Text: Philippians 4: 10-20
Title: The Qualities of a great missions giving church
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (4:19)
Introduction
Philippians 4:19 have just got to be one of the greatest and best-known verses in the bible and it’s not hard to see why. Everyone has needs to be met. And this verse promises that God will meet every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Question
Is this promise for every believer or is this promise only for certain believers?
Is this promise for every church or is this promise only for certain types of churches?
I believe we might just find the answer in verse 15.
“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance 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…”
Now according to verse 15 how many churches had every need met by God? Only One!
Therefore if you and I want God to meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus then we might want to pattern our lives after this philippian church.
So what was it about the Philippians church that God was going to meet all their needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus?
The answer could only be that it was a great missions giving church.
You see back then it was easy to know if a church was a missions giving church or not. Since the apostle Paul was really the only missionary, those churches that supported Paul were missions giving churches and those that didn’t were not.
God will only meet the needs of those Christians who are meeting needs.
God will only meet the needs of those churches that are meeting needs.
In other words God will only give us what he can flow through us.
Now I have discovered from our scripture passage that great missions giving churches have certain qualities that other churches do not have.
I would like to share these five qualities of a great missions giving church with you today.
1. Great missions giving churches have a concern for others. (V10)
“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.” (V10)
You and I are never going to give to missions if we don’t have a concern for others.
If we as a church do not have a concern for others we will find ourselves overlooking every opportunity to show that concern to others.
Let me illustrate what I mean.
Have you ever gone into a store and discovered some organization has set up a fund-raising table in the hope of catching people on the way out.
Now suppose as you enter you notice it is a fundraiser for some organization you do not particularly care to support.
30 minutes later when its time for you to leave what happens?
You walk out like you do not even see the table.
Did you all of a sudden go blind while walking down the bread aisle? No!
We do not see the fundraising table because we have no concern for what that organization does.
There has always been Christians and there have always been churches that have no concern for those who are lost.
Look again with me at verse 15.
“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving, except you only; (V15)
What was Jesus concerned about most? The lost.
“For the son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Just like all the other churches mentioned in verse 15 we as Christians and we as churches can lose that concern for those who are lost.
From time to time we need a renewal in our concern for the lost.
The best place to start that renewal is by getting involved in missions.
For when we as Christians or we as churches do not take the opportunity to support missions what we are saying is we have no concern for those who are lost.
The second quality of a great missions giving church is this.
2. Great missions giving churches find their contentment in the Lord
“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 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 everything through him who gives me strength.” (V11-13)
We are not going to give to missions unless we have found our contentment is in the Lord.
Discontented Christians and discontented churches never become great missions givers.
You and I will always have needs. This church will always have needs but God does not limit participation in missions to those Christians or those churches who do not have needs.
Those kinds of Christians and those kinds of churches do not exist.
We call Christians who have no needs ”absent from the body and present with the Lord.”
When it comes to supporting missions it is never an issue of need but an issue of contentment.
Why have many Christians and why have many churches never given to missions?
They have not yet learnt the secret of contentment.
Contentment is never about what is happening outside of us but it is all about what is happening inside of us.
It’s enough for us to have the Lord because with the Lord we can overcome anything.
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (V13)
The Apostle Paul said he knew what it is to be in need and he knew what it is to have plenty.
Let me just make a brief mention about the Apostle Paul’s statement” I know what it is to have plenty” in case some of us cannot relate.
Compared to the vast majority of the world everyone here today has plenty.
If we were to wait till we had plenty to become a great missions giving church we would never began because there will always be other needs.
The third quality of great missions giving churches is as follows.
3. Great missions giving churches stay committed to the cause of missions
“Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance 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 again and again when I was in need.(V14-16)
When is the best time to start giving to missions?
The best time to start giving to missions is in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel.
The extra mile.
This verse implies that the longer a Christian waits the less likely they will ever get involved.
“Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only”
The fourth quality of a great missions-giving church is that missions giving churches have credit with the Lord.
“Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; 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 his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (V17-20)
Churches that have credit with the Lord are churches that participate in missions.
Christians that have credit with the Lord are Christians that give to missions.
Why do we want you to participate in reaching the lost? So we can have your gifts? No. It’s so you can have credit with God.
Every one of us here has an account with God. Every church has an account with God.
We get credit for three things.
1. Every fragrant offering
2. Every acceptable sacrifice
3. Everything that is pleasing to God.
5.The fifth and final quality about great missions giving churches is that they exist to see God glorified.
“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen (V20)
How do we bring glory to God?
There are many ways we bring glory to God but let me just mention two.
We bring glory to God when we are salt and light in the world. (Matthew 5:13-16.)
Salt is about who we are. Salt is our character.
The most important thing we have to work on is our character.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (V13)
Light is more about what we do. Light is our conduct.
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (V16)
Of all the good deeds we should do I wonder what is the best?
The best of all the good deeds must be the one that brought the most praise to our Father in Heaven.
Doing something to reach the lost just might be the best deed of all the good deeds we can do.
In conclusion
I could just as easily call this sermon “why God blesses some Churches and not others.”
Since the church is always the people and never the building let us take a few moments to ask ourselves the following 5 questions.
Do I have a concern for others?
Do I find my contentment in the Lord?
Do I demonstrate a commitment to missions?
Do I have credit with the Lord?
Do I exist to glorify God?
