Over the years, Jeffrey and I have learned that
the greatest battles we face are usually fought
in our minds, but won with our mouths. When we've
chosen to speak God's promises in the face of
our fears, failures, and problems, we've seen
God do what only He can do. This truth has changed
our lives, and it's why we wrote Talk to Your
Giants, to show you how to fight the good fight
of faith, speak in agreement with God's Word,
and discover the victory that comes when you
stop talking Week number five in our series that
we entitled Never Unnoticed. The double negative
series is supposed to give us some positive affirmation
that we are never unnoticed by God. Never unnoticed.
And in my research this week, I researched a
little bit more about candid camera. Candid Camera,
get this now, get this. It first aired in 1948.
And the last show that they produced, an actual
new show, now it started in 48, and the last
new show that they produced was in 2014. That's
a long run. That's like 65 years. 65, 66 year
run. on candid camera um alan font was the guy
who first came up with the idea and get this
it started on radio even before like in 1946
i think a couple of years before and it was called
candid microphone he came up with this idea alan
came up with this idea and he's like and it just
kept going and then the last seasons that came
on I think his son Peter was the one hosting
the show. So it's amazing. If you haven't seen
Candid Camera, you probably haven't had like
TV Land or anything like that. It still floats
up and down every once in a while. But I saw
a new episode just this morning that I wanted
to share with you. Alan went to work at the DMV.
Department of Motor Vehicles. And he was at the
desk where people got their new tags. So, you
can watch it. You can Google like best of and
get on YouTube and best of Kennedy Cameron. You
can see this. You might need to see it. Like
the first guy, he gives him his tag. After he
does paperwork, he gives him his tag. And he
didn't ask for a, you know, a specialized tag
or anything. But the tag says the number four
and then losers. And the guy's like, I don't
want this tag. I don't want this tag. And then
he says, okay, well, I've got another one for
you. If you don't want that one, here's another
one. And the next tag was like one doofus. And
then it goes to another girl, young ladies there
getting her tag. And then it's like the tag that
he pulls out for her is the number two. And then
it says stupid, too stupid. And they just keep
saying it. She's like, I don't. I want this tag.
I'm not going to put that on my car. And then,
you know, after he gave them like three or four
different tags like that, all of a sudden he
would say, well, what about this one? And then
he would show them a tag that said smile. And
then he would say, you're on candid camera. And
then they would say, ah, you know. So I thought
that was a pretty funny episode. of the motor
vehicle tags that they were handing out. And
then, have you heard the recent controversy over
the flock cameras? People are cutting them down.
I don't know that I've ever seen one. But people
are like freaking out over flock cameras. And,
you know, just by the name you think that it's
like, okay, they're watching the geese. Flock
cameras. We had a lot of Canadian geese in Myrtle
Beach. They needed some flock cameras to know
when to thin them out. But there's a big deal.
I mean, even a Polk County, somebody in the sheriff's
office, they arrested him this week. Did y 'all
see that? Because he was using the flock cameras
for personal information. Because he and his
wife had divorced and he was like searching where
she's been and all that. Because the flog camera
is to track vehicles. So people are always watching.
But just think of how wonderful this could be
if someone stole your vehicle. Right? And then
all of a sudden the police could pull it up and
say, well, it's been here, and it's been here,
and it's been here, and they could find your
stolen vehicle a whole lot faster. And that's
kind of the reason that it's there, right? It's
to be a helpful tool, not just a spying device,
but flock cameras. And I've heard about people
seeing them and cutting them down and all kind
of stuff. I mean, obviously that's illegal to
cut them down. They don't want the police to
know where their car's been, I guess. I'm okay
with the police knowing where my car's been.
But we're always being watched. I remind you
about the two cameras on the back of the wall
looking at the back of your heads right now.
The principal, maybe the assistant principals
can pull that up on their phone right now and
see what's going on. So you better be smiling.
Better be smiling. You're not smiling. You better
be smiling because you're on camera. Actually,
I'm the only face that they can see right now.
So I got to make sure I'm smiling. But I'll smile
a lot better if you're smiling. Back to our story
in Genesis 16. See the story of Abram, Sarah,
and Hagar. And we know that Sarah tried to...
fulfill God's plan for Abraham. He said he'd
be the father of many nations, and his descendants
would outnumber the stars. He didn't have any
children. And Sarai said, I want you to take
my servant, Hagar. I want her to be the surrogate
mother. And we know that that did not turn out
well. And we know that we're actually still having
problems in the world today. Hello? Thousands
of years later, we're still having problems from
this decision. So, when Hagar became pregnant,
she developed an attitude. Sarah didn't like
her attitude. Obviously, she wouldn't like her
attitude, right? She made her life very difficult.
She ran away out into the wilderness, and the
angel of the Lord, God Himself, Christophany
or Theophany, God himself talked with her in
the wilderness. Told her to go back. And she
went back. And in this encounter, we find out
that God is El Roy. El Roy. El is short for Elohim,
which means the supreme mighty God. And Roy means
he sees me. He's the supreme mighty God who sees
me. I want you to say this with me. God is the
supreme mighty God who sees me. He always sees.
I mean, He gives us these names in the Old Testament
so that we can know who He is, what kind of relationship
He wants to be in with us. And what He is doing
or wants to do in our lives. That's why He gives
us all these names in the Old Testament. That's
why they're written down. They're written down
surrounding stories, but they are revelation
of who God is. Who God is. I'm glad that He is
the supreme mighty God. There are people who
worship imaginary gods all over this earth. They
worship people who have died and been buried
and they're done. Listen, God is the supreme
mighty God. He's the King of kings. He's the
Lord of lords. And He came as the Word and took
on flesh, Jesus. Second person of the Godhead.
He took on flesh and He died on the cross. Except
He didn't die just because He got old and died.
He died. He willingly laid down His life and
He died for us. He died for you. But He didn't
stay dead. He's alive. He's alive. I know He's
alive. I know He's alive. He's the supreme mighty
God. Who sees me? God sees you. Everybody, this
is like a new thing. It's like, am I seen? I
want to be seen. I've even seen billboards of
like colleges and stuff that say, we see you.
Well, you're already seen. You're always seen.
Because God sees you. He sees you personally.
He sees every tear that you've cried. He sees
every act of obedience. He sees every sacrifice.
He sees every act of faithfulness. Nothing goes
unnoticed by God. He sees. And He doesn't only
see, He responds. He responds. He responds to
faith. I'll say that again. He responds to faith.
2 Chronicles 16, 9 gives us another insight into
the supreme mighty God who sees. It says this,
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout
the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf
of those whose heart is loyal to him. Loyal can
be translated fully committed. This should be
so encouraging to all of us. You know, if we're
living our lives where we are ashamed for God
to see us, then, you know, it brings fear, it
brings shame, it brings guilt, if that's the
way we're living our lives. But we don't live
our lives that way. Hello? If you lived your
life that way yesterday, yesterday is gone. Today,
starting today, that's not the way you live your
life if you're in Christ. That's not the way
we live our lives. Because when he sees you,
he's looking at your heart. And when he finds
a heart that's loyal to him, a heart that...
loves Him, a heart that's fully committed to
Him, we have a promise. If our hearts are fully
committed to God, we have a promise that we're
going to see His goodness. Hello? We're going
to see it. Everybody say, I'm going to see it.
I'm going to see His goodness. I'm going to see
His kindness. I'm going to see His faithfulness.
I'm going to encounter God. Because my heart's
loyal to Him. I love God more than I love anything
in this earth. So I expect to see His goodness.
Hallelujah. That's where we need to be today.
That's where we can be today. I'm preaching myself
happy. It's a bad preacher that can't preach
himself happy every once in a while. Notice what
God's looking for, not talent, not influence.
He's searching for hearts that are fully committed
to him. And he doesn't simply observe, he responds.
And this is week number five, and I think it's
going to be the last week. I can't guarantee
you that it's the last week. Because I, I mean,
I have at least three or four more sermons, maybe
ten more sermons, ten more stories that we could
just keep going here, but look at the person
beside you and say, I'm getting it. See, the
reason why we need to extend it is if you're
not getting it. Because if you're going home
and saying, you know, he just keeps preaching
the same thing. Well, I'm going to preach the
same thing until you get it. I could probably
preach this series through the rest of the year.
I could probably even put a Christmas spin on
it during December. I could put a Thanksgiving
spin on it. We could just stay right here. Because
there's so many stories in the Bible where God
sees the hearts of people and then lets us know
what's going on. And then we see the result of
what's happened in their hearts, what was going
on in their hearts. We see the result. Sometimes
it's good, sometimes it's bad. And we've had
one bad one in this one, the rich young ruler
who loved his stuff more than he loved Jesus.
He was living for his stuff more than he wanted
to follow Jesus. That was a bad encounter, but...
All the rest of them have been good, and today's
going to be good too. We've been studying these
accounts where God sees the hearts of people,
and then he lets us know what's going on in their
heart. Philippians chapter 4, verses 10 through
20. For those of you who were at the Citrus Ridge
Bible study, this is going to be familiar. Philippians
4, verses 10 through 20. And this is Paul writing.
He's in prison. If we were in prison, we probably
wouldn't be writing about joy and rejoicing and
praising God. We'd be saying, woe is me. But
Philippians is known as the book of joy and rejoicing.
And he's writing it. From prison. Hallelujah.
How I praise the Lord. He says. That you are
concerned about me again. He's talking to the
believers in Philippi. He said. I praise God.
That you're concerned about me. They didn't have
cell phones. They didn't even have. A very serious
mail delivery program. I mean, he was a long
way away from Philippi. We'll find out why he
knew that they were concerned about him again
as we continue to read. I know you've always
been concerned for me, he said, but you didn't
have the chance to help me. Didn't have the chance
to help me. And then he says this, not that I
was... ever in need. How many of you can probably
look at Paul's life and you could say, well,
there were definitely some times that he was
in need. He needed some help. But he didn't go
about it that way. He didn't say, oh, I'm going
under if you don't help me. Did he? Never said
anything like that. He says, not that I was ever
in need. For I have learned how to be content.
Everybody say content. With whatever I have.
Wherever I am, whatever I have, I've learned
a huge spiritual principle. I've learned how
to be content. With whatever I have. Even though
I'm in prison, I've learned to be content. Even
in prison. Even when they give me 39 lashes with
a cat of nine tails and rip my back open, I'm
good. I'm good. Did he hurt? Yeah, it hurt. But
it didn't ever change his attitude. Somebody
smile. It didn't ever change his attitude. No
matter what he went through, it didn't change
his attitude. Can somebody say, Lord, help me,
Jesus. Lord, help me, Jesus. Because the things
I go through aren't near as bad as some of the
things Paul went through, but they always change
my stinking attitude. Come on. Then he says this,
I know how to live on almost nothing, he said,
or with everything. I've learned the secret.
Everybody say a secret. I've learned the secret
of living in every situation, whether it's with
a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
I've learned a secret. Learned a secret. Here's
the secret that he learned. I can do everything
through Christ who strengthens me. Somebody say
that with Paul. I can do everything through Christ
who strengthens me, who gives me strength. Now,
This is a Bible verse that's most commonly misquoted
out of context, and probably about any other
Bible verse in the Bible. Because anytime people
face something, it's like, you know, I'm going
to go, me and my football team are going to go
play, and before we play, I'm going to say, I
can do all things through Christ, I can be the
best football player on the team. You know, I
can do this. I can do it. And the emphasis on
the I can do it. Whatever we face, I can do it.
But is that what Paul was saying? Is that what
he was saying? Let's keep it in context. I think
what he's saying is this. You know what? Listen,
guys in Philippi. Listen to me. I've learned
a secret. I've learned an awesome secret. I've
learned that I can face every challenge that
comes my way without complaining, without quitting.
And the reason why I can face every challenge
that comes my way without complaining or quitting
is because I am in Christ. I'm in Christ. Oh,
I wish somebody would smile. Because when we
are connected in Christ the way that it's available
to us, when we understand who we are and what
we have in Christ, then when we face challenges,
how many of you faced a challenge this past week?
Everybody go ahead and raise your hand. I mean,
we've all faced some kind of challenges this
past week. Some people even had both their hands
up. Double challenge. See, you're not, you got
your feet up. Look, in Christ, we can face any
challenge that comes our way, every challenge
that comes our way, without complaining or quitting,
just like Paul did. Paul's just, I mean, if Jesus
was saying this, if he said it, we should be
able to stand on it. But we might have this thing,
this thought in the back of our head, like, well,
he's God. You know, he can do this because he's
God. Paul is completely human just like you are.
And listen, if he can do it, if he can have it,
I can do it. And I can have it. I love preaching
to myself. I love it. Because at this point,
I mean, I'm so fired up. It don't matter if you
get anything or not. I'm leaving full. And I
hope you can leave full too. Think about it.
The challenge that you're facing. Because you
are in Christ, you can overcome. You can be more
than a conqueror in Christ. I mean, that's one
of the... More than a conqueror. Not just a conqueror.
More than a conqueror. Hallelujah. Verse 14.
I'll get off of that toe and get on another one.
Even so, Paul says to the Philippian believers,
he says, even so, you have done well to share
with me in my present difficulty. I can do all
things through Christ. I'm content. But you sure
are a blessing to me. He said, you sure are a
blessing. As you know, get this, you Philippians
were the only ones, everybody say only ones.
Only ones. Who gave me financial help when I
first brought you the good news. And then traveled
on to Macedonia. No other church did this. How
many of you know Paul planted a lot of churches?
I mean, just think about every book that he's
writing letters to the churches that he's planting.
And he's saying, hey, up to this point, you Philippians,
you're the only ones who partnered with me, who
gave me financial help. Some of the other churches
took up offerings to send to... the believers
in Jerusalem who were going through severe persecution
and there came a famine. But these people, these
Philippian believers were the only ones who said,
Paul, this is for you and your work. Look, they
didn't just give to Paul, they partnered with
Paul. Everybody say kingdom partnership. Let's
say it again. Kingdom partnership. They weren't
just giving to Paul. They were partnering with
Paul. They were saying, Paul, you know, you came
to us and shared the gospel. And it's changed
our world and changed our lives. And we know
how important it is. So we want to be a part
of you continuing that in other places. And this
is what we're going to find out. God counted
both Paul and the believers in Philippi. He counted
both of them as participants in the mission.
Participants in the mission. Listen, you don't
have to preach a sermon. To participate in what
the sermon accomplishes in somebody else's lives.
You don't have to preach the sermon. You don't
have to personally go spend years on the mission
field or even go on a 10 -day mission project
to another country to participate in what happens
there. You don't have to go. You know, you don't
have to, like, teach the children. and share
the gospel with them to participate when their
lives are changed by the gospel. You don't have
to be the one presenting the message. That's
good if you are, right? It's available to all
of us, but you can be a part of it. Listen, when
you serve, when you give, when you pray, when
you support God's work, his kingdom work in the
earth, you become a partner in the fruit of it.
Kingdom generosity allows you to participate
in something bigger than yourself. How many of
you want to do more than you can do? Something
bigger than you can do just on your own? We do
that through kingdom partnership. Many people,
tens of thousands of people, had received from
Paul, but only one group out of everyone who
received, out of all those cities, Ephesus, Galatia,
just think about all those, Corinth, only one
city, was giving back consistently. The Philippians
weren't just consumers of Paul's ministry. Everybody
say consumer. They weren't just consumers. They
became a part of the mission. They became contributors
to the mission. Being a consumer, and this is
so prevalent. People being consumers at church.
I'm coming to get what I can get. And if the
preacher says something that I don't necessarily
like this week, there's another one right down
the road that I'll go try next week. Hello? That's
what we're living today. And if the preacher
down the road don't tell me what I want to hear
and give me warm fuzzies every Sunday, then I'll
just... find one online that'll do it. That who
always says what I want to hear. What can I get
out of it? What can my family get out of it?
How convenient is it for me? There's a difference
between consumerism and partnership. Because
What I'm about to describe to you is where mature
believers come to the point where they find themselves
and they say, look, let's do this together. You
know? Instead of you going home and saying, you
know what, the preacher talks about 100 ,000
people, and boy, I hope he reaches them. I really
don't think he can reach 100 ,000, but... Hope
he reaches at least 50. That's consumerism. When
it becomes partnership is this. When you go home
and you think about 100 ,000 people up and down
the road that we turn off of to get here, when
you start having a heart for those 100 ,000 people
and you start saying, That's part of why I am
existing in life. That's part of who I am. When
you're just as passionate about it as anybody
else in the room. There are people lost and dying
and headed to an eternity separated from Christ.
And I'm concerned to the point that I want to
partner up with a group of people who want to
reach them. Hey, let's do this together. Because
one of us can't do it by ourselves. I mean, it
takes us. Let's do this together. I'll get off
of that toe and I will get on that one. Verse
60. Even when I was in Thessalonica, You sent
help more than once while he was in Thessalonica.
The believers in Philippi just kept partnering
with Paul because they understood something.
And Paul's about to point it out that they were
a part of everything that Paul did. Heaven was
counting it differently. Paul, we're not there,
but we're going to help you be there. They gave
to help Paul to partner with him. They wanted
him to be able to focus on the mission that God
had called him to. And we see every time in Paul's
letters that he wasn't just always by himself.
There were people with him. There were people
on these missionary journeys with him. He would
pick up people and take them from other churches.
They would travel with him to experience that.
They would go on mission with Paul. So it wasn't
just him. It was like the whole team. He was
responsible for those people who he said, come
on, let's go. I want you to go with me for the
next six months. He was responsible for them
too. Now, how many of you know that Paul was
a tent maker? Does anybody know that? Paul was
a tent maker. He never said, let's take up an
offering for me. He never said that. Because
he wanted to be able to teach on it and teach
directly on it. But the Philippians were giving.
Paul made tents, but the Philippians realized
something. They realized that Paul could do more
to advance the kingdom of God if he didn't have
to spend all of his time making tents. None of
the other places got it. But they got it. They're
like, Paul, we don't want you making tents. We
want you advancing the kingdom of God. They gave
to support God's work. Because they wanted other
people to have the opportunity to know Jesus
and to become established in truth. They were
partners with that. That's what Paul wanted.
He wanted people to know Jesus and for them to
be established in the truth. But the Philippians
wanted the same thing. Now listen, verse 17,
he says, I don't say this because I want a gift
from you. Rather, listen to what he says. I want
you to receive a reward for your kindness. So
what was he most excited about? Just think about
it. He was most excited about what God was going
to do in their lives. than he was the gift that
they actually sent. He was more excited about
what God was going to do in them. Paul knew that
God was seeing their hearts and seeing their
motives, and God is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek him. Right? We've looked at those verses
during this. Paul knew that God was going to
show himself strong in them. He was expecting
it. I want you to receive the reward for your
kindness. Not that I seek the gift. This is the
New King James Version of that same verse we
just read. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek
the fruit that abounds to your account. Paul
isn't fundraising. He's teaching a spiritual
principle. Their giving was producing fruit.
Their partnership, their kingdom partnership
was producing fruit that was credited to their
account. How many accounts do you have? Huh?
Who has a banking account? Who's got a credit
card so you got a credit account? Who's got a
savings account? Who's got a retirement account?
Did you know you had another account? You have
a heavenly account. Hello? Every single one of
us have a heavenly account. How much attention
do you... put on your banking, credit, savings,
and retirement account? Is your attention to
your heavenly account even close? Got to move
to another toe? I got to stay here a minute because
Jesus is going to get on the other toe. Matthew
6, 19. It says this, don't store up treasures
here on earth where moths eat them and rust destroys
them and where thieves break in and steal. Don't
have your main focus on your earthly accounts,
is what Jesus is saying. He's saying, store your
treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot
destroy and thieves... Do not break in and steal.
And then he says, because wherever your treasure
is, that's where the desires of your heart are
going to be. I don't even have to preach that.
That's just straight out of the mouth of Jesus
right there. And it's right in agreement with
what Paul just said. Paul is thanking them for
their offering. But he's letting them know something.
Here's what he's teaching. He says, they're both
temporary and eternal accounts. And what you
are doing in your kingdom partnership is you're
paying attention to your heavenly account. And
things are being added to your heavenly account.
How many of you know this life is just like a...
It's just a breath and then it's over. And eternity
just never stops after that. Because of that
reality, how many of you think we should be concerned
about our heavenly account? Because everything
in your earthly accounts is just going to stay
here. It's not going anywhere. I met a lady one
time, she said, when I... When I die, I put it
in my will that I want all my bank accounts emptied
out in the cash, and I want the cash put in my
casket. Because I'm going to take it with me.
You know what I told her? I said, you're going
to be dead. Your kids are going to take all your
cash out of your account, and then they're going
to put an IOU in your casket. That's what's going
to happen. There's going to be a little piece
of paper that says, I owe you, you know, $200
,000. Paul's thanking them for their offering.
He's letting them know that there are temporary
and eternal ramifications. The temporary is in
this world. The people that Paul is going to
be able to share the gospel with, the people
that Paul is going to be able to encourage, the
people, I mean, the time that Paul is going to
have to write these letters that we're still
reading today. But then there are eternal ramifications
in heaven. I want you to think about this. Imagine
when you go to heaven. And you're just walking
around. You're looking for your family members.
You're looking for your friends. You're saying
hey to people. Heaven's a happy place. Everybody's
just going to be smiling. Everybody's going to
be friendly. What's it going to do to your heart
when somebody says, you know, hey, we've never
met. Since I got here, I realized that you helped
make it possible for me to know Jesus. And I
might not be here today if it wasn't for you.
I mean, those Philippian believers are already
there, and they've had people come up to them
and say, thank you for partnering with Paul.
Because I wouldn't be here today if he wouldn't
have come tell me about Jesus. Same thing. Same
thing. Should happen to all of us. Earth may
measure what you give. And it may not. It might
be that nobody ever... you know, appreciates
or shows appreciation for what you give. Earth
may measure what you give. Listen, heaven records
what your giving accomplishes. Heaven records
it. Verse 18. At the moment, Paul says, I have
all I need. And more than I need. I am generously
provided with the gifts that you sent. You sent
to me with Epaphroditus. Now listen to what he
says. He says, they are a sweet smelling sacrifice
that is acceptable and pleasing. To God. Now
Paul's already talked about. There's something
going on in their heavenly account. But. Now
he says. The gifts. The offerings. Were a sweet
smelling sacrifice. That is acceptable and pleasing
to God. Paul received the financial support.
For the. for the personal and logistical needs
of His mission. When we give in the offering,
we're not taking another offering. Everybody
say, whew! When we give in the offering at church,
somebody the other week said, you mean Polk County
charges you to meet in the school? We thought
that they just let us meet here. That's our biggest
single expense. Weekly expense. When we give
an offer to the Adulation Church, it goes towards
keeping everything going. Renting the facility.
The outreach events that we've done. I mean,
you know, you might look at an outreach event
or a concert, and you might say, boy, that was
nice, and the preacher took a love offering.
But it's never happened without a big part of
what has come in goes on top of that love offering.
Because we take care of the people, plus receive
a love offering, as a blessing above that. And
you might say, well, I just thought they just
came for a love offering. I'll just go ahead
and tell you. No one who's come here to do a
concert has ever came for just a love offer.
Even though we receive a love offer. Advertising.
How many of you have gone on Google and searched
church near me and a Laysan church came up? Well,
Google don't say, because you're a church, we
just want to bless you. No. That costs money
every week. Every week. Production. I mean, just
the things. The cakes and the coffee and the,
you know, to be able to give away the coffee
mugs and all this stuff. Everything. We never
go to Amazon and say, you know, when we have
communion, we don't. Don't say, oh, we're having
communion, so just send us a bunch of cups, right?
We do that, but they say, okay, send me money,
we'll send you the cups. I mean, it's hard to
see a lot of detail, but... I mean, I don't want
to scare you. But we pay... It's not prescriptions,
it's prescriptions. I don't know. Prescription
service, whatever. There's about seven computer
programs, subscriptions. Hallelujah, thank you.
There's at least, I think it might be more than
this, but there's at least seven subscriptions
for programs and art and all this stuff that
we got to pay every month just to be able to
pull it off. And I've got friends that say, no,
we don't have to do it, but I've got friends
in other places that say, you know what? Y 'all
look a whole lot bigger than you actually are.
How many of you believe if you're doing something
for God, you need to do it to the best of your
ability? You need to do it with excellence? Not
with just get by. God, I mean, if I'm going to
do something for God, it's going to be... the
best I can do it. Listen, what left the hands
of Philippians, what left your hands today as
you gave an offering, listen, it's not just taking
care of Paul and his needs, it's not just taking
care of the needs that we have as a body here
on earth. No, it's bigger than that. Because
when an offering leaves your hand to partner
with God in his kingdom work in this earth, it
arrives before God as worship. And nobody's smiling.
You just think you're smiling on the inside.
It's worship. It's not only when we sing a song
or lift our hands or clap our hands or move a
little bit more than normal. It's not just those
things. It's also giving rises up as a sweet
smelling aroma to God. It's worship to God. When
it begins in our hearts and we acknowledge Him
as our source and we're thanking Him and showing
our love for Him by bringing an offering, I don't
want you to just give and say, well, okay, I
helped church out. God receives our offerings
as worship. They are tangible expressions of
our thankfulness, of our honor, of our love for
Him. Back then with the Philippians and today
in Four Corners, Florida. Verse 19. Everybody
say, always a promise. Paul says, this same God
who takes care of me. Will supply all your needs.
From his glorious riches. Which have been given
to us. In Christ Jesus. Here's the promise. You've
given. You've given to supply. The needs that
I have. And I have more than enough now. You
have given. And you know what? Same God who spoke
to you to partner with me. Same God is going
to supply all your needs from His glorious riches.
Now listen, Paul isn't throwing out another random
quotable promise. Because in just these verses,
in these ten verses, we've seen two things that,
oh, I can do all things through Christ. who strengthens
me. My God will supply all my needs according
to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. He's
not just throwing out little cute phrases that
we can memorize and quote. It's bigger than that.
He's expressing His faith and confidence in God
who has seen their generosity and He's going
to respond to them. He's confident. He's confident.
Listen, same God that takes care of me is going
to take care of you. This is the most direct
sermon I've preached on money in five and a half
years. That's okay. Listen, we don't give in
the offering to encourage God to do something
for us. We don't give to encourage Him to be
faithful. God, I'm going to give this because
I want you to be faithful. No, we give because
we're convinced that He is faithful. I needed
more amens than that. We give because we're convinced
that He is faithful. We're confident. That God
keeps His promises. And if I step into my part,
I don't have to worry about God doing His part
or not. Hallelujah. Listen, God saw their offerings.
And God received their giving as worship. And
God will meet all their needs. He will supply
all their needs. It's just basically... What
we just read, right? And over this series, we've
seen a widow who only had two mites, but she
trusted God. She knew that what she had in her
hand couldn't meet her needs, but she knew that
she could just trust God and say, God, I'm not
trusting these two little coins. I'm trusting
you. And Jesus was standing there and he went,
hey guys, look at this. Then there was the young
man who treasured his possessions more than Jesus.
God saw his heart. Jeffrey, share with us. There's
a woman whose recognition of the forgiveness
and the grace of God overflowed in love and worship
through her gift. Alabaster box. Last week. We
looked at Cornelius. A man who was sincerely
seeking God. And he was acting on the revelation
that he had. And he was praying to God and he
was giving the best way he knew how. Giving to
help God's people. And it got God's attention.
This week. God saw a gathering of called out
ones. Everybody say church. Church is people.
It's not a meeting or an organization. It's a
gathering of called out ones who not only received
the gospel, but became committed to advancing
the gospel. They became committed to the kingdom
of God in this world. Now, before they came to
Christ, they were just about themselves. But
after they came to Christ, they're like, well,
that's the most important thing. That's the most
amazing thing. That's the eternal thing that
has happened in my life. How could we not want
that for everybody else? How could we not want
that for the 100 ,000 people today that aren't
in church? How could we not want that? To the
degree that we're going to do something about
it. Because it's one thing to say that we want
it, but it's another thing to do something about
it. The Philippians would never see every person
Paul would reach. They couldn't see every congregation.
They might have shared letters at some point.
We're pretty sure that everybody started sharing
these letters and passing them among the churches.
But they couldn't see how strong that church
was. I mean, it wasn't like, you know, every
different church was on TV and they could just
tune in and watch and see how they were doing.
I mean, people never even traveled. There are
people in Philippi who never traveled to Ephesus
or Galatia. They wouldn't see that. They couldn't
see it. They couldn't see every life that was
changed. And they certainly couldn't imagine
that thousands of years later, a church in Florida
would be reading about their generosity. But
God saw it. God saw it all. And even what's taking
place here today is going towards their account
in heaven. 2 ,000 years later, those believers
in Philippi, all of a sudden their account's
growing in heaven. Their giving was never unnoticed.
Their partnership was never unnoticed. Their
worship was never unnoticed. And neither is yours.
The supreme mighty God sees you personally. Sees
it all. Every tear, every act of obedience, every
sacrifice, every act of faithfulness. Nothing
goes unnoticed by Him. And because of that, we
can say glory. Everybody say glory. Now all glory
to God our Father. All glory. You're worthy of
all the glory, all the honor, all the praise.
All glory to you. Amen. Forever and ever and
ever and ever. Let it be. Let it be. How many
of you agree with that and can say amen? That
means I agree with that. All glory to God. Forever
and ever. This online worship experience was
brought to you by the friends and partners of
Elation Church.