The Qualities Of A Great Missions Giving Church

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)