Good morning. I'm glad to be back with you
after a week in Boston. It was a good time there for
spring break. Ellen was presenting a paper
there this weekend so we me Can I piggybacked with her on her
trip to Boston and we had a really good time, they're in the
city. One of the things I like to do
in the cities is sort of see what t-shirts people are wearing
and what, you know, what kind of messages, they're trying to get
across and it it made me realize and reflect on the passage that
we have this weekend of a favorite text for guys in the
gym. And it's Philippians 4:13.
Who knows this verse, How does it go?
That's it. You know, that's, that's the one
that's their favorite one. In the gym, you know, you've got
that weight and you're like, And you just open, you know, that
maybe Jesus or someone else is going to spot you and and get it
up there, right? But do you know, Philippians 4,
14? Now, Philippians 4, 14.
It's such an important verse. Because we take the 413
triumphalism and we miss, what's really going on.
When the Apostle Paul gives this message of his internal
workings, he says, yet. It was good of you to share in
my troubles. Oh, wait a minute.
I can do all things through Christ.
Who strengthens me? Yet, it was good of you to share
in my troubles. What's going on there?
What is he after in this text with the Philippians, he's
actually after the intersection of Money Matters with Ministry
and missions and ministers. So we've been in this series on
why Money Matters and why it's important for us to actually
align our heart with God, in order to seek the kingdom of
Jesus and his righteousness. So that then we can deal with
the strange powers that money has over us and over others.
And when it comes to missions and Ministry carrying out the
work and mission of the The Apostle Paul here has brought
together something that Jesus had brought together that had
always been brought together in the expression of God's
sovereignty among his people. And that is that there is this
issue of who are you relying on. But are you also interdependent
with the people of God? Are you ultimately relying on
God in your life as your provider?
But are you also interdependent with the people of God and the
work and Ministry of the church will not be accomplished.
The Great Commission will not be accomplished unless we become a
people of Philippians 4:13 and 14.
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me yet,
it was good of you to sharing my troubles.
So let's read. Read the text so that we can see
the full context of Money Matters and the mission and
Ministry of the church. This is Philippians 4 beginning
in verse 10. He says I rejoiced greatly in
the Lord that at last. You renewed your concern for me.
Indeed. You were concerned but you had
no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I
am in need for. I have learned to be content,
whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need
and I know what it is to have. Have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty
or in want, I can do all this through him who gives me
strength yet? It was good of you to share in
my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians
know, in the early days of your It's with the gospel when I set
out from Macedonia, not one Church, shared with me in the
matter of giving and receiving except you, only for even when I
was in thessalonica, you sent me Aid more than once when I was in
need. Not that I desire.
Your gifts. What I desire is that more be
credited to your account. I have received full payment and
have more than enough. I am amply supplied.
Now that I have received from epaphroditus, the gifts you
sent, they are a fragrant offering an acceptable,
sacrifice pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your
needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus to our
God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen. Greet all God's people in
Christ, Jesus. The brothers and sisters, who
are with me? Send, greetings, all God's
people here. Send you greetings, especially
those who belong to the Caesars household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Amen. Do you know Paul viewed the
people of Philippians of Philippi as his Partners in the
gospel and chapter 1 beginning in verse 3, Paul tells them that
he's thanking God. Every time he remembers them, he
says, in his prayers for all of you.
He always prays with joy because of your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now, He's riding two partners in
the gospel Partners who are participating and what it takes
to fulfill the mission and Ministry of the church to
fulfill that Commandment that Jesus gave the great Commandment
that we would fulfill. Well that we would love one
another great commandment and the Great Commission that we
would actually carry his good news message.
Zh to others and help them become Disciples of Jesus.
This work and Ministry requires partners.
Andy tells the Philippians you are Partners In The Gospel with
me and you've been my partners from the beginning.
Do you know one of the things that gospel Partners do is that
they show Mutual concern. What do gospel Partners do?
They show Mutual concern. It's a two-way street and
movement. Paul says, I rejoiced greatly
when you renewed your concern for me, not that you stopped
being concerned but you hadn't been able to show it, you know.
No one. Can you imagine what the Apostle
Paul would do if he had a phone especially a smartphone?
I think he would have been a texting Fein all the time
texting is prayers to people, how I was praying for you.
Well, I don't need to write you a letter.
I'm just Gonna send you a text. And all thumbs, he would have
got it done, or maybe he would have spoken his prayers and just
sent them to you. It was a mutual concern.
Do you know? We live in a day when it's so
easy to show our concern and care.
And yet, we don't. We're so slow to do it.
The Apostle Paul has to write a letter, the people of
Philippians have to round up epaphroditus and take a
collection and then send epaphroditus to Rome because
they've heard that Paul is in prison and they are concerned
for him. They are concerned for the
bodily care of Paul. They are concerned for the
financial care of Paul. They are concerned for the
spiritual life of Paul. How is he doing?
But Paul also is concerned for them, and so he's writing a
letter and he sending epaphroditus back.
With the letter. Because he's concerned do you
know missionaries and people who have committed themselves to
respond to God's call on their life, to share the gospel and
their life with another people and that Times Gone, knowing
they would never return home. That home would have to be in
their heart with Jesus home would have to be in their
interdependence with people in that very field that Jesus sent
them to. when William Carey, Responded to the call of God in
the late 1700s. He was responding to a call that
God had been nurturing in his life for years.
He wasn't sure where he would go, but he ended up going to
India. He got on a boat with his
family. Traveled to India.
Was there for 40 years and never returned home.
If you're came as home, he's became his people.
He learned the language. He shared his life.
But do you know before he went one of the grace gifts of God
was that there was a team of people who said we will hold the
Rope. Here's how it happened.
He had shared a message at a church pastored by rev, Andrew
Fuller. And in that meeting.
Carry had shared from his heart that the call of God was
becoming more and more urgent. So Fuller gathered up some
friends. Carrie said, I will go down like
a minor into a mine. I will go down if you will hold
the Rope. Fuller said of that moment.
Before he went down, we engage that while he lived, we would
never let go of the Rope. Wow, what a group of friends. a
group of friends who never pulled him up out of that mine
and brought him back to Britain but instead they continued to
hold the Rope of prayer and of concern and financial giving In
order to provide some help. Some sustenance to William
Carey. This was the life of the Apostle
Paul as well. One of mutual concern for the
work of the Gospel. He said, it was a concern that
weighed heavy on him at times, it was worse than the beatings
that he received his concern for what God would do in the
churches and the lives of those who were responding to the
gospel. He was so thankful.
He said in Philippians to have a man like Timothy.
He says, I have no one else like him.
Who shows a genuine concern for your welfare and then of
epaphroditus. He says this man, risked His
life for the gospel, when you sit him to take care of my needs
and you brought the gift. A mutual concern. everyone needs
a team of mutual concern if you are a teacher or a lawyer or a
medic, If you are, someone who's working into the daily lives of
our city, you need a group of people.
Who will hold the rope with you? For your life and faithfulness
to Jesus. Some of you at times will enter
into times when you need some people who will hold the Rope
financially because of the call of God on your life.
Every one of the churches that you will be a part of in the
future, will need your help and assistance.
To hold the Rope to be concerned, for the work in
Ministry of that church. So that you participate by
prayer. by activation of your gifts and by giving, Show.
Mutual concern. But gospel Partners must also,
learn something else. Gospel Partners must learn
contentment. we must all learn contentment, what Paul calls,
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether
fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want Do you know
when Paul uses the word content? He's actually reaching into the
social conversation of his day. The social media of his day,
would have been full of the stoics philosophy, and one of
the highest values of stoicism once contentment, and by
contentment. They meant self-sufficient.
So it seems as if Paul is saying I have learned the secret of
being self-sufficient. I've learned the secret of being
content of being a self-reliant man, is that really what he's
saying? And just in case they thought
that that was what he was saying, he says, but I can do
all things through Christ through him, who strengthens me.
Paul was navigating attention between.
Trusting Jesus and being interdependent with people.
He says looked Jesus is enough. Jesus is enough for facing my
troubles. Jesus is enough for facing the
trouble of being in, want in poverty.
Jesus is enough for facing the, the troubles that come with
having plenty and being comfortable.
I yeah. Is that really what he's saying
that both come with troubles. Having enough.
Not having enough, it's spiritual trouble for the heart.
Most of us don't acknowledge that the influenza of affluence.
We're just thinking the thing I need to avoid the most in my
life is poverty is not having enough.
But Paul says here, look there's spiritual troubles, that
accompany both. And Jesus can help me face them.
Oh, we have so much to learn about the secret of contentment.
Of being Christ Reliant. When we have a lot Christ
Reliant when we don't seem to have enough.
Gospel Partners. Must learn this.
And Paul is saying I'm learning. I'm learning.
I'm learning it. God is working this into my
life. I'm learning it.
Do you know? Jesus made his disciples work,
this out, Jesus and the twelve disciples were accompanied by A
whole circle of other disciples. In fact, in Luke chapter, 8,
Luke goes on to name a group of women who accompanied Jesus and
the disciples Mary and Joanna, wife of cuza, who is the manager
of herod's household and Susanna and many others.
These women were helping support them out of their own means.
You mean Jesus had a Grace team? Jesus had a team of people who
were helping Supply their needs so that sometimes they were
actually sort of comfortable. And and it wasn't just a group
of men, with some money, it was a group of women with some
money. Who were disciples who were
supplying the mission supplying. The ministry supplying The
Minister's, but there were other times would Jesus led them into
places where they didn't have enough.
On one occasion, there was a whole crowd of people there in
front of the disciples after a full day of teaching and Jesus
turns to them. After the disciples have come
and said Jesus excuse me teacher Jesus, Jesus, take a break.
You need to send them home. Jesus, it's enough.
Jesus, why? But they don't have enough to
eat. They're gonna faint going home.
Jesus. I think the disciples were just
tired, you know. It's easy to blame it on the
crowd. We're going to rescue the crowd
from their hunger so you send them home, but the disciples
were probably a bit weary they had enough.
And Jesus says, you feed them. You feed them.
The disciples are like, what are you talking about?
We can't feed them. If we whole Year's wages,
wouldn't be enough to feed them. Jesus says, well, what do you
have? We have Five Loaves and two
fish. That's enough.
And so Jesus led his disciples
into occasions where he taught them contentment in the Kingdom.
It'll be enough. You're going to make it through.
Every gospel partner and that's all of us must learn this.
And at times and Seasons, those who Minister and move, according
To the commission of Jesus, in their lives, experience Seasons,
where they have plenty and the seasons where they don't have
enough. But they need to learn the
secret of contentment. I've had to learn the secret of
contentment, part of the movement into the secret of
contentment is to not only say like William Carey did expect
great things from God. Attempt great things for God but
also to enter into that season and occasion of your life, where
you say God has the right to do whatever he wants.
William Carey experience this after 20 years in India. when he
arrived at India, he had to sneak off the boat just outside
of Calcutta, because the colonial Powers there at that
time had decided, they did not want Christians to come, They
were seeking to exclude Christian missionaries from
India. Oh, there's a different play on
colonialism and the church. So he had to find another
Captain who would sneak him onto the boat with his family and
then let him sneak off the boat. Into India.
And that's what he did and then he began to get to know the
people and he began to learn the language.
And he found a way to earn his own income.
And when he met some other folks, who were Mission minded,
he said we should live together. And so, they created a communal
living setting, where they just moved in and out, and people
began to move in and out of their space.
And that time he began to translate the Bible and to
Bengali or oriya Marathi Hindi, Asami and Sanskrit.
How did he know enough to translate the Bible?
Well, before he received his call in the ministry, Hudson
Taylor, William Carey was a Shoemaker A Shoemaker that was
his craft and people said he didn't even make good shoes.
But in all of his off time, he began to teach himself, Greek
and Hebrew the language of the scriptures until he became
intensely familiar with it. And so then, when he came to
India, he began to force and compel himself to just learn the
language of the people's. and as he learned the languages, he put
it in the script and he translated it translated the
scripture. He just developed a printing
press area as well as one of his businesses where he could print
things for other people, but he could also print the scripture.
And he began to take all of these languages and create the
printing blocks for making the pages for printing the
scripture. At year 20.
His printing shop, burned to the ground.
All of the scriptures. He had printed all of the
printing blocks were burned to the ground, 20 years of Labor.
God. Terry had no backups.
Nothing in the cloud, 20 years of non-stop, labor was gone.
How would he respond? He wrote to his pastor friend.
Andrew Murray. Andrew Murray was one of those
who had started to hold the Rope.
Andrew Murray is famous for his own works on prayer and Ministry
and missions and this is what Kerry wrote to him.
The ground must be labored over again, but we are not
discouraged. We have all been supported under
the Affliction and preserved from discouragement to me the
consideration of the Divine sovereignty and wisdom has been
very supporting I Endeavor to improve this.
Our Affliction Lords last day. By reading from Psalm 46:10, be
still and know I am God I principally dwelt on two items.
One God has the Sovereign right to dispose of us as he pleases
and to we ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to
us. All Partners In The Gospel.
Must learn Kingdom contentment. How to be reliant on Christ.
But then also how to be interdependent with the people
of God, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens
me yet, it was good of you to share in my troubles.
When the Apostle Paul received this gift, he was very concerned
that they understood the true direction of.
They're giving that their direction of giving didn't
start, just because he had a need, the direction of their
giving started because they were giving their lives to God.
In verse 18 of chapter 4, he says, I have received full
payment and have more than enough.
I am amply supplied. Now that I have received from
epaphroditus, the gifts, you sit, they are a fragrant
offering an acceptable, sacrifice pleasing to God and by
God, will meet all your needs according to the riches of his
glory in Christ Jesus. Do you know one of the ways?
That we managed to put Church plus campus together is that our
staff has a grease team. Our staff has a Grace team of
people who are giving financially and praying for us
and for you so that we can continue to gather In Worship in
Ministry and in sharing our lives here with you.
Paul had a Grace team but his grace team was established not
by people who first saw him and neediness.
They were established by a people who first saw God.
So they're giving themselves to God and he says this gift.
You gave me actually Rises to God. as an offering as a
fragrant, Aroma that he smells and that he Delights in Never
mistake, you're giving as something that's transactional
from you to the Apostle Paul from you to the church from you
to this missionary. Always understand it.
First, The Secret of giving is to give yourself first to God.
And then give the money. And this is what the Apostle
Paul affirms in their lives. He gets so excited about it and
he says, oh, the glory of God. All of this is for the glory of
God. He just gets excited.
He offers up a doxology right there because he sees the
blessing of this ongoing Grace, you gave me Grace.
God gave me, Grace. I'm giving Grace to others who
are getting to know Jesus. And now the praise continues, In
fact, he wants them to know. He gives them a little coded
message here. That their gifts supporting the
ministry that he is involved in. Is being effective.
Did you catch it? Notice?
He says greet all God's people in Christ, Jesus, the brothers
and sisters who are with me, send, greetings.
Wait a minute, Paul's in prison in Rome who are the brothers and
sisters in Rome that are greeting him.
Is it just the other churches that are out and about or is
there sort of a Church on the Move that's being established as
Paul is prisoned? They're in a little house
arrest. Maybe there's a little church
growing in that house and in case they were just catching on
to the coded message. He makes it really clear all
God's people here. Send you greetings, especially
those who belong to Caesars household.
What? Part of the emperor's family.
Have become followers of Jesus. Yeah.
Even the emperor's family have become followers of Jesus.
This is what? Gospel Partners.
Love to hear. Jesus said all the angels of
heaven rejoice, when even one sinner repents do you know that
William Carey and his friends carried on their Ministry in
India for seven years before they saw one person, say yes to
Jesus. That yet, that one person who
said, yes, his name is Krishna Chandra Paul.
When he became a follower of Jesus, it happened because he
had met a doctor. He had slipped and Fallen.
He had dislocated his shoulder. The medical doctor named John
Thomas took him home and I'm sure it was painful put his
shoulder back in socket. But their continued to minister
and care for him and gave him a track that was written in
Bengali. Krishna began to come and visit
them. Often would talk with William
Ward and Felix carry and they would discuss Jesus.
Until finally, the day came that Krishna told Thomas.
I'm a great Center but I've consent best my sin and a free
and then dr. Thomas says, then I called you
brother come and let's eat together in love.
That move was an announcement of his Devotion to Jesus.
Because when Krishna 8 with these European people, it
stirred great consternation among others, who realized that
he had broken cast by eating with these white people.
Despite being mobbed and called a traitor.
Krishna was baptized. He was the first to receive
Jesus as Lord, in seven years of work there.
Krishna's wife and sister, also made commitments to Christ as
did his four daughters and a neighbor and a wife.
And another neighbor who was a widow and they formed the First
new community. They had spiritual Growing
Pains, they had difficulties. But Krishna was one of many
first because they began to worship.
He began to write songs the first collection of songs and
Bengali lifting up the name of Jesus giving glory to God.
Hallelujah. Praise God.
From whom all blessings flow. This happens because there's
Mission Partners both Paul and Carrie and everyone who answers
the call of Jesus to share the gospel with others.
Delights, that being able to tell the story again of someone
else giving their life to Christ.
Let's pray together. Lord Jesus.
We pray that you would assist us in being a true gospel partner
to someone someday and even now would you let us be gospel
partners with our own church? Would you let us be gospel
partners with someone outside of here?
Reaching another campus? Another Place.
Another people would you let us be gospel partners with you.
Cole labourers with Christ in the gospel.
And let it be all to your glory in Jesus name.
Amen.