Alright, go with me back to Philippians
4. Philippians 4, we're going to
look at what the apostle is saying in each one of these verses.
But I want to emphasize one verse in particular tonight. Verse
19, Philippians 4 verse 19, it says, but my God shall supply
all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. My God shall supply all your
need. According to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus, He'll supply all your need. All your need. We literally just sang learning
to lean. Learning to lean. I'm learning. Learning. Learning. to lean on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is something that we
will never learn. Never. We will never be finished
learning and say, that's it, I have it, I lean on Christ,
I have it down. We'll never say that. Until the day we leave this earth,
no matter how old we are, And no matter how long we've been
sitting under the gospel, we will never stop learning to lean
on the Lord Jesus Christ. He'll teach us more and it'll
be a revelation to us. And then we'll come back and
he'll teach us more and it'll be a revelation to us. Learning
to lean on him. But in spite of all of our frailties
and all of our learning disabilities, Verse 19 says, My God, our God,
shall supply all of our need according to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. Now everything that he has to
say at the end of this letter pertains to learning to lean
on Christ. Learning to lean on Him. Seeing
Christ to be all our need, the source and the supplier of all
our need. As believers, we're believers.
As believers, we know certain things and we truly do believe
certain things. We know them and we believe them. But the problem, our disability
is this flesh right here will not allow us to apply them. We know them and we believe them,
but this flesh is such a hindrance and it won't let us apply the
things. It won't let us fully put these
things into practice. Look with me over at Matthew
chapter 6. Matthew 6 verse 8 says, Be not
ye therefore like unto them. He had just said something before
this. Be not ye therefore like unto them for your father knoweth
what things you have need of before you ask him. Now we know that, don't we? We know that. And we believe
that, don't we? Tell me this then. Why won't
this flesh lean on it? Why won't this flesh right here
lean on it? Look right here in Matthew 6
at verse 24. He said, No man can serve two
masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will hold to the one and despise the other, you cannot
serve God and anything else, the riches of anything else.
Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life. What
you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body
what you shall put on, is not the life more than meat and the
body than raiment. Behold the fowls of the air,
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns.
Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better
than they?" Do a little calculation in your mind. Some of you are
really good at math. See if you can quickly figure
out the answer to this. Since the day that you were born,
how many days have you gone without food? None. Never have, never will. Never. How many days have you
gone naked, not owning any clothes? None. How many days did you worry
about it? Our Lord will supply all our
need. He always has. He always will. Verse 25, he says, Therefore
I say unto you, take no thought for your life. What you shall
eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you
shall put on, is not the life more than meat and the body than
raiment. Behold the fowls of the air,
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better
than they? Which of you, by taking thought,
can add one cubit unto his stature? Are we giving ourselves the increase,
or is God giving us the increase? Verse 28 says, and why take ye
thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow. They toil not, neither do they
spin. And yet I say unto you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which
today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you? Learn to lean. That's what he's
saying. Learn to lean. He went on right
there in verse 30 to say, oh, Gabe of little faith. Oh, you have little faith. Verse
31 says, therefore, take no thought saying what shall we eat or what
shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed, which is
what we do every single day to some degree about something. It may not be about food and
clothes, it may not, but concerning something. That's what we do
every single day. And he said, don't do it. Don't do it. Learn
to lean. Learn to lean. Verse 31 therefore
take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink
or wherewithal shall we be clothed for after all these things do
the gentiles seek the outcasts the heathens the those who are
not god's people for your heavenly father knoweth that you have
need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you. Take therefore no thought for
the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." We know
that, don't we? We know that. We even believe
it. We believe that. May God help us to lean on it. I mean lean on it. May he teach
us and help us more so and more so to lean on that. If he does help us to lean on
it. He's going to help us through
His Word. That's where He will help us,
through studying His Word, reading His Word, through hearing His
Word preached. If He does allow us to continue
our learning, and I do want, I pray He lets me continue to
learn. If He does allow us to continue
our learning, He's going to teach us through what He has to say
in His Word. All right, now, with all that being said, go
with me back to Philippians 4. Philippians 4, verse 8, he said,
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, Whatsoever things are of good
report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things. Those things which you have both
learned and received and heard and seen in me, do, and the God
of peace shall be with you. The Apostle Paul says right here,
do you want the peace of leaning on Christ? Do you want that peace?
He's saying, then do that. Do that. He said, whatsoever
things are true. Our Lord said, I am the truth. I am the truth. Paul said, think
on him. Think on him. Think on him. You want that comfort and that
rest of leaning on him? Think on him. Don't you love
it when you think on him? I don't even take credit for
it. I can't think on him. This flesh tries and tries and
tries. It gets sidetracked and sidetracked
and sidetracked. But if I have a moment to think
on him, I'm so grateful. Just so grateful. Verse 8 says, Whatsoever things
are honest, this word right here is honest. This is the honest
truth. Paul said, think on it. Think on it. Oh, may He enable
us to do this. Verse 8 says, Whatsoever things
are just, God the Father and God the Son are just. They are
just. They justly dealt with us, didn't
they? He is a just God. and a Savior. Don't you love that? He's a just
God and you know what He's saying in that? I'm a just God and a
Savior. God the Father dealt with us
justly. Justly. He made His own Son suffer,
didn't He? Justly. Paul said, think about
that. Do you want to lean on Christ?
Do you want to trust him and rest in him? He
said, dwell on that. Just dwell on that. Think on
that. I was thinking about it driving over here just a minute
ago thinking, I cannot to say Christ made his own son suffer. One only begotten Son, He gave
that pure Son for the vilest offender. And I say that, I know
it, I believe it, and I still can't enter into it. I still
can't get a hold of the justice that God provided for us, what
that means for us, the forgiveness. He said in verse eight, whatsoever
things are pure, Christ is pure. Oh, he is so pure in his precious
blood. So am I. And so are you. Whatsoever things are lovely,
he is the altogether lovely one, isn't he? Everything about him, his grace
is so lovely. Lovely. It's lovely. His kindness, his tenderness,
his compassion, his mercy, all those things are full of love.
They're just filled with love. Paul said dwell on those things. Dwell on them. Whatsoever things
are of good report, whatever is good news, God supplying all
of our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,
that's a good report. That's good news. He said dwell on it. He said
if there be any virtue, that's what comes from Christ. That's
moral goodness. He said if there be any praise,
that's what's owed to Christ. Paul said, just think on these
things. Dwell on these things. Lean on them. Verse 10, he said,
But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care
of me hath flourished again, wherein you were all so careful,
but you lacked opportunity. He said, I rejoice in the support
you've sent to me. Apparently they supported him,
and then they had to stop supporting him, and then they started again.
And he said, you were careful the whole time, you were full
of care, but you didn't have the ability, the opportunity.
But he said, I rejoice that you're able to do it again. Verse 11,
not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. He said, I'm not complaining
about my lack. I've learned in whatsoever state
I'm in, the Lord has taught me to be content. And one of these
days, I'd love to say the same thing. But I can tell you this,
believing and trusting that God will supply all our need is contentment. Believing and trusting that He
is truly going to supply all our need, that's contentment. If He would let us do that, we
would be content. Verse 12, he said, I know both
how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and
in all things, I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through
Christ, which strengtheneth me. He's telling us how we all ought
to be, every single one of us. He said, looking to Christ and
leaning on Christ, we ought to be content. We ought to be full. We ought to be satisfied. And
at the same moment in time, may we never lose that need. May we never stop crying. May
we never stop begging. Help me. Provide for me. The only way we can do that is
through Christ. He said, I can do all things through Christ.
The only way we can be content, the only way we can see our need
is through Christ. He's everything. Verse 14 says,
notwithstanding you have well done that you did communicate
with my affliction. He said, you've done well in
giving. Verse 15, now you Philippians
know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed
from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but you only for even in Thessalonica, you sent
once and again unto my necessity. He's saying your heart to give
is a good thing. I commend you for it. I want
to encourage you in it. That's what he's saying. Nobody
else had a heart to give to me. You were the only ones and time
and time again, you thought on me and provided for me. Verse
17, he said, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that
may abound to your account. He said, I commend you for this.
I want to encourage you in this, but not because I want a gift. He said, I encourage you in the
Spirit of the Lord. This is the evidence of God giving
fruit. It's a sign that God's Spirit
has done something for you. God's Spirit is in you. That
Spirit that gives and gives and gives, the Spirit of God that
has given to His people, in His people, that's what it does.
It gives and gives and gives. Verse 18, But I have all and
abound. I am full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of
a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." He said,
I've received everything you sent to me through your pastor.
Epaphroditus sent this care package to him. And he said, it's a sacrifice
on your behalf, I know it is, and it's a gift that's well-pleasing
to God. Our Lord said, inasmuch as you
have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren,
you've done it to me. You've done it to me. And it
is a good thing. It is better to give than to receive.
Verse 19, he said, but my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now, let me just point
out a few more precious things about this verse. This is what
he said, my God, my God, a person who is lost. lost in the world, lost in religion,
lost in sin. A person who is completely lost
in darkness knows that there is a God. People know that. They know that
there is a God. I told you about that lost preacher. I don't know if I've ever felt
so confident that a man is lost in all my life. I listened to
a lost, lost preacher perform a wedding ceremony, and he closed
that ceremony with a prayer to God, whoever he or she may be. That man's lost. That man is lost. He knows that
there is a God, but he has no idea who God is. Absolutely lost. If God would confront that man,
if God would come to him like he comes to sinners, and confronts
sinners with his holiness, that man would see, along with every
other sinner, the God, not just a God. If he ever saw the holiness
and the justice and the wrath of God, he would see the God. But here is the goodness of the
gospel. When God finally speaks peace
to the heart, When God finally reveals Christ and He reveals
all these things that God is going to supply your need. You've
got this great deficit before God. And it's going to be supplied
through Christ Jesus. Once that sinner sees Christ,
this is what that sinner cries. My God. My God. Not just a God, not just the
God. He is my God. And he said in
verse 19, my God. I adore how confident the scripture
is. You can lean on how confident
the scripture is. There is no ifs, ands, buts,
or about it. There's no room for doubt. There's
no room to question it. My God shall. He said supply all your need. All your need. We have an eternal
need. And in Christ, it is supplied. We have a temporal need. We do
need food and we do need raiment. I think it's so interesting that
our Lord never said shelter. But He's so good to us, He supplies
that too. I haven't gone one day without
shelter. I have a car, I have a cell phone, I mean the Lord
is so good. We have temporal needs and in
Christ this is what David said, I have been young and David worried
about things, he ran, he hid in caves, he acted like a madman,
he was worried. He personally doubted but he
finally got to the end of his life and he said I have been
Now I'm old and I've not one time seen the righteous forsaken
nor his seed begging bread. Not one time. All of our temporal
needs, and there's a huge difference between needs and wants. Yes,
I have a cell phone, but I don't need it. He's just good. But all of our needs are going
to be taken care of. They are going to be taken care
of. If he supplied that eternal need,
He's going to supply every temporal need until we reach eternity.
Every single one. We can lean on that. So we have
an eternal need, we have a temporal need, and then we have a spiritual
need. We have an inner emotional need. As we go through this life, I
need to physically be fed every single day, and I need to spiritually
be fed every single day. I need to hear His voice. I am not okay with not hearing
His voice. I become malnourished if I do
not feel His touch, if I do not feed on His word. I need for
Him to speak to my heart. I need Him to touch my heart.
I need Him to draw me near to Him. I need Him. I need him. I know that eternity is waiting
for me with him. I know that. And I also know
that he's going to provide me with food and water. But in between
all that, I need him. I need food. I need water. I need air. I need him. Not in
that order. I need him. I need him. Our God is going. Our God shall
give us what we need. He is going to. If we need Christ,
we will have Christ. We will. Verse 19 says, My God
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen means so be it. That's the way I want it. And
I want to ask myself and you, is that how we want it? Do we
want God to have all the glory? right now and forever and forever
and forever. Amen. That's how we want it.
Verse 21 says, Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. And that's what
makes a sinner a saint, being in Christ Jesus. Salute every saint in Christ
Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints
salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. You
may remember when we started this study, we pointed out that
Paul wrote this from Rome. He was being held as a prisoner
in Caesar's house. And the brethren, as they came
and met with Paul, and Paul was allowed to preach to them, which
is the amazing mercy of God that he was put in prison for preaching. And it was just God's grace that
didn't allow those men to shut him up. And as the brethren came
and Paul preached to them, some of the members of Caesar's household
started listening. And God had mercy on their souls.
And that is just like our God, isn't it? He's so, so good. Those members of Caesar's house, they
started leaning on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we do. You
know, we believe him and trust him. We're just leaning on him.
Leaning on him. And so Paul sent this letter,
he's writing this letter back to Philippi and all these brethren
are sitting around and Epaphroditus is the one who has the pen and
paper. Paul's speaking and Epaphroditus is writing and here are these
Romans, these family members of Caesar. They said, Brother
Paul, would you please salute our brethren? in the Lord Jesus
Christ, would you tell them, please tell them. We said hello. That's what we do now, isn't
it? Every time we talk to somebody
from another church, tell all the brethren over there. Well,
that's what they were doing. They'd come to see Christ, and
they'd started leaning on Christ, and they found some other poor
souls who were leaning on Christ, and they said, please, tell them
about us, and tell them that we love them. And God is so good. All the saints salute you, he
said in verse 22, chiefly, I mean above, all the saints want to
say hi, but more than any of them. The ones that are of Caesar's
household. God not only made Paul a prisoner,
that was so good. And I hope that I can learn this
and apply it to my own life, because that was so horrible.
That was so horribly good. That was so terribly wonderful. That was just so awfully fantastic. Because had Paul not been put
in prison, we would never have these letters. We'd never have
half of the New Testament. And God's goodness not only put
Paul in prison, God's goodness put him in the house of Caesar
and showed mercy to the enemy. God showed mercy to the enemy.
Every person he shows mercy to is the enemy. It's the way of
our God. He's good. He's kind. Oh, you
want to persecute my people? Well, I'll just have mercy on
you. And then you won't persecute him anymore. You'll want to send
your greetings to all the brethren. That's what he did with Paul,
right? Saul of Tarsus, same thing. He's
just so good. What goodness, what kindness,
what grace pours from our Lord. Verse 23 says, the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, our good, kind, loving, faithful Lord be
with you all. Amen. All right, let's stand
together.