“THE JOY OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD” Phil. 4:19
FBCF – 8/30/20
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Story of couple, Fred & Cheryl – adopted a 5 y/o girl Haitian girl named Addie whose parents had been killed in a car accident. Beautiful moment when that little orphan walked across the tarmac at the airport in Haiti & put her hands in the hands of her new parents, expressing her innocent trust that these people would care for her.
Got home to their AZ home. Sat down for supper first night. Large platter of pork chops & big bowl of mash potatoes. Addie had never seen that much food in one place at one time. Fred & Chery’s teenage sons began devouring the food. Soon the meat was gone & the potatoes had disappeared. Addie grew very quiet.
Cheryl realized what was happening. B/c of her poverty-stricken life in Haiti, Addie was afraid that it would be days before she would have food again. Cheryl took her to the kitchen & opened up the refrigerator & freezer, the bread box, & the pantry, & assured her that the food would never run out. They would make sure that she never went hungry again. They would always meet that need of hers.
Our God is a God who provides. He is a promise-making, promise-keeping, need-meeting God who will NEVER let His children down. As Fred & Cheryl promised to always care for their newly adopted daughter, even more so, our Father will ALWAYS care for us, His adopted sons & daughter. He will ALWAYS meet our needs! WE CAN TRUST HIM!
Today, as we conclude our “Joy in the Journey” series, our focus will be on “The Joy of Confidence in God.” And our focus is going to be on only 1 verse.
EXPLANATION – Open your Bibles to Phil. 4:19.
The Philippian church had financially supported Paul’s mission work, sending him money on more than one occasion (v. 15-16). Paul thanked them for their generosity & let them know that he wasn’t asking for more money – he just wanted them to know how much he appreciated their support & wanted them to experience the blessings of God in their lives, too. Paul wasn’t just grateful for the monetary support – he was most grateful for the love & devotion they had shown to him.
- They had blessed him
- God had been honored
- They would be blessed in return
APPLICATION – We can be confident that God will ALWAYS meet His children’s needs.
There is such joy in having confidence in the Lord. We can trust Him! Here are 4 reasons we can trust Him”
TRUST HIM – HE’S GOD – “My God…” – Not “god” with a little “g”, but THE God w/ a capital “G” – the one, true God who is the Lord of all, the God of creation, the God of the universe, the Maker & Sustainer of life.
- He’s personal – “MY God”
o Lot of people know ABOUT God, but don’t truly KNOW God.
o David – Ps. 16:2 – “You are MY Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
- He’s unique
o Omniscient
o Omnipresent
o Omnipotent
o There’s no other god has these qualities
- He’s loving
o 1 John 4:8 – “…God is love.”
- He’s compassionate.
o Ps. 86:15 – “But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion & mercy, slow to get angry & filled with unfailing love & faithfulness.” (NLT)
o Ps. 145:8 – “The Lord is gracious & compassionate…” (CSB)
TRUST HIM – HE GUARANTEES – “…will supply every need of yours…” – What a promise! What a guarantee!
Understand this: This is not just a blank check kind of offer. This is not a blanket promise of material prosperity – not a “name it & claim it” verse.
- I NEED that bass boat!
- I NEED that new car!
- I NEED those new shoes!
- I NEED that spot on the team!
- I NEED to live in that neighborhood!
We can’t just yank this verse out of context & stick it on a t-shirt or coffee mug. This is a promise from God, but it’s a conditional promise that says if you will trust God & honor Him w/ your finances, He will meet all of your needs.
- Paul was saying to them, “You met one need of mine, but God will meet ALL of your needs!”
- Gk word for “supply” – to fill up completely; to provide fully
- That’s what HE WILL DO for you if you’re His child & you are trusting Him & honoring Him.
- What a promise! What a guarantee for every Christ-follower!
TRUST HIM – HE’S GOT THE RESOURCES – “…according to His riches in glory…” – Stimulus checks – Definitely helped a lot of people, but there are lots of unanswered questions that people are asking: “Where’s this $ coming from?” “Who’s going to pay for this?” “How are we going to pay for this?”
We don’t have to wonder about those kinds of questions when it comes to our God & His guarantee to supply every need we have b/c He’s got the unending resources to take care of us. His resources are not just some little stimulus check, or some temporary fix to just help us to get by.
The source of God’s bank account is His own riches in glory.
- He’s the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills
- …every ounce of oil in every oilfield in the world
- …the gold in every mine in the world
- …the diamonds in every mine in the world
- …every penny in every bank account in the world
There’s no such thing as a shortage w/ Him. We can have complete confidence in Him b/c He’s got unlimited, eternal resources.
TRUST HIM – HE GAVE HIS SON – “…in Christ Jesus.”
- We can trust Him b/c He’s God
- We can trust Him b/c He guarantees
- We can trust Him b/c He’s got the resources
But the greatest reason that we can trust Him is b/c He gave us His Son
- John 3:16
- “It is not hard to see why John 3:16 is one of the most famous, most often memorized, most cherished verses in the Bible. Packed into this verse are the greatest realities that exist. God. Love. The world. The Son of God. Faith. Perishing forever. Living forever. Whoever — you, or not. These are the greatest things that can be. What could be more important? What could be more relevant for you right now? What could be more urgent for you or momentous for you than to know where you stand in relation to what God says to you in this verse?” (John Piper)
“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.” (Roy Lessin)
CONCLUSION – In the third century Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus, “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet & holy people, who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised & persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians . . . & I am one of them.”
