Sermon Brief
Date Written: October 6, 2011
Date Preached: October 9, 2011
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series from Philippians
Sermon Title: Rejoicing In God’s Lagniappe
Sermon Text: Philippians 4:10-20 [ESV]
Introduction:
Here as Paul concludes his letter to the church at Philippi… I want us to review a bit about what Paul has said to them… and what we can take from this book to apply toward our lives as believers!
Paul has stressed his love for these believers over and over again and in many of his letters to other churches Paul speaks about the importance of love within the Christian walk… the implication is that LOVE must be central in the walk of the believer! And for US today, we must focus on loving God, loving each other and sharing God’s love with the lost world around us!
Paul also spoke to these believers about remaining faithful in their walk in Christ. This means that when we live our lives… we must live our faith out loud so that the world has NO doubt about our standing in Christ, so that they NEVER misunderstand or that we NEVER misrepresent our faith or our Savior! Our lives must match our talk… our witness must reflect the Gospel of Christ to the world around us… Paul called these believers to WALK the TALK… we are called to do the same today!
Paul then shared several examples of those who WERE faithful in their walk… those faithful to WALK the TALK in their actions and lives. He spoke of Jesus, Timothy and Epaphroditus, and how their examples were there for them to patter their own lives after! Paul even challenges these believers in 4:9 to live out their lives as they had seen Paul and his team live out their lives… God has promised that when we HONOR Him, that He is going to HONOR our service to Him. It doesn’t mean wealth… it doesn’t mean riches… it doesn’t mean a life without trouble… it doesn’t mean everything will go our way… but it DOES mean that we are in God’s Will and it does mean that God is blessing our service to Him.
Paul then called them to not focus on the things of this world… to not allow the things of the past to hinder their walk here in the present! It doesn’t matter what ‘those things’ were… they were to let go of the past and strive forward for the glory of Christ in God!
This meant that all of their heritage as the ‘people of God’ was insignificant, but that what mattered now was that Jesus had made a way for them to be PERMANENT residents in God’s kingdom! This means that today we too must let go of the past so that we can serve God today where we are today… we cannot allow the “glory days” of the past to distract us from our work today…
Then the past 2 weeks we have seen Paul challenge these Philippian believers to STAND FIRM in their walk, to not waver in the living out of their faith. Stand because Christ stood… stand because God will not leave you… stand because you have faith God will deliver! We are called to STAND FIRM in our walk, through all the trials and setbacks this world has to offer us… STAND!
Then last week we saw how Paul comforts the hearts of these believers by telling them that he understood how difficult living for Christ may SEEM to them, but if they were faithful to Jesus and trusted fully upon Him… God would deliver them!
Paul tells these believers that NO MATTER what comes their way, focus on Christ in prayer and thanksgiving and God will bless their lives with a peace that calms their hearts and eases their minds from the anxieties and troubles of this life! A peace that we cannot understand, but a peace that He will deliver… a peace that only HE can provide!
We are challenged to surrender our anxieties, let go of our anger, tear down our pride and prejudice and serve Him and He will grant us peace when the world around us is in turmoil… we will be guarded by this peace and it will deliver us through all the difficulties that we may face!
But today as Paul wraps up this letter we find him continuing in this same vein… as He begins in v.10 with “I rejoiced…” Paul’s focus is rejoicing and Paul’s focus is also NOT material things or personal accolades OR personal advancement… but Paul’s focus was rejoicing in what God had done and what God is still doing.
Let’s look at v.10-20 and see how Paul rejoices in many ways in these last few verses… I believe Paul is rejoicing in what we here in South Louisiana would call…“God’s Lagniappe”! Follow along as I read Phil 4:10-20 [ESV]
10I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13I can do all things thru Him who strengthens me.
14Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
15And 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.
16Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.
17Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
18I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having rec’d from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
19And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
20To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
First things first, let’s remember where Paul is at this time… He is not in some posh hotel, on a speaking tour, or doing a revival at a mega-church. No… Paul wrote this letter while he was in a Roman prison… while he was chained up between 2 prison guards… and at this time Paul did NOT know what his eventual outcome would be, and yet Paul words to the believers in Philippi were words of great JOY and REJOICING!
I believe we need to be more and more like Paul. He encouraged the Philippian believers to use him and his life as an example of how to live for Christ, and today we still see Paul as a great example of what a servant of Christ should look like…
Paul’s heart and attitude were at peace that God loved him and that God’s grace in his life was abundant… even if the world around him could not see it… HE COULD!
Paul understood from where he had been saved… he had been delivered from an eternity of damnation and separation from God. He knew that the grace God had extended to him and any other sinner was unearned and NOT deserved! BUT God gave it anyway!
Because of God’s love and unmerited grace Paul had learned to live his life focused on certain things… God’s LOVE for him; God’s forgiveness of his sin; God’s salvation of Paul’s soul thru Christ Jesus… these things were things Paul understood that he could never earn or deserve them but that God gave this freely, and this caused great rejoicing in Paul’s heart.
So even as Paul was sitting in a prison cell with his life and ministry hanging in the balance… there were no complaints, only REJOICING for what God had done and was still doing in his life!
Where we saw Paul chained to guards in prison… Paul saw this as God providing him with a “captive audience” to witness and share his faith!
Where we saw Paul in prison without a means to support himself, Paul saw this as God providing opportunity for the church as a whole to step up to minister to and provide for Him, the Philippian church saw this as well and became an avid supporter of Paul…knowing that it was kingdom work!
For Paul, God had been a great provider and wherever Paul was… he had learned to live in the state of rejoicing every day for what God had provided for him and enabled him to do for the Kingdom.
God was providing and Paul was rejoicing, but let’s look closely at these verses and see WHY Paul was rejoicing… so let’s go back to v.10 and we find Paul rejoicing in:
A Renewed Concern For Him – v.10
Here in v.10 Paul speaks of a ‘renewed’ or ‘revived’ effort on the part of the Philippian church… the Greek word Paul uses here is [ahn-ah-thah-lo] which is a word used for gardening or in conjunction with growing plants. It is a term that means ‘renewed AGAIN’… there was life there once and now it has returned… it has been REVIVED! Something like the grass in your front yard… each year it turns brown during the winter months, but when Spring comes, it is REVIVED and becomes green all over again!
This is what has happened to the church in Philippi… they had once flourished at giving and supporting Paul in his ministry… he mentions in Chapter 1:5 of a partnership this church had with Paul from the beginning of his ministry… the implication is that their support had waned over the years, but that they had decided to renew that support and they did so by sending Epaphroditus to minister to Paul’s needs while in prison…. What had become brown and dead looking, was now being revived and Paul was rejoicing in their return to that commitment!
So often as a church we make a commitment only to see that commitment wane after a period of time. Today, I believe God is calling us to a time of commitment… back to where we started… back to the time where all were hearing God’s word… but the problem is that we don’t listen for God’s voice anymore, but we are focused on what makes us happy and NOT on how we can serve Him.
Today I want to issue a challenge to ALL believers here… not just Oak Park church members… I challenge you to renew that commitment… revive that spark of love and interest in ministry so that God can and will be glorified! I challenge you to RENEW your walk and service to Christ through serving in this body…
So many here today are thinking… if I were only 30 yrs younger, 20 yrs younger… or even 10 yrs younger I could make that challenge pastor, but I am too old now… my health is not what it used to be… my eyesight is failing and my body is frail… I can’t be used by God now…
Well the fact of the matter is that you CAN be used, and you can be used FAR beyond what you could ever think… when Caleb claimed that mountain on behalf of God here is what he said, [read Judge 14:10b-12]
“…and now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said."
People… we must RENEW our commitment to God and begin to be the church God has called us to be… Right now we are NOT that church… we have far too many who say WE CAN’T WE CAN’T and not enough saying, ‘preacher let’s go… let’s do God’s work’
In this verse we find Paul acknowledging the Philippian church’s concern for his well being, but we can also see that Paul fully understand that their help was temporary and the help from God is something he can count on, so we see Paul rejoicing in:
God’s Provision for Him & His ministry – v.11-13
The Philippian church had renewed its faith in the ministry and had begun to minister to Paul and in their own areas… But in these verses, Paul reveals his full faith and trust in God’s promise providing for those who serve Him!
Paul says he had learned to be content… first we need to understand that being content as Paul is describing here is NOT a natural conclusion for humans. This is a learned behavior and attitude… it has to be developed and in THIS case it was received by Paul in his prayer time and through his service to God. Paul did not automatically just become content, but it was something he had to work at himself while fully leaning on Christ!
Paul’s contentment is mentioned here thru the use of the Greek word
[ow-tar-kace] which means that you are independent of any external circumstances… it does not mean we don’t deal with those circumstances, but what it does mean is that we don’t allow it to control our emotions or focus on Christ…
This is a learned attitude and it means that we don’t allow the circumstances of life or the situations of this world to control our joy or distract us from our service to God… but learning this is not something we can do on our own and Paul was clear about this in v.12-13… first in v.12 Paul stated that he had learned how to do this because he had endured ALL sorts of situations and circumstances in his walk with Christ… but the most important part of what Paul is saying here is found in v.13
Many of us quote this Scripture ALL the time… and even though it can be used in many applications throughout the Christian walk… it carries with it just one meaning… We must rely on Christ to help us endure… to help us serve… to enable us to deal with any situation or circumstance! Paul had LEARNED to live in any situation… in any circumstance, but it was ONLY because Christ was there for Him… it was only because of his FULL reliance on Christ to deliver him through EACH circumstance or situation.
But I can see that Paul’s rejoicing spirit was NOT focused just on himself! Although he was very happy that his needs were being met… his joy was really found in seeing these believers that he viewed as children in the faith and needing direction… he rejoiced in seeing them submit in obedience and begin to mature in their walk with Christ… that brings me to my 3rd point this morning… we see Paul here rejoicing in:
The Philippian Faithfulness to God’s Work – v.14-16
Paul once again commends the Philippian church for their support of his ministry, but in v.14 their support seems to be a bit more intense as Paul describes his situation as ‘hardship’ or as the KJV says ‘his affliction’… let’s just agree that Paul was facing some rather hard times at this time and he found great joy in seeing the Philippian church reach out in love to minister to him.
Paul goes on to say that the Philippian church, although they had gone thru a dry period of support and had just renewed that support… they had ALWAYS been there for Paul… from the beginning Paul had rec’d support on several occasions from this church and he lifted them up and honored them in their obedience to the spread of the Gospel of Christ!
Paul was genuinely impressed on how this fellowship had reached out to him on many occasions and shared their meager resources to help in his ministry… other churches had NOT done this, but the Philippians had been there all along. Paul was thankful for their obedience.
Their obedience and faithfulness of the Philippian church was exhilarating to Paul; and he goes on to share in the next two verses how their faith was maturing and that it was THE key for growth in their walk with Christ!
Maturing Believers – v.17-18
Paul was not excited or exhilarated because they were sending him money and help (in the person of Epaphroditus)… these things were needed and these things were GOOD, but Paul’s JOY came in seeing a set of believers putting the ministry of God FRONT and CENTER in their lives and they revealed that love of ministry through their submissive and sacrificial giving to the ministry of Paul…
Paul’s joy here was in seeing the ‘increase’ in their faith and in their account with God. He uses the Greek word [play-on-ad’-zoh]which actually means to SUPERABOUND in fruit… He was seeing FRUIT being produced by these believers and it was exciting him to NO end! Paul says that he had seen a great INCREASE to their account… the word he uses and that is translated as ‘account’ is actually the Greek word [log-oss] which means word or spoken word…
The ‘word’ that the Philippian church as spreading was the Gospel of Christ thru loving on the called out ministers FOR Christ… Their ‘word’ to the world around them was that the spread of the Gospel was important and that they were willing to sacrifice to see it spread. Their ‘witness’ may be a better translation within this context… their actions were being recognized and it had increased their witness to the world around them…
We can see that faithfulness on their part was bringing about God’s provision to them and to those they loved… all because of their faithful living.
There is a special principle here that we must grasp as believers today… that principle is simply that God does not abandon those who serve Him, even when things look their darkest and WE cannot see the light… God is still there!
My beloved… this morning you heard the dark news about the finances of our church. You have seen the fiscal difficulties and the picture is bleak and dreary… but I want to say this… our focus can NEVER be about the money! Money is important, but it can never EVER be our focus!
Our focus has to be about serving God and ministering as He has called us to minister! We must do as Paul has set forth here in this wonderful chapter… we must first submit all things to prayer with abundant thanksgiving, and allow God’s peace to reign in our hearts, and then we have to cling to the promise and precept that Paul is teaching in these verses here this morning… God does NOT abandon those who serve Him!
We need our faith to become like the maturing faith reflected in the Philippian church Paul is writing about here in this letter. Are you willing to submit to Christ, trust in Him and lay aside your fears and anxiety? This does not mean things will change… they will only change when we are obedient to God’s calling on our lives… by giving what God has required us to give… by giving sacrificially… but sharing our lives and hearts with those around us and winning souls to Christ.
Step out on faith today and enjoy the precept and principle that God will NEVER abandon His faithful and obedient followers. The world would look at our situation and it would see something entirely different… but here we find that Paul refused to see things as the world saw them… and we must also refuse to see things from a worldly perspective… But finally we find Paul encouraged and excited about:
The Promise of God’s Provision for THEM – v.19
Here Paul is reveling in the fact that he knew what God had done in the past and he is challenging these believers to hold fast to the promise of God found here in v.19 that God will NOT abandon those who serve Him!
Paul is thanking them for their sacrifice and submission to God’s plan and He is telling them that they can rest assured that God will supply their needs…
Many read this and misunderstand what Paul is saying when he says, “My God will supply all your needs…” it almost sounds as if Paul’s ‘god’ was better than ‘their’ god… but that is NOT at all what Paul is saying. Paul is stating that the GOD of my salvation… the God of YOUR salvation as well… this God I have preached about to you for years… HE will NOT abandon you! God’s promise was there, but it had to be claimed…
God’s provision for these believers in Philippi was a matter of faith, but then again, when we think about it… ALL things for the believer come as a matter of faith… Our faith in God to deliver on what He has promised! Paul was challenging these believers to place their faith in the God who had delivered Paul on MANY occasions… and God will not abandon them!
As believers here at Oak Park… We MUST trust in and believe that God is in control… but we do this NOT because of what God can and will do for us, but because of what God has already done in offering Christ as Savior of the world… and because of that we too can rejoice in the fact that…
The Sovereignty of God is over ALL things – v.20
Paul ends this particular section by glorifying God and recognizing God’s ultimate sovereignty over all things. Our God and Father is a phrase representing authority over us, but also a loving relationship we have with that authority…
We are called to honor and be in awe of God, but we are also called by God into an intimate and personal relationship with Him… so our response is that we respect and give honor to God for who He is, but we also understand we are special to Him and He loves us very much….
DO WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL? If so we need to begin to act like it as a church. We cannot fix anything, but God can repair, restore and revive our fellowship… but we have to trust Him… we have to submit in service TO Him and I challenge you to TRUST me as your pastor to lead you down the path God has for our fellowship! Are you willing to place your faith in God to see this church move in the right direction?
Conclusion:
This morning if you leave with ANYTHING in mind… if you remember ANYTHING about this sermon or this moment… I want you to remember and know that God loves you and His promise to us as believers is that He will NEVER abandon us when we are serving Him! When we are disobedient and unfaithful to Him, He is going to withdraw His hand of leadership… he is going to withhold his Godly counsel and wisdom… but when we serve him obediently He is going to honor our service to Him. What do you say this morning? What is your answer to Him?
God has provided our deliverance from sin and salvation… God has promised that he would NEVER abandon those who serve Him! This is cause for GREAT rejoicing… this is WHY Paul was celebrating and rejoicing as he wrote this letter!
God provides us with SO MUCH more than just salvation… but God’s promises provide us with spiritual Lagniappe that not only FILLS our soul, but also enriches our soul and lifts our spirits! Let’s lay aside all the things that are going to distract us from reaching our potential in Christ… Paul tells us that our potential in Christ is LIMITLESS… are you ready to live a LIMITLESS life!
Are you ready our fellowship to become a LIMITLESS fellowship FOR the Gospel? If so, you have to let go of anxiety and worry… you’ll have to trust in God to deliver on His promises… and that He would NEVER abandon those who serve Him best… God has a great deal of lagniappe he wishes to lavish upon those who serve Him, are you willing to serve and allow Him to bless you? I call on you to let go of the past and seek to focus on what God has for us here at Oak Park in the present AND in the future!
