Never Unnoticed: A Heavenly Account

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

Philippians 4:10–20

20. For those of you who were at the Citrus Ridge

Bible study, this is going to be familiar. Philippians

Philippians 4:10–20

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.