,240 Listen to Him, let Him lead you and as you respond, watch how God provides. 574 00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:55,080 Watch how He gives you pleasure even in giving. 575 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:59,360 If you learn to give in faith, that's what He's called us to do that. 576 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:01,440 I'm going to give you three invitations today. 577 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:05,360 Number one, I invite you to stop by the decision station today. 578 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,400 The most important thing that I've said in this whole message is that the greatest gift 579 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:12,280 ever given was Jesus giving His life on the cross. 580 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:13,800 And I mean that. 581 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:18,400 The most important thing I've said is that that's how you find eternal life by coming 582 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:22,920 to Christ and asking Him to forgive you and give you the gift that He has died on the 583 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:24,200 cross to secure. 584 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,600 If that's never happened to you, I urge you to stop by our decision stations and say, 585 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,960 I'd like to have a conversation about what it means to be forgiven, to have a relationship 586 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:33,960 with Christ. 587 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,280 Secondly, if you're a guest, I would love for you to come in our guest reception room. 588 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,400 It's right outside the center exit doors across the hallways, a glassed-in room. 589 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,600 I would love to meet you and personally welcome you. 590 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,600 It will take about 10 minutes to talk about what this church is all about and we'll invite 591 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,240 you to some other things we'd love to invite you to. 592 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:54,800 And then thirdly, I want you to come back next Sunday morning. 593 00:36:54,800 --> 00:37:00,120 We're going to focus on how God is using this church around the world with this mission's 594 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:01,120 focus that we have. 595 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:05,120 We're going to give you more reports about the river and all that's happened there. 596 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:07,840 And I think the next big challenge that we have in front of us. 597 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,840 Would you stand with me as we end in prayer today? 598 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:19,960 Father, as we stand together as your people, I pray that you'll allow this passage to stay 599 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:22,760 in our minds and stay in our hearts this week. 600 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:28,680 Father, help us to consider how we live and how we give in such a way that it's a fragrant 601 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,360 aroma to you, well pleasing to you. 602 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:38,880 Father, I also pray that you allow us to see your hand at work, that that promise of Philippians 603 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,040 419 is very real. 604 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:47,280 Father, I ask you today to allow us to make the decisions that would allow us to follow 605 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,400 closely after you. 606 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,240 Thank you, Father, for these in this room as they go out into the mission field, which 607 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:55,800 is the world we live in, I pray that you'll use them in the kingdom. 608 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,800 I ask this in Jesus' name. 609 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:19,800 Amen.