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[0:00] This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. Back in Philippians chapter 4, as we are nearing the end of our time.

[0:23] My thought is that we'll probably have one more Sunday next week. Lord willing, as we finish up our study through Philippians, but my plan today is to look through verses 19 through 23, and then next week be able to bring the whole thing to a close.

[0:43] Remember, as Paul writes this, he is in house arrest. He has been arrested. He has spent some time isolated. He appealed and then was shipped off to Rome.

[0:56] And we find him here in Rome under house arrest, where he is chained to a guard with no privacy to enjoy at all. He has to pay for his own accommodations.

[1:09] Though he is able to meet with people and able, as we see here, to write letters, the church at Philippi, knowing of his need, took an offering.

[1:21] And a part of that offering they collected, they gave to a man named Epaphroditus, who then took that to deliver off to Paul. Paul and the church has been so gracious and so kind through their love, expressed through their giving.

[1:36] And that gift has made its way to Paul, and he is mentioning his appreciation for them. When we were last in Philippians 4 a couple of weeks ago, this is what we were looking at.

[1:49] This reality of, he mentions their giving to him, and he expresses appreciation of it. Go back to verse 14 with me.

[1:59] Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble, and you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.

[2:14] Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

[2:29] I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

[2:45] And we looked last time at this reality of our responsibility and our privilege to be able to worship God through giving, and how the local church is given this privilege to worship as we give, to meet the needs of those in our church, as well as those around the world.

[3:05] And I really appreciate the feedback I received from that message a couple weeks ago, as we dealt with what the Bible says about giving. There really were three categories of people I heard from and conversations I had after that.

[3:21] One, I heard from a number of people who said something like, Pastor, we give regularly. We enjoy giving. It's a part of our life. It's a part of our worship. And it was just good to be reminded of the importance of this.

[3:35] Good to be reminded of how the Lord is pleased with our giving. I appreciated that word from so many people who expressed that. I also heard from some people who said something like, Pastor, we used to give.

[3:50] We don't now. We didn't purposely stop. It's not that we stopped loving the Lord. We didn't stop believing in the church. We just, some things came up or we got distracted or life got chaotic, whatever it may be.

[4:03] And I heard from a number of people who said that if they were honest right now, they're not worshiping and being faithful through giving. And they appreciated the biblical reminder of the joy in that and their desire to partner with us in giving.

[4:18] And I appreciated their honesty in that. I also heard from several families who said, Pastor, to be honest with you, we don't give and we never have.

[4:28] Some said they weren't ever taught to give. Some said they didn't really understand the biblical reason to give. All kinds of different things. And I very much appreciated their honesty in that.

[4:39] And so many of them that said, we want help in this. We want to be taught how we can be faithful. We want to be a part of worshiping through giving to have a hand in what God is doing, both in our church, in this area, and around the world.

[4:55] And I so appreciated all of those different kinds of responses to say that as we look at the Word, that we see together not just the responsibility, but the joy that comes when God's people give.

[5:10] And that really, if you read His words, if you heard those as I read just a moment ago, these aren't words of guilt. These aren't words of manipulation. It's words of joy. It's words of expressing the beauty of being able to partner together with God's people to be able to worship in this way.

[5:30] That's the word He used in verse 15. He says, No church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. That's what our giving is.

[5:41] It's a partnership. As you worship God through giving to our local church, we're able to take your financial offerings and use them to do ministry here in our church, to be able to reach our city and area, and to be able to partner with other churches all around the world in doing the work that God has called us to do.

[6:04] It is a partnership. And I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the reality that you may not be the one who physically went to camp, but if you're a faithful giver, you were a partner in that.

[6:18] Just in the last six weeks, we've had church camp, VBS, middle school camp, high school camp, kids camp. Just in the last six weeks.

[6:31] And many from our church were there. They were students at the camp. They were sponsors at the camp. They were drivers to the camp. They were cooks at the camp. But hundreds of you weren't physically there.

[6:43] But through your giving, you were very much a part of that. We're partners together. Just last week, we had some from our church that were serving in Utah.

[6:56] And as they were there in Utah, they were able to do work with Dustin and Sarah Stopman, former staff member here, that we support them and partner with them in their church plant there at Hope Valley.

[7:08] And those who were on that trip were able to do VBS for the kids. They were able to do work there in the neighborhoods, in the parks, inviting people to church. They were able to do a ladies' fellowship where they were able to talk and emphasize the importance of discipleship, of being disciple and discipling others, and able to try to help partner with Dustin and Sarah to share and spread the gospel there in Utah.

[7:34] We had six from our church who were physically there. But every single one of you who are faithful to give were a partner in that trip.

[7:47] Because a part of the cost of every single mission trip we take people on is funded through your giving. You may not have physically been there, but if you are a faithful giver, you're absolutely a partner in that work.

[8:04] Coming up very soon, we've got a group going to Brazil. A group from our church will be on that mission trip. Most of us will not physically be there. But every single one of us that are faithful to give, absolutely are a partner on that trip.

[8:23] Next month, the group is going to Canada. A few from our church will physically go. But every single one of you who are faithful to give, absolutely are a partner in that work.

[8:39] Last week, I was in Los Angeles teaching in the seminary, and was able to have some interaction with some people from a mission organization that our church sponsors and supports. You may have never been to Los Angeles.

[8:54] You may have never been overseas where the mission organization has their training centers. But every one of you who are faithful to give are a partner in training pastors all over the world.

[9:10] This is a partnership that we work together in. And he says, not that I seek the gift.

[9:20] In other words, it's not just about the offering. It's not just about the money. I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. The Lord blesses. The Lord rewards those who are faithful to give.

[9:32] It doesn't mean that if you give, you're going to make a lot of money. This isn't a name and a claimant kind of a thing. This is just saying this, that those who are faithful to obey the Word of God are blessed through the blessings of our Savior.

[9:49] And I want to say today, as I said last month, I want to share my sincere appreciation for every single family in our church who is faithful to regular, consistent, non-heroic, just faithful, regular giving.

[10:06] And just every time you give, you're saying, Lord, I trust You. I believe in You. I believe in the ministry of the church. And I want to have my part in partnering with our entire congregation to do the work God has called us to do.

[10:23] And as I said last month, if that's not a part of your life and a part of your worship, I don't want you to feel guilty. I don't want you to feel manipulated.

[10:34] I just want to encourage you to prayerfully consider, would you take God at His Word? He says it's more blessed to give than to receive.

[10:47] He says there is a fruit, there is a blessing for those who give. His Word says there's a joy in partnering to give. I just want to say to you, would you take God at His Word and join with us, partner with us in faithful, regular, prayerful giving.

[11:09] Not because our church is in some kind of financial problem, but because there is nothing better we all would want to do than to use what God has given to us to be a part of His kingdom work.

[11:26] This isn't motivated by guilt, not motivated by manipulation, not motivated by fear. It's motivated by joy, by worship, by love, by partnership.

[11:40] I wasn't physically in Utah last week, but I got a chance to be a partner through giving. You weren't physically in Los Angeles with some of the missionaries last week that I was able to interact with, but you were a partner in that in giving.

[11:57] And what a joy to say collectively, if every family in our church be faithful to worship through giving, what a joy is ours.

[12:11] As is always true, the Bible verses that we know and memorize do not exist in a vacuum. They exist in a context.

[12:23] We looked a few weeks ago at Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. As an example, that that verse is so often ripped out of its context, but there's a beauty when you understand the context it comes from.

[12:38] The exact same thing is true with verse 19. Most of you in here, maybe you can't quote it verbatim, and maybe you couldn't say exactly where it's found, but most of you are familiar with Philippians 4.19, that my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

[13:00] This isn't in a vacuum. This isn't a context. This comes right after Paul's encouragement for the people of God to be faithful givers, to be faithful partners in ministry together.

[13:15] And remember, the church that he commenced for their generous giving, the church at Philippi, this was not a wealthy church at all. This was a church who gave generously in their poverty.

[13:29] And to those who did not have much, but gave greatly, the question becomes, what's their condition going to be? What's going to happen to people if they are faithful and generous to give?

[13:42] And in that context comes the beautiful promise of verse 19. My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

[13:55] As we look at these final verses together, make note number one of the good for believers. The good for believers.

[14:05] We just sang together that all things are working for His glory and our good. And we see that right here in verse 19. He calls them to be generous givers.

[14:20] He says, it's not about the money. I'm not talking about just the gift. I'm talking about the fruit, the blessing of God in your life as you obey Him. And He says, as you are faithful to do that, rest in this promise in verse 19.

[14:34] There is good for you. My God will supply every need of yours. This is my God. He knows Him. This isn't some distant, disconnected God.

[14:47] My God. And I want to remind you, believers, of the blessed privilege that is yours as a Christian to be able to say, He is my God. This speaks of relationship.

[15:01] This speaks of closeness. He's not the man upstairs. He's not the architect in the sky. This is our God who we know.

[15:16] Who so showed His love that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

[15:30] And those who have been saved by grace through faith can know this is my God. And look how encompassing this promise is. My God will supply every need of yours.

[15:45] And for many in our church right now, your needs are big. Your God is bigger. This isn't a promise to meet all of your worldly wants.

[15:59] Let me be very, very clear from last time and this week. There is no promise here that if you are faithful to give, that you're going to get a raise, that you're going to get a promotion, that if you're a faithful giver, you're going to get a new car, you're going to get a bigger house.

[16:16] No promise of that. We're not giving to get something else from the world. What God gives us is Himself, His peace, His love, the greater understanding of His character and His holiness.

[16:35] And that is our reward. He says, My God will supply every need of yours. According to, look at the text, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

[16:52] He gives in accordance with all that He has. As a friend of mine said about this text, this is not a while supplies last kind of promise.

[17:08] Because His riches never run out. If I found a $50 bill and I were to give out of what I had, if I gave you $25 of it, what I have would be cut in half.

[17:25] If I gave you out of my $50, 25 of them, what I have, it was just cut in half. He doesn't give out of. He gives according to.

[17:37] According to. If a multi-multi-billionaire gave you a check for $50,000, that would be a very generous gift, but that man's wealth is not drained any.

[17:51] He'll make more than that in interest tomorrow. He's giving according to his wealth. God does not give to His children and His supplies then diminish.

[18:03] He gives according to His riches. In other words, God has enough to take care of and sustain His people. faithful. This is why faithful giving for us, it really is a test of our faith, really is a test of our trust in the Lord.

[18:27] When Marce and I were newly married, I paid all the bills, like, took care of paying them, and we didn't have much left over at the end.

[18:38] As the saying goes, we often had more month left over than money. And one day, newly married, Marce said, can you believe how much we have? And I was like, you don't pay the bills.

[18:53] Like, we don't have that much. And she would just talk about the gifts that we have, the house that we have, we have vehicles, she just felt so satisfied in the provision of God.

[19:08] My wife's the one who taught me to have joy in giving. It has nothing to do with how much you have, it has to do with your faith and your trust in the Lord.

[19:23] My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. He does not run out. of provision for His people.

[19:36] This is the good for believers. That we can address God as my God and we can trust He will supply our every need and we can trust that our God never runs out of provision.

[19:49] This is the good we have for our people. Second, just as we have sung together today, this text speaks not only of the good for believers but the glory of God.

[20:03] The glory of God. Verse 20, to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. This echoes the words of the psalmist in Psalm 115 verse 1, not to us O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness.

[20:26] And so, in context, let me just say that even for those in our church who you are faithful to worship through giving and you are consistent in that and thank you for that, make sure that as you give, you remember to give glory to God.

[20:44] Remember that every time you give, there should be a part of your heart and your mind that just stops and thanks Him for His provision. It's possible to disobey God by not being a giver.

[20:55] It's also possible to disobey God by giving but not focusing on His glory and His kindness and His goodness to us. With every act of obedience you have, let it be an offering unto the Lord and say, God, I do this for Your glory.

[21:13] I give financially for Your glory. I'm teaching this Sunday school class for Your glory. I'm ministering in this way for Your glory. I'm going to greet at the doors for Your glory.

[21:23] I'm cleaning up this area of the church. God, it's for Your glory. Let everything you do be done for the glory of God. Let me tell you why this is so important.

[21:39] If you don't have your mind focused on the glory of God, what we will often do is be obedient to the works we were supposed to do, but it's not worship if it's not done in faith.

[21:57] Hebrews makes that clear. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. We want to not only come to Christ by grace through faith, we want everything that we do to be done in faith.

[22:11] But here's the way that our flesh can so often operate. We may read our Bible and we may get convicted and say, I really need to use my spiritual gifts in the church and so I'm going to answer the call and teach Sunday school this year.

[22:27] I really need to obey the Bible. I'm going to be a faithful giver starting now. I really need to do what the Bible says. I'm going to read the Word every day. I'm going to do what the Word says and that's good.

[22:38] But if we're not careful what our flesh will do is we'll look at the works we've done and say to ourselves, look what I have done. And we very quickly can become boastful and proud even if the works we're doing are what we are called to do.

[22:55] If our heart and our motive is not right, it's not worship. We've got to make sure that our motive is to give glory to God in all things.

[23:09] Jeremiah 9, 23, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness.

[23:31] I'm thankful for every single Sunday school teacher we have. I'm thankful for every Awana teacher, every PDO teacher, every kids choir teacher.

[23:43] I'm thankful for every one of you who have answered the call to teach. That is such a blessing and I'm so grateful. But can I remind you that your act of ministry, for it to be biblical worship, must be done with the motive of the glory of God.

[24:03] Deuteronomy 8 speaks to another weakness that our heart has. It says, Beware, lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

[24:16] You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth. So, even in your giving, I'm thankful for every household that's faithful to partner with us in giving.

[24:30] And if that's not you, I invite you to join with us starting now. We'd love to have you partner with us in that. But for those who are faithful to give, don't let your heart become boastful in your giving.

[24:48] Who is it that gave you power to gain wealth? Who is it that gave you life? Who is it that gave you a mind? Who is it that gave you strength? Who is it that has sustained your body to be able to do the work?

[25:00] It's all of the Lord. So, even in your obedience to His Word, make sure it's the glory of God that motivates you.

[25:13] That should also permeate everything we do in this sanctuary as a congregation. There are Sundays you show up and I'm grateful you're here, but the truth is sometimes in your heart you're distracted, you're worried, you're anxious, you're physically tired, you're distracted, and sometimes you're here or any of us can show up and we can feel like, well, I'm present, but I don't really feel like offering praise.

[25:42] I don't really feel like engaging in the songs or engaging in listening to the Word being taught. God, but His glory is greater than our limitation.

[25:54] And the motive of bringing glory to God ought to be stronger than whatever struggle you're having. His glory motivates us, calls us, compels us to say, whatever I'm facing today, He is worthy of my praise.

[26:10] So you may have to sing though your body is tired, you may have to listen though your mind tends to be distracted, but His glory is worth our greatest obedience.

[26:26] To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. The good for believers is that He supplies our needs.

[26:38] The glory of God is greater than all things. Let me show you a third thing in verse 21 and 22. It's the gladness of the church. The gladness of the church.

[26:49] Verse 21, greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. These words at the end of a New Testament letter, these final greetings, we often skip over.

[27:02] We often think as though there's really nothing here for us, but this actually I think is quite instructive for us because a part of the Christian life no doubt is vertical between us and God, but another part of the Christian life is horizontal between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

[27:21] Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. There is a gladness that should be a part of the body of Christ. There is a joy, there is a relationship, there is a connectivity between the members that ought to always be true.

[27:40] We're not to be just a bunch of individuals who show up at the same address on Sunday morning. We are to be a family. There is relationship, there is conversation, there is love, there is grace, and that's expressed even as we greet each other and talk to each other.

[28:00] As I mentioned last time, we don't want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible we obey. We want to be faithful by God's grace in all of it.

[28:12] And it's just interesting if you read this in its context, two of the final things that are given to us and given to the church to consider obedience in are two things that can be very challenging for people, giving and greeting.

[28:30] These are two ways that we can express our love for God and our compassion for each other. Giving and greeting. The danger is that for so many people they're comfortable picking and choosing and so they'll say things like, I don't really want to give, that's too hard, but I'm happy to be friendly, I'll talk to people.

[28:52] Others are the exact opposite. They're happy to give, they're fine to do that, just don't ask me to talk to anybody. But we don't want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible we obey.

[29:08] And what's so interesting and helpful to me and encouraging to me about this is so much of our life is so common and so routine and so mundane and the end of Philippians reminds us that in the regular common discipline of being regular and faithful to give and the faithful discipline to just be kind, to greet each other, to talk to each other, to care about each other in those simple things, God is pleased.

[29:40] And I'm so grateful for that because most of our life is ordinary. Sundays, while thrilling and exciting, I love them, but most Sundays are pretty ordinary.

[29:53] What we do is extraordinary in the sense that we're worshiping God and in that sense should never be boring for us. But most Sundays are pretty common, they're pretty ordinary.

[30:04] And yet, right in the midst of the ordinary, those who are faithful to give and those who are faithful to greet in this context can know God is pleased with us.

[30:15] You don't have to be heroic. You don't have to do something the whole world sees. You don't have to be famous and well known. You can just be ordinary and faithful as you partner through giving and as you greet the saints.

[30:39] Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. I want to draw your attention to that phrase, greet every saint.

[30:50] Every member truly matters. Every one of you matter. You're important.

[31:03] You're needed. Your life, your spiritual gifts, your love, your talents, your influence, we partner together because none of us by ourselves can do what God has called us to do.

[31:25] We partner together because we're a family. If you find yourself feeling like you don't matter, just know that you're needed and you're wanted.

[31:43] You're loved. And one of the things that every member in our church ought to take to heart is the biblical reminder to practically live out this encouragement of verse 21 to greet each other in the Lord.

[32:05] This seems so small. This seems so almost just kind of a throwaway at the end of the letter, but it's not. This is a reminder that the church is about relationships.

[32:20] We're about people. We're to know each other and care for each other and express compassion to each other, to love each other and that's expressed as we greet each other.

[32:34] Giving and greeting. These aren't heroic things. They're common, ordinary ways that you can know you bless the name of the Lord and give glory to Him by doing the simple things He's called us to do.

[32:54] If you're one who says, I don't really want to give, but I'll do all these other things, can I just remind you to be faithful with everything He's called us to do?

[33:05] But for others of you, you regularly and are happy to give, you just really don't want to be bothered by people? Let me remind you of what the Scripture says here.

[33:19] That our vertical love for God is expressed through the horizontal relationships with each other. Give faithfully.

[33:31] Greet the saints in Christ Jesus. Verse 22 says, all the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. This is quite remarkable that the servants and the cooks and the soldiers, those that serve in the palace, even those who have come to faith in the ministry of Paul's incarceration, greet the saints.

[33:59] God's grace knows no limits. Turn back to chapter 1. Let me give you a reminder of where that comment comes from. Verse 12, chapter 1, verse 12, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel as imprisonment, has advanced the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

[34:30] God was at work doing things no one would ever have believed or understood. In every circumstance, even the ones that make no sense to our human minds, God is at work.

[34:43] God is at work and can I remind you, dear friends, that's true not just for Paul, that's true for you. God is at work in your life.

[34:55] God is at work in the circumstances of your life. God is at work in the details of your life, even the parts of your life you don't understand that are painful right now.

[35:05] God is at work there. The saints greet you and even those in Caesar's household greet you. This is the gladness of the church.

[35:19] And here's the good news. If you're a believer and you're a fourth grader, you don't have to wait until you're old like your parents when you turn like 35 to do this.

[35:29] You can do this today. Greet your friends today. Be kind today. When you go to Sunday school class next hour, greet your friends who are there.

[35:40] You don't have to wait until you're older to honor the Lord. You bring glory to God right there. For our middle schoolers, you don't have to wait until you're in high school or college to live out your faith.

[35:52] You can simply and practically right here today apply the word and know you're giving glory to God as you greet each other, as you're kind to each other, as you're welcoming to each other.

[36:04] so much of our life we think, well, I need more education. I need more experience. I need more training. I need more influence to be able to bring glory to God.

[36:16] No. Right where you are today, in context, faithful, regular giving and kind, gracious greeting are simple ways that we make the church a joyful place because our hearts are so fixed on the glory of God that we would be willing to say we want to do everything God's word calls us to do.

[36:39] And in that, there is great joy and gladness. Let me give you one more from verse 23. We see the grace of Jesus. The good for believers is that God provides for us.

[36:53] The glory of God is our goal. The gladness in the church is the result. And the grace of Jesus is what sustains us. Verse 23, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

[37:10] I've heard it said this way. I think this is helpful that God's glory that He just referenced is that vertical aspect of our life. Our bond with other believers is that horizontal aspect of our Christian life.

[37:25] And the grace of God in our spirit is that internal aspect of our life. So our Christian life includes our relationship with God.

[37:35] It includes our relationship with each other. It even includes in our own hearts the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. So as we worship the Lord, our relationship with God is strengthened.

[37:48] Our relationship with each other is strengthened. And even my own heart, your own heart, is strengthened by His grace. these last few verses of Philippians 4 feel so normal.

[38:08] They feel so non-heroic. They feel so common. And this is good news because most of your life is that way.

[38:21] Most days are normal days. Most weeks are normal weeks. And right in the midst of that normalcy, you can know that you are pleasing to God and making a difference for the sake of the kingdom as you in faithful, common ways obey the words of God.

[38:47] And what if you take Him up on it? What if you do serve? What if you do give your life to Him? What if you are a faithful giver? What's going to come of my needs? Verse 19, My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches.

[39:02] This is good for us. But don't let your heart grow proud and don't let your ministry be focused on you because it is to our God and Father that glory is to be given.

[39:18] And don't think that your relationship with God is just only only about you and the Lord. It also extends to your relationship within the body of Christ. We're a family.

[39:30] We're not individuals. We are a family made up of individuals, yes, but absolutely saved into a family. This is why He uses the word partnership or fellowship to describe the faithful giving of the church because we are connected to each other.

[39:53] And the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is what strengthens us and sustains us and, can I say this, also makes us grateful.

[40:07] If we're not careful, it is so tempting to look at what we don't have and become ungrateful, but the grace of Jesus Christ is forever a call back home to see things in light of our sin and of His sacrifice.

[40:24] And beloved, if you have been saved by grace through faith, if your sin has been forgiven, if heaven is your home, in that, you always have something worth singing about.

[40:37] You always have something worth celebrating. This is why there should be such gladness in the church because the grace of Jesus Christ is enough to make our hearts glad in any and every season of life.

[40:57] So as we have finished the text of Philippians, let me just give you a couple things to think about here at the end. Number one, am I pleasing God by obeying His will?

[41:10] Am I pleasing God by obeying His will? Anything in these four chapters that we've looked at these last 11 months, is there anything in here that you're not obeying?

[41:23] And let that be a conviction and challenge to your heart, a reminder to obey His will. And if you say, I just need something simple, I just need something simple to get started, to get my spiritual life off of stuck and get moving forward.

[41:40] Just take this last passage of faithful giving and faithful greeting. Just start there. If you feel like your spiritual life is stuck, you're not going anywhere.

[41:52] Just start right here. Practice this today. Greet the saints around you. When church is over, go to a friend and greet them.

[42:04] Go to someone you don't know and introduce yourself to them. When you go to Sunday school class, if there's someone you haven't talked to in a while, go over there and say hi to them. Greet them. This isn't some small thing. This isn't just about good manners.

[42:16] This is about obeying the heart of God of how His people are to live out our faith in Him by loving each other. Be faithful to greet each other.

[42:28] Be faithful to give to the Lord through the local church. Just start there. And let your life spiritually get moving forward as you do.

[42:39] Let me give you a second question. Am I trusting God to meet my needs? Am I trusting God to meet my needs? Can you imagine if we took the time for every person right now in this service to mention the need they have, how many needs would be represented?

[43:02] It'd be unbelievable. Everybody here has needs and some people know your needs and some people don't have any idea what they are. But can I just ask you personally with your needs, are you trusting God to meet your needs?

[43:22] Do you tend to spend more time worrying than praying? Do you tend to spend more time complaining than praying? Let me take you back to verse 19.

[43:36] My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Trust Him. Trust Him. Then a final question.

[43:47] Is my daily life impacted by the grace of Jesus? Is your daily life impacted by the grace of Jesus? Are you thinking each day of the cross and of His sacrifice?

[44:03] when you feel unwanted or unworthy think about the cross and His love for you. When you feel unqualified think about the fact that it is in Christ we conquer not ourselves.

[44:27] When you feel like your life doesn't count for much when you feel like somebody else has more influence than you more gifts than you more strengths than you can you just remind yourself every day that Jesus Christ died for you and saved you and has called you by name and has made you His own.

[44:51] And though what the world says about you can hurt and it can sting I get that nothing is more important than what God says about you. Let the grace of Jesus Christ impact your life daily as you trust in God to meet your every need.

[45:16] So many people fail to be obedient because at the heart of it they just don't trust that God's going to meet their needs. Something within you feels a connection to teach that sunshelm class next year but I'm not sure I can do it.

[45:31] I'm not sure I'm smart enough. I'm not sure that I'm gifted enough. And we focus too much on ourselves and trusting the Lord to meet our needs. Or we feel convicted to worship through giving and want a partner to be a faithful regular giver but if I do that how am I going to pay the bills?

[45:49] If I do that how am I going to provide for these things? At the heart of it it comes down to do you trust God to meet your needs? You feel called to share the gospel with a friend or a neighbor and you really want to do that but you think of your own inadequacy and what if I don't know what to say?

[46:06] What if I get my words stumbled around? What if they ask me a question I don't know? And so we just get paralyzed into speaking nothing and the problem is that we aren't trusting the Lord to meet our needs.

[46:20] Trust Him. My God will supply your every need according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Trust Him and take Him at His word.

[46:32] Some of you will know the name of George Mueller. In the 1800s he cared for orphans by the thousands in Bristol, England. Started the Ashley Down Orphanage.

[46:45] Believed and trusted the Lord to provide. kept detailed journals and one of his journal entries he speaks of a very specific time one of many but a very specific time that God met His needs.

[47:00] It was morning and these 300 children at the time were getting dressed and getting ready for school. It was time for breakfast but there was no food.

[47:11] They were completely out. George Mueller said we need to thank the Lord for our breakfast which there was none.

[47:24] But he trusted the Lord to provide. And upon finishing his prayer a knock on the door came and it was a baker who was nearby and the baker said I couldn't sleep last night and I was just compelled to make something extra knowing that you would be in need today and provided bread for the orphans.

[47:50] That conversation ended only to be interrupted by someone else who had stopped by a milkman who was out delivering milk. His cart had broken down and he said to Mr. Mueller by the time this cart gets fixed the milk is going to be spoiled.

[48:06] Can I give it to you? Gave him 10 very large drums of milk enough to take care of 300 children. George Mueller believed that his God would supply.

[48:24] He prayed. He trusted. He obeyed. and he took God at his word.

[48:38] And the God who provided for Paul in the first century is the same God who provided for George Mueller in the 1800s is the same God today who will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

[48:57] let the normal common routine heart response you have to his grace be obedience and trust and faith in who he is.

[49:14] Lord we thank you for your word today and pray that it would be useful for us. Lord there are so many times that we are prone to think about what we don't have or gifts we've not been given and yet in grace you remind us even the text today of some simple ways that we can bring glory to your name.

[49:37] To be generous and faithful and giving and kind in our greeting and compassionate to each other. May these not just be things that we study about and consider but things that we do.

[49:49] May it be our heart's desire to be obedient in these honest simple important ways. May our church grow in generosity grow in kindness grow in sincere love for each other and may we do it as a desire to bring glory to your name as a response to the grace that we have been given.

[50:15] We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Web 혁 Where are you?

[50:30]  At this point we may have been given to your beautiful success and our heart's desire to use for us. There's not more or other people that we are as a desire and they're as a desire in life that we are so people are still like that we are at this point of our hope in our hope in after our lives