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Philippians chapter 4, let's read beginning at verse 15.
Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia,
no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only.
For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity,
not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
But I have all and abound.
I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you,
an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Now unto God our Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Let's just say another quick prayer and ask for the Lord's help as we come to the word today.
Lord, we do ask once again that you would help us now as we focus in on this passage.
Lord, that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
As Jeremiah prayed that you would take our hearts of stone and you would give us a heart of flesh
that can respond to your word.
That you would do that work in us today.
That you would speak, Lord, through your word.
Help us now in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, Paul's letter to Philippi, as we've studied over and over,
was a response to the generosity of the congregation.
They had sent Epaphroditus, as we see once again in verse 18,
and we refer back to chapter 2 as well on this.
They had sent Epaphroditus as their messenger.
He was to check on Paul to see how he was doing as he was in his fourth year of imprisonment in Rome,
or at least in Roman imprisonment.
And he was also taking a gift, a collection, material collection that the church had taken up
in order to help Paul and help him meet his even basic needs as he was there in prison under house arrest in Rome.
So what we see now in this section, really the second half of Philippians chapter 4,
is really Paul's thank you note to the church.
Thanking them for this gift and expressing how grateful he was to the Lord for them and for their concern.
The first paragraph in this section, which is verses 10 through 14,
we studied it last week, reveals the example of Paul's personal contentment
and how challenging of a passage that is for us as we come to understand how discontent we often can be.
Yet in the most difficult of circumstances, Paul wrote that he had learned the secret of contentment,
that contentment ultimately is found in Jesus,
that the strength and the encouragement that he finds actually comes from the hand of God.
And it's the ordinary means of churches like the Philippian congregation
that the Lord was using to encourage Paul as he was there.
But he wanted them to know that he had learned contentment and he was encouraging them in that.
As we get to this second paragraph here,
we see that the attention is turned now to the church itself.
And the focus of our study today becomes the congregation's example rather than Paul's example.
And it's their example of giving and generosity.
Indeed, the churches of Macedonia, which were really led by the congregation in Philippi,
are noted all throughout the New Testament for their giving spirit
and their sacrificial offerings that they took repetitively in order to encourage the work of God.
And we typically view our instruction in these New Testament letters
as coming from the apostles that the Lord used to write them.
But here in this part of the passage,
the instruction that we gain doesn't actually come from Paul.
It comes as we acknowledge the example of the church itself,
as he commends them,
and as he thanks them for what they had done,
we actually learn from them.
In fact, as we study the New Testament,
often the Philippian church was the only church that was actually committed
to faithfully giving to the work of Paul.
There were even times in the Corinthian letters
that Paul had to prod the more wealthy Corinthian church
and Corinthian congregation
to actually fulfill a commitment that they had made a year before
to actually help other churches that were in need.
And he was having to prod them
and encourage them to fulfill that commitment.
He never had to do that with Philippi.
They led in the way in this.
And here we find a great example of their giving.
And we can't help but think about,
as we come to the issue of giving and generosity in the Scriptures,
that there are many believers, many Christians,
that do not faithfully give.
And why is that, I ask myself this week?
Why is it such a struggle for us sometimes
to be generous in our giving,
to be faithful in our giving to the Lord
and our giving to the ministry?
And I think there's a lot of reasons for that,
but I've kind of grouped them into three basic explanations,
really three categories as to why we often struggle with giving.
The first category is this,
is really just an inward focus, an inward focus.
Selfishness is endemic to human nature,
as we studied last week.
Contentment is a foreign concept in our society.
And many Christians don't give
because they're more concerned about pleasing themselves.
Their inward focus prevents them from seeing the need to give,
and it leads them to even rationalize
why they can't or shouldn't give.
It's not a matter of, will I obey the Lord?
It's a rationalization on,
I have all of these other things in my life I'm trying to do,
and surely God wants me to be happy,
and so he would rather me fulfill my happiness through these things
than he would me sacrifice those things in order to give.
And so there's an inward focus in a lot of people's hearts
that actually prevents them from faithfully giving to the Lord.
I think a second category for this,
at least among believers,
is that worship and ministry aren't always the priority.
Worship and ministry aren't always the priority.
For some, it's not always a lack of giving
as much as it is a disregard for giving to God.
This type of person may be very generous
to their friends and their family.
They may be captivated even by a local charity
that just is involved in something
that they're passionate about,
and they see that they want to partner in this passion
to help this specific need in their community,
but they never sense that same kind of passion
in the work of God.
And so worship and the giving of worship on a Sunday morning
or giving of regular worship to the church
is not so much a priority of theirs.
The passion for the ministry of the gospel
isn't so much of a passion for them
as many other things that they have going on in their life.
So sometimes it's just an inward focus.
Sometimes it's not so much an inward focus
as much as it is worship and ministry
just aren't a priority.
And then the third category, I think,
is where most Christians who are not faithful to give
fall into is the category of fear.
They're just afraid to give.
It's not that they don't want to,
and it's not that they haven't prioritized ministry
and worship.
They could be faithful in every other area of their life.
But they're afraid that if they give,
they'll lack what they need
to meet their basic needs in life.
And we all understand that fear.
We all have dealt with that fear before.
The problem is, is that kind of fear
leads us to disobedience,
and that's the issue with it.
It essentially says,
I will be better to me than God will be to me.
I will take better care of myself
than what I trust and believe
that God will take care of me in.
Well, the example of the Philippians
in verses 15 through 20
covers all three of those explanations,
or all three of those categories.
It is interesting how the topic of giving
will arouse all kinds of theological interest
in the hearts of people
that otherwise couldn't care less
about digging too deep
into the doctrinal things of the Bible, right?
If you bring up a message
or bring up the issue of faithfully giving,
all of a sudden,
they want to get very, very technical.
And they want to hear,
well, what is it exactly
that God wants me to give?
Like, tell me exactly the amount
that God desires for me to give.
They want to get very technical in that.
Or perhaps they'll ask the question,
does God desire that I tithe
on the gross income
or on the net income?
And we've all asked that question,
haven't we?
I don't know how many times
I've asked that question,
and especially as a college student,
when you're just broke all the time
and you really don't want
to eat college food this week,
you want to go to Bojangles instead
or Chick-fil-A,
and you're just thinking,
maybe I can adjust some things here.
What is it exactly
that God wants me to give?
Rarely a simple answer
satisfies those questions.
We want to dissect those scriptures
just to make sure
that we're really,
somebody's really being honest
with us in this
because it would be a shame
for us to be bad stewards
and actually give too much
to the Lord.
We don't want to do that.
We're the same people
that we meticulously review
our end-of-the-year statements
and contributions, right?
Because we're going to make sure
that the IRS gives us credit
for everything that we gave
to the church this year.
And we end up becoming
consumed with giving
in a way that we shouldn't
be consumed with.
We get very technical
on things that we don't
otherwise get technical on
at all.
And I wrote in conviction
that how rarely we seem
to determine the minimum amount
that we can live on
in order that we can give
the most possible to the Lord.
Instead, we often determine
the minimum that we can give
to appease the Lord
in order that we may keep
the most possible for ourselves.
And unfortunately,
that's the way most of us think.
And that goes back
to that issue of contentment
and that inward focus
and not making worship
and ministry a priority
and sometimes even fear.
The discussion of money
and giving has for some reason
become taboo among Christians
these days.
We don't like to talk about it.
It can be uncomfortable.
But I think the Bible
says a lot about this.
And the intent of our study today
is not to get into
those technicalities
about what we're supposed
to give
and when we're supposed
to give it
and to who we're supposed
to give.
Because that's not what
this passage deals with.
The passage really deals with
and meditates on
the spirit of our giving.
Why do we give?
And how are we to give
in regards to our character
and our spirit in doing so?
That's really largely
the difference
in the topic of giving
and generosity
between the Old Testament
and the New Testament.
In the Old Testament
we see many more passages
that designate
this is how much to give
and this is when to give it
and this is how to give it
and where you take it
and all these kinds of things.
And there were all kinds
of instructions
in the Old Testament
for that.
But the New Testament
really deals with giving
in a very different way.
To the best of my knowledge
there's no passage
in the New Testament
that says you're supposed
to give this amount
or this percentage
or this thing
and you're supposed
to give it on this day
and in this place
and there are things
that we can deduce
from all of that
but there's no direct command
in that.
What the New Testament
deals with
and what our passage
in Philippians 4 deals with
is the spirit behind our giving
that we give sacrificially
to the Lord
that we give cheerfully
to the Lord
that we give with ministry
in mind
and the Lord's work
in mind
and that we do that
with a grateful spirit
in worship.
In these verses
nothing instructional
is given.
There is no direct command.
Paul's not telling
the Philippian church
to give.
He didn't have to
because they were
already giving.
He was simply commending them
on how faithful
they had been
and they again
become the premier example
for us
of how a congregation
is to view generosity.
There's three individual words
that I've used
just to help my own study.
Perhaps it'll be helpful
to your study
of this passage as well.
We're only going to get
to the first one today.
We'll get to the other two
next week
but the first one
that I have for a heading
in verses 15 to 17
is the word share.
The word share.
Look with me again
at verse number 15.
Now you Philippians
know also
that in the beginning
of the gospel
when I departed
from Macedonia
no church communicated
with me
as concerning
giving and receiving
but you only.
For even in Thessalonica
you sent once and again
unto my necessity.
Not because I desire gift.
I'm not saying this
because I want you
to give more.
I just desire fruit
that may abound
to your account.
He says
no church communicated
with me
concerning giving
and receiving
except you.
You only.
And we've noted before
several times actually
in the book of Philippians
what this word
communicated
means.
It comes from
that Greek word family
from koinonia.
It means fellowship
or partnership
active participation
sharing in.
It's the same word
we find in
chapter 1
and verse 5
when Paul thanked them
for their partnership
in the gospel.
Their fellowship
in the gospel.
It's the same word
used in chapter 2
and verse 1
when he talked about
having fellowship
with the Holy Spirit.
It's the same word
he uses in chapter 3
and verse 10
when he says
that I may know him
and the power
of his resurrection
and the fellowship
of his sufferings
being made conformable
unto Christ's death.
And then again
as we saw last week
the conclusion
in verse 14
he uses it again
that they did communicate
with him in affliction.
Paul's once again
referring to their partnership
in the gospel
but this time
it's with an emphasis
on sharing in
and being an active participant
in the gospel work.
Given the context
of the passage
it's not difficult
to make the connection.
He was specifically referring
to how they had participated
with him
in the ministry
through the sharing
of their resources.
And he said
that they had shared
in giving and receiving.
Those are technical
accounting words
in the Greek.
It could literally read
credits and debits.
You have shared with me
in crediting
and in debiting
this sharing
back and forth
of the gospel work
and of gospel resources.
Not only had they shared
their resources
for the gospel
but they had shared
in the blessings
that came
from that gospel work.
And verses 15 through 17
I think share with us
or give us
three ways
that they did share
through their giving
and that we can also share
as a church
in our giving.
First
they shared
in the work
of the gospel.
They shared
in the work itself.
Look again
at verse 15.
He says
now you Philippians
know also
that in the beginning
of the gospel
you only gave.
Philippian church
wanted so much
to be a part
of the work
of the gospel
across the world
that it actually
became the motivation
for their giving.
They weren't giving
to Paul
because Paul
demanded it.
They weren't giving
in order that they may
earn some type
of favor with God.
They weren't giving
in order to earn
their salvation.
They were giving
because they were
passionate about
the work
of the gospel
and they wanted
to partner
in that work
in whatever way
they could.
In fact
Paul clearly says
in this
from the very beginning
of the start
of their church
in Acts 16
they invested
financially
in this work
even when nobody
else was investing
in helping Paul
and his team.
In the beginning
of the work
in Philippi
that is.
They began
to give
and for a time
they were the only
congregation
giving.
They believed
in what he was doing.
They were passionate
about that work
just like we are
in the ways
that we give.
We give to certain
things with our kids
as they grow up
because we're passionate
about our kids.
We're passionate
about them pursuing
certain things
in their life
that will help them
and so we give
to that
and we invest
in that.
We have other ways
outside of the church
that we give
and that's important.
We're generous
to other people
and other causes
because we're passionate
about those things
but then we get
to the Philippian
congregation.
Why did they give
even out of poverty?
They gave
because they were
passionate about the work.
They were passionate
about the gospel
and they wanted
to partner
with Paul
in whatever work
he was doing
in taking the name
of Christ
across the world.
There's a lot
of good causes
out there
but none of them
are as significant
as the work
of the gospel
of Jesus
and for us
the greatest investment
we can make
in a material way
is an investment
in the gospel
and in the work
of the gospel
around the world.
One of the significant
blessings of giving
faithfully to the work
of the gospel
is that it makes you
a partner
in that work.
You literally share
in the work
of God
when you cheerfully
give
for its advancement.
You literally
koinonia
partner with
communicate
with God
in that work.
You become
a participant
in it.
Now think about it.
Most of the people
in Philippi
were incapable
of going with Paul
to Thessalonica.
They couldn't just
uproot themselves
and their families
and go.
Maybe there were
other hindrances.
Perhaps some of them
did maybe
make some trips
from time to time
to try to help
in the work
that was going
but most of them
were incapable
of doing that.
So how could
they partner?
They gave.
They found a way
to finance the work.
Found a way
to finance the ministry
and in that
they became partners
and participants
in the work itself
and the same goes
with us.
You may never be called
to go to a specific
place around the world
to start churches
or preach the gospel
but you can partner
in gospel work
by giving to the Lord
in that way.
What a glorious way
we have
of stewarding
the prosperity
that we have
and being citizens
of the richest nation
on the planet
than taking
that prosperity
and giving it back
to the Lord
and his work
across the world.
So they shared
in the work of God.
Why did they give?
They had to share.
They communicated with
in the work itself.
Secondly,
they shared
in the needs
of others.
They shared
in the needs
of others.
Look with me
at verse 16.
For even in Thessalonica
or as Julie
and I would argue
sometimes I want
to say Thessalonica.
She wants to say
Thessalonica.
I'll let you guys
correct us later
after the service.
For even in Thessalonica
you sent once
and again
unto my necessity.
In verse 16
the Philippian church
sets the example
for faithful
repetitive giving.
It wasn't a one time
offering.
Once and again
he says
over and over
you sent
to my need
in Thessalonica.
Even after Paul
had left Philippi
Acts 17
tells us
that he continued
on to Thessalonica
and he stayed
there for a few
months
and in his
months there
multiple times
this church
invested
helped
gave
to what
he and his
team were doing.
So in verse 15
Paul commended
them for sharing
in the work
of the gospel
but in verse 16
he commends
them for ministering
specifically
to his need.
He says
you sent
unto my
necessity
he said.
This further
reveals the spirit
of the Philippians
giving.
They had a passion
for gospel ministry
but they also
had a great passion
for meeting
the needs
of others.
Even if it
meant stepping
into the realm
of poverty
themselves
they had a
completely
outward focus
in giving.
It wasn't about
what they could get.
It wasn't about
what they could
build up for
themselves.
It was about
what they could
give not only
the gospel work
but to help
meet the needs
of other people.
And this wasn't
the only time
that the Philippians
cared for others'
needs.
It's a pattern
throughout the
scripture.
In fact
in Romans chapter
15 Paul's
writing to the
Roman church
about how he
desires to
come to them
and visit with
them but he
couldn't write
then because
he was taking
a gift from
the church in
Philippi to
the poor church
in Jerusalem.
Here's what he
said in Romans
15.
At present
however I am
going to
Jerusalem bringing
aid to the
saints.
For Macedonia
and Achaia
have been
pleased to
make some
contribution
for the poor
among the
saints at
Jerusalem.
For they
were pleased
to do it
and indeed
they owe
it to them
Paul said.
For if the
Gentiles have
come to share
in the spiritual
blessings they
ought also to
be a service
to them in
material blessings.
They had a
passion to meet
the needs of
others specifically
to meet the
needs of other
believers and of
other churches and
we ought to have
that same passion.
there's three
ways I wrote
down this
week that our
giving our
regular faithful
giving as a
church helps to
meet the needs
of others.
First our giving
helps to meet the
needs of the
poor.
It helps actually
go to meet the
needs of people in
our church and
people in our
community that need
help and we have a
heart for that and
we want to continue
to have a heart for
that.
One of the
consistent descriptions
of the church in the
New Testament is this
realm of meeting
needs for one
another.
Flip with me just
quickly over to the
left to Acts chapter
2.
I'm sure you're
familiar well with
the, very familiar
with the passage
itself.
It's a fantastic
description of what
the character of the
church is supposed
to be.
Acts chapter 2,
look with me at
verse 44.
Luke writes,
all that believed
worked together.
There's a unity
here.
And they had all
things in common
and they sold their
possessions and goods
and parted them to
all men as every man
had a need.
One of the primary
characteristics of the
early church was that
they were willing to
take their excess and
do away with it in
order that those less
fortunate in the church
could actually have the
basic necessities of
life.
This wasn't communal
living in the sense
that they pulled all
their stuff together and
everybody had the same
exact thing.
There were still some
people that had more
than others but those
who had excess were
willing to give up that
excess in order to meet
the needs of those that
didn't have a lot.
That should be our
heart as a church.
That should be our
heart.
We give through the
church in order to help
others in the church or
even we give just
personally to other
people in the church
that we see have a
need.
This is to be the heart
of believers and of
Christians.
Our giving helps to do
that.
Our giving supports
ministers of the
gospel.
The New Testament
teaches that the
regular giving of the
church is to provide a
living for pastors and
missionaries.
While not every pastor is
able to survive on the
income of the church
alone, it should be the
desire and goal for the
church to provide a
living for those who
lead it.
And the scripture is
clear in that.
Our giving helps to do
that.
Not just for me.
It helps to give to the
missionaries that we love,
the people that we want to
help.
It helps ministers of the
gospel just like the
Philippians helped Paul and
his team.
Thirdly, our giving supports
the needs of church
ministry.
It's through our regular
giving of the congregation
that we're able to rent a
facility to meet in, to pay
the rent and pay the bills,
for us to have tools that
help us to preach the
gospel, to supply basic
needs like outreach materials
and church Bibles that
people can use that won't
have one, or service guides,
other things that help us.
All of these things go to
meet the needs, and that's a
part of it.
They gave to his necessity.
I was listening.
You've heard me talk about
often.
Alistair Begg is probably my
favorite preacher, and I
listen to him preach a lot,
and I listened to him
earlier this week preach on
this passage, and in it he
talked about two different
types of sharing or two
different types of giving.
He used different words, but
he said basically there's
reciprocal sharing and
there is necessary sharing.
Reciprocal sharing is giving
on the basis of reciprocity.
For instance, you would have
somebody over to your house, a
family that's similar to
yours.
They come over and you share
with them your home and your
food and the material things
that you have, knowing that at
some point, maybe a few weeks
later, they're going to invite
you over to their house, and
they're going to share in the
same things with you that you
have shared in with them.
You share with one another by
reciprocating acts of
kindness, and there's nothing
wrong with this kind of
sharing.
It's actually necessary and
good, and most of us are going
to be involved with that a lot
in our lives.
That's a good thing.
That's what the church was
doing, this reciprocal
sharing.
It's not that you share because
it will be reciprocated, but it's
not so much of a gift as it is
kind of a trade-off.
You're helping one another.
You're sharing with one
another.
Secondly, there's necessary
sharing, and this is the other
side to that.
It's giving on the basis of no
reciprocity at all.
For instance, you invite someone
to your home who's less
fortunate.
You share your home and your
food and your time with them
knowing full well that they'll
never be able to reciprocate
that kindness.
It's the kind of giving that
should mark the church.
We should be more than willing
to help those that cannot help
us and that cannot benefit us in
any way.
And to be truthful, this kind of
sharing is the most Christ-infused
form of giving.
Jesus sets the example in this.
As we studied so often in
Philippians chapter 2, who made
himself of no reputation.
He set aside the glories of heaven,
and he shared himself with us, and
he took on our sin, and he took on
our punishment, shared in that with
us, knowing full well that we could
never reciprocate that kindness for
him.
There is never anything we could do
that could repay him for what he
has done for us.
He sets the tone for this giving
for us, and we're to take that
example of Christ in the gospel,
and we're to demonstrate that to
others.
Pick somebody in your life.
Find somebody in the church.
Find somebody in your community that
you can bless with the gospel of
Christ, knowing full well that
they'll never be able to pay you
back.
They shared in the work of the
gospel.
They shared in the needs of others,
thirdly, and finally, they shared in
the fruit of the gospel.
They shared in the fruit of the
gospel.
Look at verse 17.
Paul says, I'm not saying this
because I desire you to send more,
but I desire that fruit may abound to
your account.
Fruit may abound to your account.
He wasn't manipulating them to send
more money or to keep the checks
coming.
He was reminding them that what they
have done in their sacrificial,
faithful giving will be rewarded with
fruitfulness in gospel ministry.
It's not that they would be able to
look back and think, okay, I gave a
hundred bucks to the Lord this week.
That means the Lord's going to give me
a hundred bucks back in some way this
week.
That's not what this giving was about.
That's not the fruitfulness of giving.
The fruitfulness of giving is that as
we give to the Lord, he provides gospel
fruit in the places that this money
goes and that it goes to support his
work.
I desire fruit that may abound to your
account.
This is an expansion really on their
share in the work.
Not only could they participate in gospel
work around the world, but whatever fruit
God produced through that work would be
credited to their account.
Here's what's so awesome about this.
They not only shared in the work, they
shared in the results of the work.
How exciting is that for us as
believers?
That as we give faithfully to the Lord
week in and week out and we send this
money to help reach the people in our
area with the gospel and we send it
across the world to various missionaries,
we can rejoice and share in the results
of that gospel work.
As people are saved, as people are
baptized and added to the church, we
can rejoice because we got to have a
part in that, not in a prideful way, but
in a humble way.
We can rejoice with them and share in
the results of that ministry.
We'll be rewarded by God for the fruit
that he bore even when we didn't know
he was using us.
How awesome is that?
Many of us will go through life and
we'll labor and we'll serve and we'll
give and not just in material giving, but
in other ways, our time and our efforts,
giving to gospel work.
And we may rarely see the fruit of that
ourselves, but it doesn't mean that the
fruit of it isn't going out.
The blessing is one day we will see the
fruit of it.
One day in eternity we'll rejoice with
those people who came to Christ because
we had a small part in giving or we gave
them a church invitation or we gave them a
Bible or whatever it was.
We will get to rejoice in that fruit even
if we don't see it now.
And Paul desired that for this Philippian
church.
They shared in the work, they shared in the
needs, and they shared in the fruit.
And as we close, I want to take just a
minute to reflect on how we as Lakeside
Bible Church have experienced this blessing
of sharing in the gospel.
It's because of the faithful giving of
other congregations that we've been able to
get started as a church.
Every month there are 12 different churches
that send our congregation financial support.
And there are many more than that that gave
gifts at some point over the last year, year
and a half, in order to help us buy the truck and
trailer that we use every week, that have bought
the sound equipment that we have and the
backdrops and all the things that you see.
They've helped us provide this.
That was out of their generosity that we were
able to do that.
It's because of their generosity that we even
have an opportunity to consider a potential lease
agreement in a building.
We as a church have been the beneficiaries of this
kind of giving.
And it came from many congregations that know full
well that at least in the immediate time, we're
incapable of reciprocating that giving back.
Why do they do that?
Because of the gospel.
Because they're passionate about the work.
They want to share in the work of the gospel that we're
doing here in Cornelius.
They want to share in the fruit that God may provide in his
own way and in his own purposes through our church.
They want to share in the needs of other believers across
the state and across the country and across the world that
need basic supplies in order to take the gospel around the
world.
They're passionate about that.
So it doesn't bother them to sacrifice of themselves.
They give knowing that they'll never get it back in return.
They give because they're passionate about the gospel.
It's an investment.
But then we've also been able to share with others.
And I love this.
Even in the short life of our church, we've been able to help
a lot.
We've been able to give a lot for a small church.
And I want you to know this message and the context of it,
especially as we get into next week, this isn't corrective on
my part.
I feel blessed to pastor a very generous church.
And I'm thankful for each of you that faithfully give.
Some every week faithfully give generously to our ministry.
It's because of your faithful giving that this year we've been
able to send more than $5,000 to other missionaries and other
church planners.
Because you have given, you get to share in the gospel work of
these ministries that we've been able to partner with.
And we rejoice in that.
It's because of your generosity that I'm able to fully commit my
time to be your pastor.
And I don't have to work a second job right now.
That's because of your generosity.
It's because of your generosity that we're able to save every week
for the future of our ministry, whether it be at the place that's
just down the road in Cornelius, whether it be in another place,
we get to save right now because you are generous in giving.
So thank you for your giving.
And like Paul, I want to encourage you to continue in that.
Because I want to see that fruit applied to your account,
to the account of our church, as we faithfully seek to partner with
people in the gospel, as we seek to meet the needs of others,
and as we seek to share in the fruit of the gospel as well.
I want us to care about meeting the needs of people.
I want our church to share in the fruit of God's blessing.
And I want all of this because I truly believe it's what God desires for us.
Thank you for listening to this sermon made available by Lakeside Bible Church.
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we'd love for you to attend one of our worship services.
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