SupplyIng Our Needs

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Luke 22:35

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.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.

Prove it.