Gaining By Giving (1)

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Philippians chapter 4, let's read beginning at verse 15.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

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.

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,

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

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

Romans 15 · chapter mention

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

Acts 2 · chapter mention

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,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

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

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

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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Please do not charge for it or alter it in any way without express written consent

from Lakeside Bible Church.

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If you live in the Charlotte or Lake Norman area,

we'd love for you to attend one of our worship services.

We meet every Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

We'd love to meet you.