Nice to be with you. I'm sure most of us, if not all of us, are aware this morning that the Apostle Paul wrote a number of letters when he was in prison in Rome.
These letters are known as the prison epistles.
The interesting thing is that the Apostle Paul didn't just see himself in that prison in Rome as a prisoner for the Lord.
But he saw himself as a prisoner of the Lord.
And there's a world of a difference.
And it was because of that relationship with the Lord, his joy, even in prison, even in lockdown, knew no bounds.
He knew what it was to be sorrowful and yet always rejoicing.
And joy is the recurring note that struck in this letter that he wrote to the church in Philippi.
The Apostle Paul, he didn't take anything for granted.
He didn't take God's people in Philippi for granted.
He writes to thank them for their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
That's how he puts it.
He never took them for granted.
They never took him for granted.
Wherever he went, they supported him in whatever way they could, as we've just been hearing.
He's been hearing.
Sending him gifts.
And on this occasion, Paul writes to thank them for a gift he's just received from them.
How does he see this gift?
He refers to the gift as being a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, something that's pleasing to God.
And if I can paraphrase his words, he said in reply to that,
Under God, you have supplied my need.
And now I want you to know that my God shall supply all your need.
The actual words he used form the text I want to share with you this morning.
Verse 19,
And my God will supply all your need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
There's the text.
As the Puritans would say in the 17th century,
Let the text do the talking.
You haven't come here this morning to listen to me.
We've all come here this morning to listen to what God has to say to us.
I understand there are 31,102 verses in the Bible.
I haven't counted them.
Somebody else obviously has.
What I want us to do this morning is just to focus on this one text.
What a text it really is.
And my God will supply all your need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Do you know when Spurgeon was having an orphanage built towards the end of the 19th century in London,
He ordered the stonemasons to place upon the stone columns at the orphanage entrance these wonderful words in this text.
He had the mention of the stone upon the right and left hand columns of that great archway into the orphanage that was being built.
And this is what Spurgeon said, and I quote,
As long as God lives, we shall never need to remove them.
I bring these words to all of us today as a promise from the word of God.
And I do it in the hope that we'll be reminded perhaps of something of old.
And yet perhaps we'll be spoken to with regards to something new.
But what comes will come with freshness.
As if we're hearing it for the very first time and for the last time.
And my God will supply all you need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Now that word and is a conjunction.
Don't miss it right at the beginning of the text.
It's tying this promise into what God has just said before through the Apostle Paul.
It's virtually saying to us, listen, brothers and sisters in Philippi.
You seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
And God will meet all you need.
You put Jesus first.
Others second.
And yourself last.
J-O-Y.
And you will discover
that you cannot out-give God.
Just three words.
I trained in the faith mission.
So we have to preach with three points.
But each of these points a word.
The first is this.
I want you to notice
that there's confidence
in this text,
in this promise.
This text breathes out confidence.
Confidence
in God.
My God.
Will meet
all your needs.
I was reminded just last week
that when Paul wrote to Timothy
and he was reminding him
that all scripture was inspired by God.
the word in the Greek for inspired
is theopneustos.
All scripture is
God breathed.
So here from this text
is breathing out
confidence.
This is more than a promise
to these Christians
that they'll receive some help,
some support
now and again
to meet some of their needs.
This, if I read it correctly,
is a promise
written by Paul,
but don't forget this,
underwritten
by the Spirit of God,
guaranteeing
the meeting
of all their needs.
every day
in every situation
that you can imagine.
Who can begin?
Who can begin
to calculate
or measure
what's involved
in the meeting
or supplying
of all of one single person's
individual needs?
Of course,
as has often been said
and I need to repeat it,
it's all of our need.
It's not all of our greed.
It's all of our needs,
not all of our wants.
And of course,
it's not going to happen
in our way
or in our time.
It's going to happen
in His way
and in His time.
But it's with reference
to everything
that we will ever need
for our spiritual
and physical well-being
in accordance with His will
for our lives.
Individually,
yes,
and corporately
for as long
as we shall live.
Am I expounding
this text correctly?
Is that what the text
is saying?
This is in line
with the keeping
of body and soul
together on this journey
from here to eternity.
The temporal needs
of one solitary
individual alone
are considerable.
Food,
clothes,
a roof over our heads,
health,
home,
family,
education,
the cost of living
on a day-by-day basis
and so it goes on.
And yet,
those needs,
those needs are so small
and so trivial
in comparison
to a person's
spiritual needs,
the needs of a soul,
your soul
as you serve the Lord
in today's world,
in this secular,
ever-increasing secular society
in which we find ourselves.
The need to feed
your own soul
in order to have
the wherewithal
to feed the souls
of others.
The need for wisdom
to be
in the right place
at the right time
and doing the right thing.
The need to persevere
in times of trial
and tribulation.
The need to overcome
in terms of
personal discouragement
and fierce temptation.
The need to be
totally protected,
inwardly strengthened
and continually encouraged
in your weakest moments
and especially
when the years
are piling on.
The need to have
a vision
for the work
God's calling you to do
whatever age and stage
you may be at in life.
The need to have
a vision
for the work
that God's calling you
to do in and through
His church
and to be moved
by compassion
not just by duty
in the pursuit
of that vision.
Listen to the words
of Paul the Apostle
addressed, I say,
not just to individuals
but to the whole church.
My God,
He will supply
all your need
according to His
glorious riches
in Christ Jesus.
My God,
whose God is this?
This is the God
of the Apostle Paul.
What's He like?
He's the only true
and living God,
isn't He?
He's the God
who gave us
the whole Bible.
He's the God
of creation.
This is who we're
talking about.
He's the God
of the church.
He's the God
of the prophets
in the Old Testament,
all of them.
He's the God
of the apostles
in the New Testament.
He's the God
of the covenant.
He's the God
of Abraham,
Isaac,
and Jacob,
the God of Israel.
He's the God
of Joseph.
He's the God
of Moses
and all that happened.
Think of it
at the Exodus.
He's the God
of Joshua
and all that happened
in the conquest
of the promised land.
He's the God
of David
and the writing
of all those Psalms.
He's the God
of Daniel
and his friends,
whether it's
in the lion's den
or in the fiery furnace.
He's a great God.
He's the God
of heaven and earth,
the God
of geography,
the God
of history,
the God
of time,
the God
of eternity,
the God
of mercy,
love,
and grace,
the God
of redemption.
Oh,
when we were lost,
not looking for him,
he came looking
for us,
the God
of redemption,
the God
of providence,
the God
of yesterday,
today,
and tomorrow,
the God
who gave us
his son,
the God
who didn't
spare him
so that he
could spare us.
Oh,
you read in the
scriptures that God
didn't spare the world
of Noah's day
and we can understand
why.
In their hearts,
only evil continually.
Read those chapters
in Genesis.
He didn't spare
Sodom and Gomorrah
and we can
understand why.
He didn't
spare the angels
that sinned,
rebellion in the
very courts of heaven
and we can understand
why he didn't
spare them.
He's the God
who didn't spare
his own son
in dealing with
your sin
and my sin
and we'll be
asking the question
why for as long
as we live,
not just in time
but throughout
all eternity.
if he's given
us Jesus,
does he not
tell us
in the book of Romans
he'll give us
all things?
My God,
he will supply
all your needs.
Oh,
to grasp
the confidence
in those words
will,
shall.
In this,
one of the many
exceeding great
and precious promises
that we find
in the Bible.
It's not saying
he could
or he might.
It's saying
he will
and he shall.
Breathing out
confidence,
confidence in God.
This is not
presumption.
This is a promise.
This is the promise
of God
and his reputation
is at stake.
In giving it.
Brothers and sisters,
I hope
something comes
through the scriptures
today to encourage you
but also to challenge you.
Listen,
don't just believe this.
We do believe
that we're evangelicals.
Prove it.
There's a challenge.
I take it to myself.
Prove it.
Here's the second thing.
There's not just
confidence in this promise.
There's abundance
in this promise.
My God
will meet
all your needs
according to
his glorious riches.
let the text
do the talking.
we're thinking of
God who can fill us
to the full
by meeting
all our needs,
all your needs,
all my needs.
A God
who can
more than
match
the enormity
of our needs
with the sufficiency
of his grace.
Forgive me
for referring
to Spurgeon again
but I'm reading
his two volumes.
The Early Years
and the Full Harvest.
I've just finished
volume one.
I've just started
volume two.
When he was preaching
on this text,
Spurgeon,
the great Spurgeon,
and he had reached
this thought
in the text.
He said,
and I quote,
the preacher
may sit down
now
for he cannot
compass
this part
of the text.
He cannot
fully explain it.
He cannot
fully expound it.
What does this mean?
My God
will supply
all your needs
according to
his glorious riches.
What does that mean?
I'm sure
we're all familiar
with the story
of the wee widow woman
in the Old Testament
whose children
were about to be
sold by her
creditor to pay
off the debts
of her late husband
who had been
a prophet of the Lord.
He must have been
living on a pittance
from day to day
but there were debts
when he died
and she had nothing
to call her own.
You may remember
except a small
jar of oil
that was in her home.
The prophet
Elisha comes along
and he asks her
to bring the little
jar,
the cruise of oil.
It was all she had.
And she did so
and then he said
to her,
go among your
neighbors,
borrow empty
vessels,
don't ask for
just a few,
then go inside
and shut the door
behind you
and your sons
and pour oil
into all the jars
and as each is filled
put it to the one side.
You know the story.
They kept on
bringing the jars.
She kept on
pouring the oil
into the jars
until all the jars
were filled.
And it was only
when there were
no more jars left
that the oil
stopped to flow
and she went
and sold the oil
and paid her debts
and all her needs
were met.
What is that?
That is a picture
of the way God works
and how God gives.
He's got a bigger
shovel than you
and I will ever have.
We cannot
out give him.
Prove it.
This promise
to meet all their needs.
This is not a license
to encourage laziness
in our part.
Christians mustn't be
spongers or scroungers
living off the backs
of gullible people.
We are to play
our part.
Give God the equivalent
of those empty jars
in your house.
Give him the equivalent
of that tiny
crews of oil.
In other words
give him what we've got
and he'll give us
what we haven't got.
And we'll find
that he always gives
in abundance.
The picture here
is not of scraping
the bottom of the barrel.
The picture here
is of cups
full and running over.
We by his grace
must do what we can do
and give what we can give
and let him do
what only he can do
and give what only
he can give.
But you have noticed
before haven't you?
I'm sure many a preacher
has pointed it out to you.
For God to give
out of his glorious riches
is quite different
from God to give
according to his glorious riches.
when God gives
it's not only
out of his wealth
it's on a scale
as befits
his wealth.
It's in proportion
to his infinite resources.
Illustrate John
will you?
Okay
very simple illustration
if a millionaire
were to give you
out of his wealth
he might not
give you
any more
than a paltry
trifling
five pound note
and keep the rest
for himself.
But if he were to give
according to his wealth
would he give you
a fiver?
No
he might give you
fifty
five hundred
five thousand
even more.
We all need to be
reminded of the fact
that the God
of omnipotence
has his servants
everywhere.
How he surprises
us sometimes.
He owns the cart
in a thousand hills
and the wealth
in every mine.
And it's as the old hymn
puts it
he giveth more grace
when the burdens
grow greater
he sendeth more strength
when the labours
increase
to added affliction
he addeth his mercy
to multiplied trials
his multiplied
peace.
When we have
exhausted our stores
of endurance
when our strength
has failed
ere the day
is half done
when we reach
the end
of our hoarded
resources
our father's
full giving
has only begun.
And then the chorus
oh don't forget
the chorus
his love
has no limit.
It never had
a beginning
and it will
never have an end
his love
has no limit
his grace
has no measure
his power
has no boundary
known unto men
for out of his
infinite riches
in Jesus
he giveth
and giveth
again.
True or false?
We know it's true
but let's prove it.
You know
when each
and every one
of us
reaches the end
of the journey
of life
and we finish
the race
God has
marked out
for us.
I have no doubt
that if the question
is put to any
of us
as Jesus
put it
to his disciples
of long ago
the answer
will surely
want to be
the same
as theirs.
Luke 22
verse 35
what did Jesus
ask his disciples?
He said
when I sent you
without purse
bag or sandals
did you like
anything?
Did you?
Did you like
anything?
Anything?
Nothing.
That's
our God.
What is this
text doing?
It's breathing
out confidence.
Confidence in God.
It's breathing
out abundance.
And here's
the thing
it took me
a while
to get to
this.
relevance.
There's
relevance
in this
text.
It's
breathing
out
relevance.
Listen to it
again.
My God
will meet
all your
needs
according to
his riches
his glorious
riches
in
Christ
Jesus.
Now in
some
translations
it's the
word by
that's there.
By
Christ
Jesus.
If it's
by Christ
Jesus
that's
suggesting
that Jesus
is the
channel
through which
all this
supplying of
our needs
is going
to come.
It comes
by him.
It comes
through him.
And there's
truth in
that.
There's
much
truth in
that.
But some
scholars
would assure
us that
the word
in is
also a
good enough
translation
here.
In
Christ
Jesus.
The
Lord
Jesus
in other
words
is the
source.
He's
not just
the channel
of this
supply.
Everything
we shall
ever need
is found
in him.
It's not
just to
be received
from him
or through
him or
by him.
It's to
be found
in him.
And that's
why you
know after
30 years
or so on
the road
as someone
who knew
him as
his great
God and
saviour.
The apostle
Paul cried
out and
he mentions
it in
this very
letter.
Oh that
I might
know him.
You read
that and
you feel
like you've
known him
for 30
years Paul.
You probably
know him
better than
anybody else
on the
planet.
Oh yes
that may
or may
not be
true.
Oh that
I might
know him.
This promise
was made
over 2,000
years ago
but it's
not out
of date.
It's so
relevant.
And I'll
tell you why
it would
have become
obsolete
long ago
if it
had been
written in
any other
name other
than the
name of
Jesus.
The reason
for saying
that is
simple.
All our
Lord's
contemporaries
have died.
they are
no more
as far as
this world
is concerned
only Jesus
remains.
The
Herods
where are
they?
They've
gone.
The
Romans
where are
they?
They've
gone.
The
apostles
where are
they?
gone.
Everybody
comes and
goes.
None of
us are
here to
stay.
We're all
here to
go.
John
Calvin
the genius
of Geneva
he's gone.
John
Wesley
that fire
brand of
Methodism
he's gone.
John
Owen
the great
John
Owen
he's gone.
John
Nelson
Darby
if you
come from
a
brethren
background
JND
he's
gone.
Only
Jesus
remains.
Only
his name
endures.
Only
the name
of Jesus
opens the
bank of
heaven to
the check
book of
faith.
Or is
it now
the debit
card of
faith?
All the
others
no matter
how great
they were
and we
thank God
for them
in their
day.
They've
had their
day.
And they
can do
nothing for
us.
Today
in this
sense
they've
all gone
to another
place and
the place
that knew
them here
knows them
no more.
Even the
greatest of
the saints
have gone.
Dare I
say this
it is
absolute
nonsense
never mind
heresy
to think
that we
living today
can somehow
tap into
some reservoir
of grace
to be found
in the
saints in
heaven.
only the
Roman
church
at her
worst
could have
thought up
such a
heresy.
Works of
super
erogation
the saints
in glory
they've
enough
grace
not just
for themselves
to be there
but for
other people
to be helped
to get there.
They can help
you pray to
them.
no you
don't.
It's all
in Jesus.
Don't
misunderstand
me.
In the
words of
Alistair
McGrath
in his
beautiful
little
book
called
The
Journey
we can
hitch a
ride
with some
of these
saints
from the
past.
Travel the
road ahead
of us
and be
greatly
blessed
by them
in that
sense.
Think of
it from
time to
time.
It can
be our
privilege to
hitch a
ride with
Martin
Luther,
the great
Augustine,
Jonathan
Edwards,
John Bunyan.
We can
learn a lot
about the
living of
the Christian
life as
we travel
in their
company by
way of
their
biographies
or
autobiographies
but not
because they're
up there
with more
grace than
they need.
Only the
risen Lord
Jesus remains
and is
therefore
relevant and
more than
sufficient for
his people
and their
needs.
I'm almost
finished.
In him
and by
faith in
him are
all the
resources of
God put
at your
disposal and
mine.
It's a
wonderful
text.
It's full of
confidence.
It breathes
it.
It's full of
abundance.
It breathes
out abundance.
It's full of
relevance.
Written by the
apostle Paul
2,000 years
ago but
underwritten by
the spirit of
God.
No eye has
seen.
No ear has
heard.
No mind has
conceived what
God has
prepared for
those who
love him.
No matter
how far we've
come, the
best is still
ahead of us.
I was
thinking of
the Queen of
Sheba going
up with all
her questions
to Solomon
and coming
away saying,
the half was
never told me.
There's a
greater than
Solomon here.
All the
fullness of
the God
heads in
him.
All the
treasures of
wisdom and
knowledge are
in him.
Yes.
All the
spiritual
blessings are
in him.
Yes.
Prove it.
I'll leave
you the
text.
And I
hope it
will do
the talking
when my
voice is
long
silent.
God gave
it to me
during
lockdown.
Struggling.
Prove it.